Over the last 20 years, managing a pension plan has looked a little like riding a roller coaster — with the 2001 technology bubble, 2008/09 financial crisis and the recent coronavirus market volatility providing sudden, gut-wrenching drops that can draw a scream from even the heartiest of souls. “From an investment standpoint, we’ve been in […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario are establishing a new committee to review both regulators’ approaches to supervising defined contribution pension plans. Through the collaboration, the OSFI and the FSRA is aiming to work toward improving outcomes for DC plan members and, where possible, enhance regulatory […]
Ford Motor Co. and Unifor’s new collective agreement tackles everything from racial inequality, medical cannabis coverage and a new pension plan. The $1.8 billion deal ratified on Monday includes a racial justice advocate in a nod to the ongoing racial reckoning occurring in society and workplaces. The newly created role will complement existing inclusivity efforts at […]
My last column, in April, talked about how Canadian target-date fund suites behaved differently during the first quarter of this year, where markets were reacting to the coronavirus crisis. The disparity of year-to-date returns continued in the following months. For some capital accumulation plan sponsors, the behaviour of their plans’ TDFs over recent volatile market […]
Osler Hoskin and Harcourt LLP is appointing Andrea Boctor as a partner in its pensions and benefits group. Boctor’s practice encompasses all areas of pensions and benefits law, including pension administration, investment structuring and compliance and pension issues that arise in the context of transactions, lending and restructurings. In addition, her practice has a particular […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is launching a three-month consultation on risks and other considerations regarding technological advancements impacting Canada’s financial sector. Along with a discussion paper, the consultation’s objective is to ensure federally regulated financial institutions and pension plans have solid strategies to manage non-financial risks. According to the agency, while rapidly […]
Retirement income can be sliced into three broad categories: what an individual receives from their employer, what they receive from the government and everything else. While plan sponsors are naturally most concerned with what they provide for plan members, including all forms of income in the conversation is integral to properly planning for retirement, says […]
Since retirees and active plan members are fundamentally different, should their investment options reflect that distinction? That’s the question confronting defined contribution plan sponsors as they explore the relatively new world of in-plan decumulation. As of January, when the Ontario government passed a series of new regulations under the Pension Benefits Act, the majority of […]
The Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan and its group of companies are the latest employers to join the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus pension plan. Effective Sept. 7, 685 full-time employees — including 639 from Ontario, 23 from Alberta and 23 from Quebec — joined DBplus on a go-forward basis. In addition, all part-time […]
Defined contribution plan members are contending with volatile equity markets, ultra-low interest rates and the threat of inflation as the country’s economy begins its tentative recovery. In the first half of 2020, equities took an almost round trip, dropping significantly in the first quarter and recovering to the point that most markets are in neutral or positive […]