For years, digital offerings played second banana to in-person options for many employers aiming to connect with and support employees. Not anymore. As employers and employees face down year two of the coronavirus pandemic, digital supports have moved from understudy to centre stage. “The pandemic has changed the environment significantly, as we all know, and […]
Doug MacDonald, MD & Global Head of Distribution of CIBC Asset Management Inc. announces the appointment of Carlo DiLalla as MD & Head, Institutional Asset Management. Carlo will be responsible for managing the firm’s institutional asset management business, providing strategic direction on all aspects of business development, client service, consultant relations, and client portfolio management. […]
A recent ruling on federal carbon pricing sparked a lot of loud talk on both sides of the aisle, but the impact on institutional investors will be muted, says Monika Freyman, a chartered financial analyst and the responsible investment leader for Mercer’s wealth business in Canada. On March 25, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled […]
Many white-collar employees were forced to work from home when a global coronavirus pandemic was declared last March, but now, with an eye toward the great reset, employers must decide whether to embrace working from home permanently or revert back to an in-person working model. Most employees’ sentiments have shifted toward a preference for continuing […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans’ funded positions continue to improve in 2021, ending the first quarter at their highest levels in more than 20 years, according to Mercer Canada’s pension health index. It found solvency ratios increased from 114 per cent at the end of 2020 to 124 per cent at the end of March 2021, with the median solvency ratio […]
Remember those Freedom 55 ads that always seemed to be on TV in the ‘80s and ‘90s? I recently went down a YouTube rabbit hole and re-watched some of them and, well, let’s just say they’re as ridiculous as I remember. In one 30-second spot from the early ‘90s, a downcast businesswoman reads the paper […]
While 65 has long been considered the traditional retirement age, younger employees face the possibility of working longer. Plan sponsors can learn much from the unique financial journeys taken by different generations toward their eventual golden years. A 2019 Scotiabank investment poll revealed that 68 per cent of Canadians are currently saving for retirement, but […]
Specialty drugs can significantly improve (or even save) an employee’s life, but can come at a high cost. Over the past few decades, many employers dove headfirst into drug-pooling arrangements as a key way to deal with those costs, while also ensuring employees get the access needed to an array of medications. But with dozens […]
The Royal Mail Group Ltd. will soon make history in the United Kingdom by becoming the first employer to sponsor an entirely new type of pension plan, called a collective defined contribution scheme. Under the U.K.’s Pension Schemes Act 2021, which received royal assent in February, collective DC pensions will essentially be a hybrid of […]
Although women must work two years longer than men to be retirement ready, they still retire with 30 per cent less wealth than their male counterparts, according to a Mercer Canada retirement readiness report. The report found women enter retirement with lower retirement savings than men and they also must work longer to achieve retirement […]