Whose jobs are put most at risk by artificial intelligence and automation? Common wisdom says it’s men, particularly blue collar men whose jobs are primarily manual labour, such as factory workers put at risk by robotics or truck drivers put at risk by the advance of driverless cars. However, the truth is more complicated. Many […]
It may not happen this year, or next year, or even the year after that. But sometime between now and 2025, Canadian employers will almost certainly need to re-think their retirement policies in response to Canada Pension Plan expenses that began to go up in January. Canadian pension experts say higher mandatory contributions to the CPP and the […]
Drug plan design changes are often unavoidable, whether they’re due to a carrier modifying contracts across the board or an employer looking to manage ballooning costs. Generally, “plan sponsors are looking at programs like more managed formularies and, potentially, maximums,” says Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist in Kitchener, Ont. “Changes driven at the […]
Amid the growing popularity of incorporating environmental, social and governance factors in investing, a Dutch pension fund is partnering with index-provider FTSE Russell to design a custom passive index that incorporates some of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Pensioenfonds Detailhandel has been incorporating ESG principles for almost five years, says Henk Groot, head of investments […]
When the World Economic Forum met this year in Davos, Switzerland, it chose a very timely topic: the fourth industrial revolution that’s about to be wrought by automation. Like every revolution, it will have winners and losers. Artificial intelligence will massively increase productivity and create jobs that don’t even exist today. But at the same time, it will […]
Alongside Hydro One Ltd.’s initial public offering in November 2015, the company underwent an internal transformation by revamping its total rewards program. Previously, the utility organization’s program was very traditional with a fixed salary structure and not much external benchmarking, according to Sabrin Lila, Hydro One’s director of compensation and human resources analytics, noting the company was limited by existing […]
As newer generations enter the workforce, innovative benefits plan design is important to connect plan members with the resources that fulfill the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce. During a panel at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto on April 17, Wade Domries, vice-president of total rewards at Telus Corp., discussed how the company […]
Following an asset-liability matching study in early 2018, the Toronto Transit Commission Pension Fund Society is expanding its allocation to less liquid investments. The jointly sponsored pension plan, which has about $6.5 billion in assets under management, is comprised of 37 per cent fixed income, 44 per cent equities and 19 per cent real assets, […]
In early 2016, Rogers Communications Inc. announced it would be closing its defined benefit plan to new entrants and replacing it with a defined contribution plan. The company offered staff six months to enrol in the DB plan before its closure on July 1, 2016. While it faced several challenges in administering the DB plan, […]
Limiting global warming is essential to institutional investors, according to a new report by Mercer Canada. The report models three different scenarios, examining the impact of average warming of two, three and four degrees Celsius over three timeframes: 2030, 2050 and 2100. For both investors and the planet, limiting warming to two degrees is ideal, […]