Does your organization’s benefits plan or financial wellness program deserve recognition? Are you leading the way when it comes to supporting your employees’ mental health? Is your company implementing award-worthy diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives? Benefits Canada’s annual Workplace Benefits Awards is officially open for nominations. Submit your entries here. As in previous years, the 2022 awards will […]
A ruling by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on the B.C. Credit Union Employers’ Pension Plan’s normal retirement date was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. B.C. court upholds pension plan’s decision to increase retirement age 2. Ontario NDP platform includes dental […]
In its 2022 budget on Thursday, the Ontario government said it’s implementing a permanent target-benefit pension plan framework in 2023. The budget noted specified Ontario multi-employer pension plans, which provide these types of benefits, have been operating under temporary regulations that will expire in 2024 unless replaced by a permanent framework. “A permanent target-benefit framework […]
The union representing roughly 900 workers at Metro Inc. warehouses in Etobicoke, Ont. has ratified a new 4.5-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains. Sandeep Kakan, director of pension and benefits at Unifor, says the agreement includes an increase in the defined benefit pension plan’s flat-rate benefit, retroactive to 2001, as well as […]
The majority of chief executive officers (83 per cent) and employees (70 per cent) report missing at least one day of work due to stress, burnout or other mental-health challenges, according to a new survey by Headspace Health. The global survey, which polled more than 500 CEOs and 5,400 full-time employees, also found more than […]
Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of U.S. employers feel the deteriorating mental health of their workforce is having a negative financial impact on their companies, according to a survey by the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. The survey, which polled more than 500 U.S. employers and 1,000 workers, found 34 per cent of employees reported […]
The union representing workers at three Ontario casinos has ratified a series of collective agreements that will provide improved pensions and health benefits for employees. Members of Unifor Local 444 at the Caesars Windsor ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes a one per cent enhancement to its defined contribution pension plan, as well as […]
Ontario’s New Democratic Party’s election platform includes universal dental care, mental-health care and pharmacare. Following the agreement reached between the federal Liberals and NDP in late March, the provincial NDP will lead the way on the program, working with the federal government to “strengthen and accelerate the expansion of dental care,” according to the platform that […]
A majority (92 per cent) of Canadian employees feel they’re at risk of experiencing burnout as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, according to a new survey by Mercer. The survey, which polled 11,000 employers and employees from 16 countries, found 59 per cent of employer respondents are concerned about high employee sickness/absence rates and remote […]
With the federal government’s 2022 budget proposing to allow expenses related to fertility and surrogacy to be claimed by a wider range of individuals under the medical expense tax credit, will the move lead to increased coverage under workplace benefits plans? The government’s proposal would expand the definition of a patient to include the taxpayer, […]