There’s been a focus this year on the amount of risk pension plan sponsors are holding in their portfolio and how to manage that risk. Is it time to de-risk or re-risk? Strategies around both, in addition to investing in alternatives specifically, have been hot issues this year.
At Benefits Canada's fourth annual Defined Benefit Summit in Toronto last week, the theme Keeping DB Alive was taken to heart as speakers not only probed the reasons behind the struggles of DB plans but also discussed strengths and survival strategies, including de-risking and exploring small cap and emerging markets.
"Engage, engage, engage” is an apt mantra for the capital accumulation plan (CAP) industry. With disappointing levels of employee engagement in Canadian retirement savings plans, plan sponsors continue to search for ways that inspire employees to save enough for retirement. One potential solution is automatic enrollment with automatic escalation—features that some believe could boost participation rates, particularly among younger workers, and address the engagement issue, too.
With more than 80% of Canadian plan sponsors currently offering a DC option in their employer-sponsored pension plans, the shift to DC is firmly entrenched. In the U.S., nearly 60% of all pension assets flow into DC plans, according to the 2012 Towers Watson Global Pension Assets Study.
Panel question its value for working Canadians.
Touted as a practical solution for those who currently don’t have access to a workplace pension, the pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) also holds the potential to create a new revenue stream for the industry. Several of the large retirement service providers have already jumped at this opportunity and are ready to roll out PRPP […]
The majority of Canadian small business owners make the connection between employee satisfaction and workplace productivity, according to results from Manulife Financial’s second annual Small Business Research Report.
In large part, the current move by many plan sponsors to a DC pension plan has been fuelled by a desire to escape the inherent risks (and costs) associated with sponsoring and administering a DB plan.
Canadians are often told they need to save more for retirement and to start saving sooner. Life expectancy is increasing and investment returns are low, so the cost of providing retirement income is much more than it used to be. Saving more seems like the prudent thing to do.
The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is turning to celebrities to teach financial literacy.