Inflation must be taken into account when designing both plan sponsor and government retirement programs because, over time, it will undermine purchasing power. In terms of recruiting and retaining employees, workplace retirement plans are important, but they also represent a significant cost for employers. Inflation-adjusted government pension programs can help lower these costs. But plan sponsors and […]
The Canada Pension Plan fund ended its fiscal year on March 31, 2019, with net assets of $392 billion, compared to $356.1 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018. The $35.9 billion increase was made up of $32 billion in net income and $3.9 billion in net CPP contributions. Overall, the fund’s return for the year […]
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 […]
A New Democratic Party member of parliament is proposing to legislate responsible investing into the mandate of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. Alistair MacGregor, the MP for the British Columbia riding of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, has drafted a bill to amend section 35 of the CPPIB Act to prevent the board from investing in companies that have […]
A recent report highlighting that Albertans are currently paying more into the Canada Pension Plan than the province’s retirees are taking out demonstrated an example of a fundamental reality of defined benefit pension plans: not everyone gets the same thing. Within DB plans, if you subdivide cohorts of a member population, you will often find some groups subsidizing […]
Defined contribution plan sponsors should consider Canada’s public pension system when designing their plans, according to a panel comparing the Canadian system to the ones in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden at Benefits Canada’s 2019 DC Plan Summit in Banff, Alta. in February. Canada’s three-pillar system is comprised of old-age security and the guaranteed income […]
In its 2019 budget on Tuesday, the federal government announced a number of proposals regarding pension protections, off the back of recent high-profile corporate bankruptcies that have thrown the sustainability of some Canadians’ defined benefit plans into doubt during the past few years. Indeed, the federal government received 4,400 submissions in response to its request for comment on the […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ office of the chief actuary has appointed Assia Billig as chief actuary, effective April 15, 2019. She will succeed Jean-Claude Ménard, who will retire in mid-April after 20 years as chief actuary. Billig has worked in the office of the chief actuary for more than a decade, specializing in actuarial […]
When the Canada Pension Plan enhancement took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, did you feel the pinch in your first paycheque of the year? The answer is probably no. In the first stage of enhancement, employee and employer contribution rates will rise from 4.95 per cent each to 5.95 per cent each, for a total […]
While the Canadian retirement income system is performing well overall, it still requires some assessment to determine its primary goals and how changing one part of the system may affect the other parts, according to a new report by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. “Basically, what we’re trying to say [in the report] […]