The Pensions Policy Institute and U.K. consumer advocacy group Which? are teaming up to recommend to the U.K. government that working mothers should receive a top-up to their pensions in an effort to close the pension gender gap. The groups’ analysis found a woman in the U.K. who took time off for childcare responsibilities would put an average […]
Though Trish McAuliffe didn’t know much about pension benefits at the time, they were at the heart of one of her earliest working memories. In the 1980s, McAuliffe was a new employee at General Motors of Canada Co., putting together automobile interiors, when she dutifully joined the picket line during an eruption of labour strife […]
The number of women in Canadian registered pension plans reached a record high of 3.2 million as of January 2018, bringing them up to 50.5 per cent of plan members, according to new data from Statistics Canada. It also found the number of Canadians in registered pension plans surpassed 6.3 million in 2017, increasing by 62,800 members, […]
The market value of Canadian trusteed pension fund assets decreased by 1.3 per cent in Q4 2018 compared to the previous quarter, landing at $1.87 trillion. Yet, on a year-over-year basis, the market value of assets rose by 1.6 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. The strongest area of growth was mortgage […]
The Nova Scotia government is moving forward with changes to its regulatory framework for defined benefit pension plans. The province’s new framework follows a review launched in September 2017 and a summary of feedback released in April 2018. It’s still seeking input on technical issues, identified in the paper, in order to determine the best road forward […]
Since using a single benchmark portfolio to measure a pension plan’s funding status paints a narrow picture, a new report by PBI Actuaries and Consultants looked at four different portfolio types to see how the equity fall off at the end of the year, among other market events, affected different asset mixes. The liability portfolio kept […]
U.K. pension plans could see an easing of their liabilities, based on the latest longevity data from the country’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in its continuous mortality investigation (CMI). The report showed both men and women’s longevity, as of age 65, has decreased by about six months compared to 2017. Indeed, the 2018 version of […]
Wabush Mines pensioners in Newfoundland and Quebec will see some reversal of the pension cuts that went into effect when the operations’ parent company filed for creditor protection in 2015. When Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shuttered Canadian operations, it left the defined benefit pension plan underfunded, subjecting pensioners to a benefits cut of more than 20 per […]
A consultation paper by the U.K. government is considering how defined contribution plans could incorporate more illiquid investments. Specifically, the consultation’s proposals include requiring larger DC plans to set out their policy and current practice for illiquid investments and report on it annually. It also proposed requiring smaller DC plans to conduct a triennial assessment […]
Three-quarters (76 per cent) of U.S. defined benefit plan sponsors with de-risking goals intend to completely divest all of their DB plan liabilities at some point in the future, according to MetLife’ annual pension risk transfer survey. Among all plan sponsors surveyed 10 per cent said they’ll completely divest their plans within the next two years; 24 per […]