Canada’s life and health insurers paid out a record $143.3 billion in health and retirement benefits last year, up from $128 billion in 2023, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s annual fact book. “At a time when our country is facing economic uncertainty and our health-care system is under strain, life and […]
A fifth (22 per cent) of plan sponsors said their organization has seen an uptick in benefits fraud, either by plan members, service providers or organized crime, according to the 2025 Benefits Healthcare Survey. During a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Toronto Benefits Summit last week, Lancelot Lambert, regional vice-president of Ontario and Atlantic […]
More than half of Canadian women say they feel unprepared for menopause and nearly 60 per cent are unaware that symptoms such as anxiety, depression and memory issues are linked to this stage of life, according to a new report by GreenShield and Mental Health Research Canada. The report analyzed survey responses from more than […]
Canadian plan sponsors are consistently underestimating the share of their employees living with at least one chronic condition, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. While three in five (59 per cent) plan members reported having at least one chronic condition, plan sponsors estimated that an average 38.5 per cent of their workforce had […]
A think tank is urging the federal government to abandon plans for a single-payer pharmacare program in the face of tariff-related fiscal uncertainty. Rosalie Wyonch, associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, says in a new report released Thursday that the government should instead look to fill existing gaps in coverage. Ottawa should […]
Amazon.com says it’s investing more than a US$1 billion to raise wages and lower the cost of health-care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers. The Seattle-based company said the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour. Some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 […]
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of plan members are open to receiving personalized communications about their health from their benefits plan provider, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. This is up from 66 per cent in 2018, when the question was first asked. The question clarified that the respondent’s employer wouldn’t be aware […]
An article on Symcor Inc.’s approach to supporting employees going through menopause was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Symcor hosting menopause awareness session, supporting employees with benefits, resources 2. Millennials, gen Z workers staying in […]
Three in five (60 per cent) plan members would choose an extra $10,000 in cash per year over their benefits plan, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. The survey asked half of 1,000 plan member respondents whether they’d rather receive their benefits plan or an extra $5,000 in cash per year, while the […]
U.S. employer health-care costs are projected to climb 9.5 per cent in 2026, pushing average plan costs above US$17,000 per employee, according to a new report by Aon. The report draws on the firm’s health value initiative database, which tracks plan costs and designs for more than 1,000 employers covering 7.7 million employees and US$120 […]