Federal and provincial policy-makers should pay close attention to effective tax rates when considering changes to the tax-and-transfer system, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. Geared-to-income fiscal benefits programs provide valuable financial assistance to families with children, noted the report, but these benefits often come with high marginal effective tax and participation […]
The president and chief executive officer of the C.D. Howe Institute is once again urging the federal government to raise the contribution limits for savers in defined contribution pension plans and registered retirement savings plans. In a letter to Minister of Finance Bill Morneau, Bill Robson referred to a paper he wrote last year in […]
The Canadian pension industry must go beyond the defined benefit versus defined contribution debate and focus on the model of the future, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. The report, by actuaries and pension experts Robert Brown and Stephen A. Eadie, proposes a common ground as a starting point for all […]
A recent report highlighting that Albertans are currently paying more into the Canada Pension Plan than the province’s retirees are taking out demonstrated an example of a fundamental reality of defined benefit pension plans: not everyone gets the same thing. Within DB plans, if you subdivide cohorts of a member population, you will often find some groups subsidizing […]
In its 2019 budget on Tuesday, the federal government announced a number of proposals regarding pension protections, off the back of recent high-profile corporate bankruptcies that have thrown the sustainability of some Canadians’ defined benefit plans into doubt during the past few years. Indeed, the federal government received 4,400 submissions in response to its request for comment on the […]
While estimating the longevity of a pension plan’s membership isn’t a new concept, developments in using big data and new tools in predictive modelling could go a long way to making predictions more accurate. “Traditionally, most benefit plans were using standard mortality tables and not really differentiating how much longevity risk they had,” says Manuel […]
The high discount rates used by many Canadian public-sector pension plans increase the risk they won’t have enough funds to meet future obligations, according to new research by the C.D. Howe Institute “Employers and employees have an incentive to keep the discount rate high in order to reduce the contributions they pay today,” said Constance Smith, co-author […]
The high discount rates used by many Canadian public-sector pension plans increase the risk they won’t have enough funds to meet future obligations, according to new research by the C.D. Howe Institute “Employers and employees have an incentive to keep the discount rate high in order to reduce the contributions they pay today,” said Constance Smith, co-author […]
The Ontario government’s proposed childcare rebate could spur as many as 112,787 mothers to enter the workforce, resulting in an increase of tax revenues for the provincial and federal government, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. The report found a rebate would likely incentivize mothers who are sensitive to childcare costs to […]
With many demands on employees’ money, could helping them build an emergency fund alongside their retirement savings make them more financially secure in the long run? Last week, Britain’s National Employment Savings Trust Insight began piloting its new sidecar savings program, which aims to optimize pension savings while helping workers maintain a reasonable amount of liquid savings […]