The Pension Investment Association of Canada will concentrate its legislative advocacy efforts on funding reform in 2024, including for an overhaul of long-term, minimum funding regulations for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans, said David Lawson, the PIAC’s new chair. In an emailed statement to Benefits Canada, he said as DB plan sponsors continue to face […]
As the objectives of defined benefit pension plans have evolved, so too have institutional investors’ reasons for including fixed income allocations in a portfolio, from adding diversification and offsetting negative returns in equity to liquidity management and capital preservation, said Ashwin Gopwani, managing director and head of retirement solutions at Sun Life Capital Management, during the Canadian Investment […]
An article on how employers can support employees with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. How employers can help employees with ADHD be engaged, productive 2. FSRA’s proposed rule could increase fairness in division of pension benefits during marriage […]
The funded ratio of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans in the U.S. dipped from 104 per cent at the end of October to 103 per cent as of Nov. 30, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest public pension funding index. It found as rates fell from 6.2 per cent in October to 5.55 per cent […]
The average projected solvency ratio for Ontario defined benefit pension plans increased slightly to 117 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, with more than three-quarters of plans projected to be fully funded, according to a new report by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. While the percentage of DB plans projected to have […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging the Ontario government to ensure its proposed rules for multi-employer target-benefit pension plans don’t undermine existing incentives that enable employers to create and maintain workplace pension plans. In an open letter, the ACPM said it believes the provision for adverse deviation will overly restrict the ability of MEPP trustees to manage […]
The average Canadian pension plan’s funded ratio reached 120 per cent as of March 31, 2023, up one per cent over the quarter, while the average going-concern solvency ratio was 111 per cent, up four per cent, according to a new report by Normandin Beaudry. The report attributed these increases to the strong performance of financial […]
An opinion piece on how certain aspects of the Quebec government’s rules and constraints on private drug plans affect pharmacy costs was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. 1. Sounding Board: Why do Quebec’s private drug plans pay higher pharmacy fees? 2. Custodial, maintenance workers at TMU striking over pension contribution increase 3. Half of Canadian benefits providers […]
When two U.S. banks failed this month, among the investors who lost millions were U.S. public sector pension funds responsible for ensuring the retirements of teachers, firefighters and other government workers. Since the pension funds are diversified investors whose holdings in Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were small portions of their portfolios, experts aren’t […]
The aggregate funded percentage of U.S. multi-employer pension plans dropped to 79 per cent in 2022, from 91 per cent in 2021, according to a new report by consulting firm Milliman Inc. It found the decrease was largely the result of significant investment losses during 2022, despite the first wave of special financial assistance funding […]