“Financial autonomy is something a lot of Canadians are striving for every day — alongside that, they can achieve financial empowerment,” said Avnee Patel (pictured right), senior director of business development and group retirement savings at Desjardins, during a fireside chat at Benefits Canada’s inaugural Women’s Health & Wealth Summit. “Growing up, financial empowerment felt […]
Financial stress is an ever-present concern for many employees — among women, it’s even more pronounced. A survey by the Financial Resilience Institute found almost two-thirds (72 per cent) of women said money worries cause them emotional stress, eight percentage points higher than men, while 71 per cent of Canadian women are stressed about not […]
Employers can remove friction from benefits and pension plan design by encouraging ease of use, communications and reducing decision fatigue, according to a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s inaugural Women’s Health & Wealth Summit. According to the 2025 Employee Savings Survey, women were less likely than men to describe their financial health as excellent or […]
Ottawa Community Housing Corp. is educating employees about their benefits offerings through a new monthly communication campaign. The campaign, which started in January, ties the employer’s benefits program to seasonal campaigns such as Heart Month in February and Financial Wellness Month in November by highlighting the corresponding aspects of the plan. Michael Dimaano, senior manager […]
EY Canada is supporting employee well-being by expanding its list of reimbursable wellness expenses and introducing a series of financial education seminars. Employees can now be reimbursed for purchases such as mattresses, pillows, board games and Lego kits, as well as classes and supplies for personal enrichment including cooking, music, photography, languages and mindfulness. Workers […]
While more than half (52 per cent) of workplace savings plan members count on the plan as their main source of retirement income, both men (16 per cent) and women (12 per cent) overstated their account balances, according to Sun Life’s latest survey of 1,900 plan members. Sharing the survey results at Benefits Canada’s 2026 […]
More than half (56 per cent) of plan members say email is the most effective way to communicate with them about their savings plans, according to Benefits Canada’s 2026 Employee Savings Survey. The survey, which polled 500 Canadian plan members, found traditional mail (18 per cent) was a distant second preferred communications tool, followed by […]
In its sophomore year under the Employee Savings Survey banner, Benefits Canada’s annual check in with plan members about their financial priorities and the condition of their workplace savings journeys dove deeper into the demographic data. In a virtual panel discussion on March 30, industry experts shared their views on the 2026 results by exploring the […]
Canadian plan members reported a significant drop in the amount they believe they need to retire — from roughly $1.4 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to $976,835 in 2026, according to Benefits Canada’s 2026 Employee Savings Survey. The survey, which polled 500 Canadian savings plan members, also found younger and middle-aged respondents reported requiring […]
While the percentage of plan members who describe their personal financial situation as significantly or somewhat better than last year decreased from 42 per cent in 2025 to 34 per cent, the percentage that describe it as significantly worse or somewhat worse has also dropped, from 26 per cent last year to 22 per cent, […]