There are major differences between what defined contribution plan sponsors are trying to communicate to members and what members hear, according to a new study by Invesco. “We believe a disconnect remains between what plan sponsors say and what participants hear,” said John Galateria, managing director and head of North America institutionals at Invesco, in a press […]
While 2018 ushered in a number of significant changes to Ontario’s pension legislation, including a major revamping of the funding rules for defined benefit plans, additional pending changes are afoot for 2019. Other provinces, such as British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, are also reviewing solvency funding requirements for plans registered in their respective jurisdictions. […]
Readers were focused on the Canada Pension Plan and old-age security in 2018, with the top three most read stories tackling those topics. Benefits Canada rounds up the industry’s favourite pension and retirement stories of the year: 1. New CPP, OAS benefit amounts take effect for 2018 2. Increase to OAS benefits takes effect July 1 3. Why aren’t Canada’s public […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds grew 0.6 per cent between the first and second quarters of 2018, according to data from Statistics Canada. Investments in real estate saw the largest increase in the second quarter, up 2.5 per cent to $186.7 billion, and investments in mortgages saw the largest decline, down 13.9 per […]
An animal welfare charity is facing legal action from a former employee who says he was fired after raising concerns about the organization’s pension investments and its links to companies that engage in animal testing. Jordi Casamitjana alleges the League Against Cruel Sports, a British charity that campaigns against activities like dog fighting and hunting, […]
Shifting demographics have always driven Canadian pension plan design, and the growth of the millennial generation as the largest portion of the workplace is no exception, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s Joseph De Dominicis. “To me, shifting demographics are the key catalyst driving large global trends that in turn influence how we design pension programs, benefits […]
It’s been 40 years since Ted Benna, then a 36-year-old U.S.-based benefits consultant, noticed a new Internal Revenue Service section that had potential implications for cash-deferred savings plans. The section, 401(k), meant that employees in these plans would have to leave their money in them until just shy of their 60th birthday if they wanted to […]
While defined contribution plan design features such as auto-enrolment and auto-escalation aim to combat plan members’ poor behavioural tendencies, they could be leading to certain unintended consequences, according to a new report by BlackRock Inc. For example, if a plan is using both auto-enrolment and auto-escalation tools, there’s a chance that more members could opt out of additional savings, unless the […]
While advisors are supportive of greater transparency in group benefits and retirement services, some say the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s proposed amendments to its compensation disclosure guideline last week still presents a conflict of interest. The suggested changes to G19 included requiring the disclosure of both the percentage and dollar value of direct compensation […]
In my formative school years, it was mandatory for all students to learn cooking, carpentry and typing, among other non-academic pursuits. While I’m certainly grateful to have those life skills, as I get older I wonder why we weren’t taught to invest in the stock market, save for retirement or do our taxes. Generationally, I […]