While group retirement compliance is a legal requirement in the U.S., Canadian plan sponsors only have a set of guidelines and best practices to follow. These are in place to help plan sponsors maintain fiduciary responsibility by keeping the interest of the plan member at the forefront of decisions regarding their group retirement plan. One […]
Whether operating in Canada or the United States, defined contribution plan sponsors are facing the same challenges around demographics, plan design and their employees’ retirement readiness. On the demographics front, more baby boomers are retiring and taking their pension balances with them. As DC plans lose members, plan sponsors may see a rise in costs […]
Plan administrators are welcoming the increased clarity accompanying the amendment of Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act to allow for the electronic designation of beneficiaries and the re-issue of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guideline No. 2, which establishes best practices for electronic communications in the pension industry. “Clarity on the ability to designate beneficiaries electronically […]
Generally, when a pension plan goes through a solvency or hypothetical windup valuation, the actuaries will value some of the expected liabilities as commuted lump-sum payments and some as annuity payments. When valuing the annuity portion, plan actuaries often use a proxy method based on guidance from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Instead of this […]
Though more than half of Canadian capital accumulation plan members feel financially prepared for retirement, there’s a distinct difference across generations. Given their proximity to retirement, it’s no surprise baby boomers (69 per cent) are the age cohort most likely to agree they feel prepared, compared to 59 per cent of generation X and 41 […]
The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities has outlined its priorities for April 2019 to March 2022 in its new strategic plan, which included initiatives like focusing on defined contribution plan decumulation and cyber security. Jason Vary, president at Actuarial Solutions Inc., notes while all the identified priorities were worthwhile, some are more important than […]
The fourth quarter of 2018 saw the largest decline since 2011 in a retiring member’s ability to create a secure retirement income, according to a report by Eckler Ltd. At the end of 2018, replacement income for women fell to 55 per cent and for men to 56 per cent. The fourth-quarter decline is a result of steep […]
Although the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ has yet to release its draft 2019-2022 strategic plan publicly, the Pension Investment Association of Canada has released comments on the draft. Specifically, the PIAC highlighted its support for finalizing an agreement respecting multi-jurisdictional pension plans as an appropriate top priority for the CAPSA. It also encouraged […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada responded positively to a recent update from the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ leverage working group. The PIAC agreed with the CAPSA that pension plans are using leverage more commonly and intensively. Further, it noted a recent development to find leverage being used at the fund level, as leverage has […]
The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities has published an updated version of its guideline No. 8 for defined contribution plans, focusing on three main areas: the payout phase, plan sponsor/administrator responsibilities and advice. Introduced in March 2014, Guideline No. 8 aims to spell out the rights and responsibilities of DC plan administrators, providers and members. It […]