Indigenous women in Canada continue to face structural barriers to workplace retirement plans and benefits programs, driven by employment instability, eligibility rules and traditional benefits design that often don’t reflect Indigenous realities, according to leaders at Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services. National labour data highlights the disparity. A Statistics Canada report found the employment rate […]
Employers can improve women’s financial security by recognizing gender differences and improving pension contribution and benefits structures, says Kadie Philp, commissioner and chief administrative officer at the Ontario Pay Equity Commission. To close the gender pension gap, employers need to recognize how different work-life patterns can be for men and women, in addition to making […]
Employers can reinforce the value of their workplace retirement plans by communicating to plan members about the importance of having money later versus money now, according to a new report by the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Pension Centre of Excellence. The report analyzed responses from an NIA survey of 6,000 Canadians […]
Alberta’s Local Authorities Pension Plan and Public Service Pension Plan have launched a new board education program aimed at strengthening governance by equipping trustees with practical, decision-ready knowledge for an increasingly complex pension environment. Developed over two years in collaboration with stakeholders, the program responds to a comprehensive review of board learning needs and reflects […]
Quebec’s finance minister presented an economic update on Tuesday that offered modest savings to taxpayers, as he painted an optimistic picture of the province’s finances heading into an election year. Eric Girard’s update includes decreases to payroll deductions for the provincial pension plan and parental insurance. The reductions, along with adjustments to how personal income […]
Improving participation and engagement in pension savings is a constant challenge for the retirement industry, but experts point to more insistent and consistent tactics around member behaviour. Derek Messacar, associate professor of applied economics, Memorial University Programs that offer tax deductions on savings in designated accounts have, for a long time now, been contested as […]
While the total number of pension plans in B.C. declined to 610 in 2024, overall membership increased by four per cent to 1.34 million members, according to a new report from the BC Financial Services Authority. The decline in the number of plans, from 613 in 2023, was attributed to plan mergers and windups. The […]
Alberta’s Local Authorities Pension Plan is lowering its 2026 contribution rates and providing members with a cost-of living adjustment due to the plan’s strong financial position. Contribution rates for both plan members and employers will decrease by roughly one per cent for next year, with surplus funds making up the difference, according to a press […]
Six in 10 (60 per cent) of global defined contribution plan sponsors say the state of members’ retirement income is the biggest challenge facing DC plans over the next decade, according to a new report by WTW. The report examined nearly 30 global DC plans representing more than US$6.3 trillion in assets under management. It […]
Nearly one in four divorced, separated or widowed U.S. women have less than one month’s worth of retirement savings, compared to fewer than one in 10 men, according to a new survey by PensionBee. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 employees, found following a marital transition, women (43 per cent) are twice as likely […]