In the pension fund world, accounting rules sometimes attract more attention than actuarial valuations. That’s because, at least among DB pension plans in the private sector, funding results are applied to the bottom line—but only in an approximate fashion. Let’s say the plan’s valuation assumes an 8% return on assets. Markets go down? No matter: […]
Today’s workforce is made up of four different generations—gen X, gen Y, boomers and traditionalists—but that is only one aspect of workforce diversity. Family units have changed drastically over the last several decades and could include any number of scenarios. For plan sponsors, this means the needs of their workforce are changing. But plan sponsors […]
Pensions are inextricably tied to the economy, said Malcolm Hamilton, an actuary with Mercer (Canada) Ltd., speaking recently in Toronto at the Association of Canadian Pension Management’s spring session, Checking the Pulse of Pension Reform. “If the markets do well, any pension will work. If the economy is bad, any pension—no matter how good—will fail,” […]
Perhaps you’re a member of a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team and your company is considering an acquisition. What if you’re not a pension expert? What if, during due diligence, you discover that the company you are considering acquiring has one or more DB pension plans or other long-term obligations such as retiree health benefits? […]
Statistics are a funny thing. They can be twisted and turned and manipulated to support or refute nearly any question. But they serve an important purpose and often shed light on important topics that may otherwise not get the attention they deserve. Case in point is the last Benefits Canada Survey of Capital Accumulation Plan […]
Stronger stock market returns have helped shore up the solvency positions of most Canadian pension plans, but the improvement has been only slight, according to the Mercer Pension Health Index. The index reading improved 2 points to 75 at the end of March, but the story could be much better, as the index does not […]
Most managers of alternative assets oversee a variety of alternative strategies, including private corporate debt, private equity, real estate, long/short global bonds, managed futures and hedge funds. And managers have heard just about all of the objections to these investments—most more than once. The objectives are known as the terrible too’s. Too risky: The real […]
Mere hours before a non-confidence vote brought down his government, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released final amendments to the Pension and Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985 intended to strengthen the country’s federally regulated private pension system. “These changes will help pension plan sponsors to better manage their funding obligations while providing additional protection to plan members […]
Despite efforts at reform, the number of DB plans in Canada is still falling in favour of DC plans. Are the investment risks just too great to ignore? Or can DB plans be designed differently to address the inherent mismatch between liabilities and assets? Malcolm Hamilton weighs in. Read Ian Markham’s thoughts on the topic, […]
The majority of both public and private sector organizations in Canada lack a clear strategy for helping female employees develop into leadership roles, according to an international survey done by Mercer in conjunction with Talent Management and Diversity Executive magazines. According to the Women’s Leadership Development Survey—conducted in December 2010 and including responses from 290 […]