The volatile global conditions of the last four years have culminated in a looming economic downturn, impacting defined contribution pension plan sponsors and members alike. On Oct. 3 at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto, the 2024 DC Investment Forum highlighted the various tools and strategies that can help plan sponsors navigate turbulent economic waters […]
Young Canadian employees are facing a series of headwinds stemming from rising housing costs and decades of inaction by the federal government to support retirement savings, said Paul Kershaw, founder of not-for-profit organization Generation Squeeze and a policy professor at the University of British Columbia, during the keynote session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution […]
The majority of Canadian defined contribution plan members are invested in the appropriate target-date fund vintage and those who are may be better prepared for retirement, according to research by Fidelity Investments. The research, which examined data from Canadian record keepers to understand investors’ savings behaviours in a DC context, found about 70 per cent of […]
Canadian defined contribution plan members’ knowledge of target-date funds is lacking and it may point to a larger issue: the stakes set for member investment knowledge may be too high, hindering engagement efforts, according to a survey by MFS Investment Management. The survey of around 1,000 Canadian DC plan members, including 700 active members and 300 […]
Pension plan members’ primary concerns about their golden years are whether they’ve saved enough money to live their dream retirement, whether those funds will last and whether they’ll be able to leave a legacy for their family. But numerous surveys of Canadians indicate many don’t feel financially literate enough to address those concerns, according to […]
Rising food, energy and housing prices aren’t just pocketbook issues for consumers or election fodder for politicians, they’re also social risk factors, indicators of a country’s economic health and highly important to bond investors, said Reina Berlien, head of environmental, social and governance at Brandywine Global Investment Management. While ESG factors may not seem important […]
The rapid rise in the cost of living in 2022 and into 2023 underscored the need for target-date funds to not just protect against standard inflation, but inflation shocks as well. The problem that presents is the more inflation protection that’s added into a portfolio, the lower the returns, said Nick Nefouse, managing director, global […]
The rising cost of living in the post-pandemic era has impacted all aspects of employees’ financial wellness, including retirement savings. In 2023, Hofmann-La Roche Ltd. examined the savings needs of its multigenerational workforce and determined more flexibility was required to encourage employees to set aside retirement savings, said Rana Kassab (pictured right), the company’s director […]
Despite declining annuity rates, Canadian capital accumulation plan members retiring at the end of September experienced some of the best outcomes in more than 13 years, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. The consultancy’s latest CAP income tracker found a typical male member retiring at the end of September 2024 achieved a gross […]
While the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ updated capital accumulation plan guideline contains several key updates with regard to plan sponsor and member responsibilities, smaller plan sponsors may face administrative challenges in applying the guidance, says Jordan Fremont, a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP’s pensions and benefits group. “Because [the guideline] is so detailed, I […]