The union representing employees at automobile manufacturing company Stellantis’ assembly plants in Windsor, Ont. and Brampton, Ont. has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes pension and retiree benefits improvements. The agreement will add $1 per hour to the current company pension contribution. Employees earning the current maximum wage rate will see the pension contribution converted […]
An article on Telus Communications Inc.’s win in Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Telus wins award for supporting employees’ holistic well-being 2. Survey finds nearly all young employees globally experiencing burnout 3. Half of employees say employer hasn’t communicated […]
Western University is marking Financial Literacy Month with a series of webinars and consultations addressing employees’ financial questions. The webinars cover topics such as retirement, estate planning, investments and the connection between health and wealth. While the university has covered the health-wealth connection in previous years, the topic is of perennial interest to employees and is […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 0.27 per cent for the third quarter of 2022 amid a challenging economic environment, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian master trust universe. The universe, which is designed to provide peer comparisons by plan type and size, comprises 80 Canadian corporate public and university pension […]
While Canadian employers recognize the value of retirement benefits, the current high inflation environment is driving them to favour wage hikes instead, according to a new survey by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Angus Reid Group. The survey, which polled nearly 800 business owners and senior leaders, found employers’ leading concerns are greater […]
From an economic perspective, the last year has been quite tumultuous. As central banks began raising rates to tame inflation, the loose monetary environment with policy rates held at historic lows evolved to a rapidly tightening one. In October 2021, the overnight rate was 0.25 per cent and the 10-year Canadian bond yield was 1.6 […]
The Ottawa Community Housing Corp.’s flexible employee well-being strategy led to a win in the Health/wellness program category for employers with fewer than 1,000 employees at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18. “Our organization is happy about the win because this journey in terms of supporting employee health started about two to three years back,” […]
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors in the U.S. are facing increasing costs when de-risking through annuity buyouts, according to a new report by consulting firm Milliman Inc. It found the estimated cost to transfer risk to an insurer increased in September to 100.1 per cent of a plan’s total liabilities, up from 96.9 per cent […]
Canadian pension plan investments saw very modest gains in the third quarter of 2022 as both stock and bond markets responded favourably to the pace of interest rate hikes around the globe, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report, which tracks the performance of Canadian defined benefit plans, found the median […]
Around half (54 per cent) of U.S. employees say they’ve stopped or reduced retirement savings due to inflation, according to a new survey by Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America. It found two-fifths (43 per cent) of workers said they’ve dipped into their retirement savings because of rising inflation. Eight in 10 (80 per […]