As part of a comprehensive plan review, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is looking at a number of changes, including to indexing provisions. While a plan executive is offering a more nuanced version of the issue, the Canadian Union of Public Employees union is sounding the alarm about possible changes. Read: Boosted by public equities, […]
Alcoa Corp. is freezing its defined benefit pension plan for Canadian and U.S. salaried employees. Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the change affects approximately 800 workers who will move into defined contribution plans. The defined benefit plan will close on Dec. 31, 2020, with benefits earned up to that point protected, according to the bauxite and aluminum producer’s fourth […]
Despite strong funding positions, plan sponsors are taking a proactive approach when it comes to managing pension investments and risk, according to Aon Hewitt. Its latest pension risk survey, which covers 124 pension plans across the country, found plan sponsors are adapting their funding and investment strategies in response to new pension regulations. “Plan sponsors […]
A recent Benefits Canada pulse survey teases out the risks that really keep pension funds up at night.
What’s the best way to transfer DB risk? Here are three strategies.
J. C. Penney says it will reduce its US$5 billion pension benefit obligation by up to 35% without requiring any cash contributions from the company.
Why are nearly 50% of plan assets still invested in equity markets?
American plan sponsors have been spurred to action by a perfect storm of pressures on their DB plans, finds the Mercer/CFO Research 2015 Risk Survey.
The largest Canadian pension plans saw their combined liabilities increase to $179 billion from $154 billion and their overall financial health decline in 2014, a report finds.
De-risking is a term we’ve heard often in the last few years, as is liability-driven investing. But, in a sense, neither should be necessary, as all DB investing is at least “liability-aware.” So let’s assume a pension trustee is talking about de-risking in terms of matching assets to liabilities, focusing on substantially reducing the mismatch.