B.C. Transit’s Fraser Valley bus drivers are joining the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus pension plan. After a strike action that lasted 124 days earlier this year, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 561 secured a new six-year contract agreement for its 213 members who work in the communities of Abbotsford, Agassiz-Harrison, […]
I’m sitting down to write this on the hottest day so far in 2023. Environment Canada has issued a multi-day heat warning in my region — today, it’s 31 degrees Celsius but feels closer to 40, the humidity is 70 per cent, pressure is 101.3 kilopascal and the UV index is seven. This is the […]
In 2022, Xero sent out a global survey to all of its employees asking them to rank the most important components of its total rewards program, from time off to flexible working policies, salaries to employee benefits. The software company’s Canadian employees ranked health benefits as one of the most important aspects of total rewards. […]
With Canadians’ financial priorities shifting alongside a turbulent economic climate, including inflation levels not seen in decades and a never-ending rise in the cost of living, it isn’t surprising capital accumulation plan members’ commitment to retirement savings is taking a hit. Benefits Canada’s 2023 CAP Member Survey found just 41 per cent of respondents rated […]
Two-fifths (41 per cent) of U.S. employees are cashing out their 401(k) plan savings when they leave a job, with 85 per cent draining their entire accounts, according to a new report by the University of British Columbia, Texas State University and the University of Colorado Boulder. The report, which analyzed data from more than […]
At the beginning of April, the OPSEU Pension Trust made a change to a definition in its plan text that will have meaningful implications for plan members with disabled children who need to continue to rely on their parents into adulthood. The organization expanded the definition of a child eligible for survivor benefits to include […]
In 2022, the typical defined benefit pension plan achieved an investment return of roughly negative 12 per cent. However, due to dramatic increases in bond yields and a subsequent decrease in pension liabilities, many pension plans ended 2022 with the same — or better — solvency funded level that they had at the beginning of […]
With group retirement plans aimed at helping members avoid risks and achieve their savings goals, defined contribution plan sponsors are uniquely positioned to step up and take a more active role in managing risk, said Christine van Staden, regional vice-president of group customer and national accounts business development at Canada Life, during Benefits Canada‘s 2023 […]
While a third of Canadians are very or extremely confident they’ll be able to retire at the age they want to, around 40 per cent are somewhat confident and a fifth say they don’t think they’ll be able to retire at all, according to MFS Investment Management’s 2022 global retirement survey. “Those stats for the […]
With multiple generations in Canada’s diverse labour force, each generation has distinct needs and expectations, with millennials, in particular, creating increasing challenges for plan sponsors. The age group is comfortable talking about finances, but they aren’t saving for retirement, said Maria-José Perea, vice-president of product innovation in group retirement savings at Desjardins Insurance, during Benefits […]