Defined benefit pension plan sponsors using overlay strategies will gain more flexibility amid rising inflation now that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has released guidance allowing these plan sponsors to disregard the overlay when measuring going-concern liabilities, says James Koo, a partner in Aon’s wealth solutions division. In May 2022, the OSFI raised […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec generated average returns of negative 5.6 per cent in 2022. “The year 2022 provided an environment filled with several challenges, with spiking inflation, historic interest rate hikes by central banks and rising geopolitical tensions,” said Charles Emond, the Caisse’s president and chief executive officer, during a press briefing […]
Nearly all (98 per cent) U.S. employees believe it’s important for their employer to provide a retirement savings plan, according to a new survey by Vestwell Inc. The survey, which polled roughly 1,300 employees and 250 employers, found nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of employees said they expect employers to offer a 401(k) or 403(b) […]
Half (51 per cent) of Canadians are planning to contribute to their registered retirement savings plans this year — a substantial increase since last year (18 per cent), according to a new survey by Edward Jones Canada. The survey, which polled more than 1,600 adults, found half (51 per cent) said cost of living is […]
Ontario’s defined benefit pension funds returned an average 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 while plan liabilities continued to benefit from a rising interest rate environment, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s latest solvency report. It also found the majority of plans remained fully funded on a solvency basis […]
The Pension and Investment Association of Canada is calling on the federal government to establish a going-concern plus regime as a long-term minimum funding requirement for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans. In its pre-budget submission to Finance Canada, the PIAC said it believes the Canadian government should set a uniform funding requirement for all provinces […]
The vast majority (86 per cent) of U.S. human resources professionals say they’re concerned about the current economic environment’s impact on employees’ mental and financial health, according to a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. The survey, which polled more than 1,700 HR professionals, found half (51 per cent) said they’re prioritizing […]
Amid the unprecedented events of the last three years, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan has remained on course with its investment strategies, according to Asif Haque, the plan’s chief investment officer. “We held our focus on the key goal of the CAAT’s investment program. . . . The plan’s diversified asset […]
Finance’s toughest problem just got a whole lot trickier, thanks to the quandary of inflation. Legendary economist William F. Sharpe sealed his place in history when he collected the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on investment decision-making, but in defined contribution pension circles, the emeritus professor at Stanford University is […]
After nearly three years mired in the coronavirus pandemic, employers are beginning to put the pieces of their respective workplaces back together, using wellness as the cornerstone. They’re shaping their respective new ways of working — whether remote, in-office or hybrid — and expanding their thinking around wellness to achieve a successful return to a […]