As the federal Conservative Party finally introduced its election platform last week, it included a number of provisions around pension plan solvency and retirement security. If elected, the party said it will mandate that all federally regulated companies report on the solvency of their pension funds. “This will give seniors the confidence that their hard-earned […]
General Electric Co. is freezing its U.S. defined benefit pension plan for about 20,000 employees with salaried benefits, reducing its pension deficit by between US$5 million and US$8 million. The affected employees will cease accruing additional benefits or make employee contributions after Jan. 1, 2021, but benefits accrued until Dec. 31, 2020 will be unaffected. As of the […]
With the federal election about a month away, Canada’s political parties are rolling out their election platforms, making a host of promises to improve health care, employment insurance, the minimum wage and pension legislation. If elected, the Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party and Green Party of Canada are all promising to implement a national pharmacare program. […]
The federal government is reforming the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on Nov. 1, 2019 to enhance retirement security and protect pension plans. As it announced in its 2019 budget in March, the reforms are aimed at making the insolvency process fairer, more transparent and more accessible. Read: Budget 2019: […]
Canadian public companies are increasing the discount rates they use for their defined benefit pension plans, according to a new survey by Morneau Shepell Ltd. The survey of 90 Canadian public companies found the median discount rate — the interest rate the pension plan uses to determine the current value of its anticipated future benefits […]
Canada’s largest publicly traded companies could have eliminated their defined benefit pension deficits five times over with the value of their shareholder payouts in 2017 alone, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “Despite the decline in DB plans, a third of Canada’s biggest companies actually maintain a DB plan of some […]
With Canadians living longer, the country’s pension landscape continuing to evolve and more private sector companies struggling to fund their defined benefit plans, governments across the country are reconsidering their regulations around pension solvency funding requirements. From coast to coast, here’s an update on the latest consultations and amendments. British Columbia In October 2018, the […]
Two organizations representing Canadian pensioners are asking the British Columbia government to reject the recommendations of a recent report by the Ministry of Finance that suggests lowering required pension solvency funding from 100 per cent to 85 per cent. “We actually disagreed with the very objective of the report,” says Marissa Lennox, spokesperson for CARP, formerly the […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is commending Nova Scotia on its proposed changes for improving the province’s pension funding framework. In a letter, the PIAC noted it supports the provision for statutory discharge following an annuity buyout, as well as the province’s move to to reduce the solvency threshold to 85 per cent and enhance pension plan […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans maintained their solvency levels through the second quarter of 2019, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The index, which represents the solvency ratio of a hypothetical plan, reached 106 per cent as of June 30, 2019, an increase from 102 per cent at the year’s outset. The current solvency […]