With many employees struggling with finances since the coronavirus pandemic started last March, two experts weigh in on the viability of offering a workplace emergency savings benefit. Elizabeth Mulholland, chief executive officer of Prosper Canada Policy-makers should absolutely be considering ways to facilitate a wider range of affordable, quality workplace savings options and to more […]
As the coronavirus pandemic ground the world to a halt in March 2020, stopping was not an option for Gale Rubenstein or her colleagues on the board of trustees at the University Pension Plan Ontario. The jointly sponsored pension plan had only come into existence two months earlier, and the clock had already begun ticking […]
While the typical balanced fund is becoming a rarity among pension plans, a segment of plan sponsors continue to utilize these funds — albeit with added diversification. Traditionally, such funds have invested 60 per cent in equities and 40 per cent in bonds. But with investment options for pension plans expanding over the last 20 […]
In recognition of its employees’ efforts during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Volkswagen and Germany’s largest industrial union have agreed on a 23-month wage deal that provides a €1,000-euro bonus (approximately $1,501.37 in Canadian dollars), as well as a 2.3 per cent wage increase that will take effect in January 2022. The deal covers 120,000 workers at […]
As interest rates return to pre-pandemic levels, fixed income is returning to its role as an equities hedge, according to a webinar on Wednesday hosted by AllianceBernstein Canada Inc. “As we see rates rise back to where they were at the end of 2019, there’s gas in the tank for fixed income to play that […]
In just a few weeks, Salesforce will allow employees in select U.S. locations to return to work in the office, according to a statement the company posted on its website. Starting in May, Salesforce’s vaccinated U.S. employees in California, specifically in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Irvine, can voluntarily join groups of 100 or fewer […]
The head of the Bank of Nova Scotia is urging Ottawa to top up the annual Canada Child Benefit and increase childcare expense deductions, ahead of the federal budget announcement slated for April 19. During the bank’s annual general meeting on April 13, Brian Porter, chief executive officer of Scotiabank, said he wants the benefit […]
Sobeys Inc. is reinstating a lockdown bonus for employees in areas with renewed stay-at-home orders, said a statement by the grocery retailer, which also noted the pay bump is “the right thing to do.” “When regions and cities enter government-mandated lockdowns that close all non-essential retail, we continue to live up to our commitments and […]
The pandemic has taken a dramatic toll on the well-being of Canadians, but one of the most notable trends has been its impact on employees with pre-existing mental-health challenges, said Lanie Schachter-Snipper, registered psychotherapist and national director of outpatient services for EHN Canada, during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Chronic Disease at Work conference in late February. […]
Employers have taken on a larger role in employees’ cancer care in the past few years, but the coronavirus pandemic changed the game even further, said Tim Clark, president of tc Health Consulting Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Chronic Disease at Work conference in late February. Cancer is now the sixth most expensive disease by […]