Five years after Ontario’s auditor general uncovered an issue with the way the province was including pension assets in its financial statements, the office is proposing changes related to accounting in defined benefit pension plans. The auditor general’s 2016 annual report revealed a deficit of $5 billion, while the province’s government set the deficit at […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is releasing final interpretation guidance to support the role and responsibilities of pension plan administrators. The guidance, an updated and consolidated version of four previous documents, said the administrator’s role includes responsibility for implementing processes to ensure pension plan risks — such as investment, funding, operational and legal — […]
While solvency funding relief helped Canada’s pension funds withstand the turbulence of 2020, a long-term vision with an eye to a more robust funding framework would offer better support, according to pensions experts. Responding to the crisis, the federal government launched a consultation last fall on measures to alleviate pension solvency funding requirements for defined […]
The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan returned 6.78 per cent in 2020, increasing net assets to $5.519 billion, but falling short of the policy benchmark of 7.96 per cent. The plan did outperform the actuarial assumed rate of return of 5.70 per cent. “Like many pension plans across the country impacted by COVID-19, we saw […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan recently surpassed 400,000 plan members, more than doubling since 2013 when it passed the 200,000 member mark. It added 12,000 new members following the merger of five plans with HOOPP in 2019. In all, membership grew by an additional 100,000 members since 2015 due, in part, to the growing […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is calling on the federal government to reform pension solvency rules while supporting legislation to introduce solvency reserve accounts and variable-payment life annuities. In response to a federal consultation paper, the PIAC said while it supports temporary relief measures amid the current economic climate, it cautioned against an approval […]
With private-sector defined benefit pension coverage declining over the past two decades, the federal government should take more steps to prioritize coverage and benefit adequacy, according to a new consultation paper from the Association of Canadian Pension Management. The paper said solvency funding relief should be a key priority, with options based on factors including […]
The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian pension plans in the S&P/TSX composite index increased from 90.8 per cent to 91.2 per cent during the past 12 months, according to Aon’s pension risk tracker. Aon found the funded status deficit decreased by $200 million, which was driven by asset increases of $18.7 billion and offset by […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is commenting on a consultation from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ actuarial standards board, providing feedback on benefit security, stress testing and windup valuations. In a letter, the PIAC said the meaning and mandated disclosures of benefit security are public policy issues for lawmakers and regulators. “While the views of the [actuarial standards […]
The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities is releasing a consultation draft of revisions to its pension plan funding policy guideline. The guideline provides direction on the development and adoption of funding policies for defined benefit and target-benefit pension plans, including best practices for plan administrators and sponsors. Read: CAPSA updates guidelines on DC plan payout, […]