The Association of Canadian Pension Management is calling on the federal government to take caution in creating any new significant disincentives “that would push more corporations to abandon their DB plans.” In its response to the government’s consultation on enhancing Canadians’ retirement security, the association said the best protection for workers’ and retirees’ pensions is a strong employer. […]
Many defined benefit plans’ funded statuses are in relatively good territory, but with an uncertain investment atmosphere on the horizon, is now a good time for plans to consider taking risk off the table by purchasing an annuity? And for plans looking to de-risk in the future, what considerations are there from an investment perspective? […]
The Corporation of the City of York Employee Pension Plan officially transferred the management of its assets and liabilities to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System plan last week, as part of a broader initiative to transfer four pre-OMERS plans from the City of Toronto to OMERS. The City of York plan was closed to […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada isn’t supportive of providing a super-priority for unfunded pension liabilities and other post-retirement benefits in an insolvency situation. “While we recognize that the intention of such a change would be to enhance retirement security for plan beneficiaries, we believe that overall impact on the retirement income system would be negative,” […]
Three lawsuits were filed in December by the parties seeking the best possible outcome for former Sears Canada Inc. employees with regard to the funding deficit of their defined benefit pension plan. Collectively, the suits were filed by the monitor in the Sears Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings; the Hon. Douglas Cunningham, the litigation trustee appointed by the CCAA court; […]
The largest corporate pension plans in the United States experienced a slight drop in their funded status at the end of 2018 due to the sharp decline in equities, according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson. The study, which looked at the defined benefit pension plans of 389 Fortune 1000 companies, found their pension assets […]
While 2018 ushered in a number of significant changes to Ontario’s pension legislation, including a major revamping of the funding rules for defined benefit plans, additional pending changes are afoot for 2019. Other provinces, such as British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, are also reviewing solvency funding requirements for plans registered in their respective jurisdictions. […]
One of General Motors of Canada Co.’s defined benefit pension plans is fully funded on a going-concern basis. The pension plan for hourly workers posted about $9.3 billion in assets as of its last official financial release in December 2017, according to the Globe and Mail, which received the information from an anonymous source. The assets represent a 101 […]
Canadian taxpayers are providing $22 billion each year to the country’s public sector pension plans by assuming undisclosed investment risks, according to a new report by public policy think-tank the Fraser Institute. In the report, its author Malcolm Hamilton suggested public pension funds view the income they provide to plan members on retirement as 20 […]
Though financial markets were volatile and bond yields dropped, Canadian defined benefit pension plans benefited from higher asset returns in November, with median solvency standing at 100.6 per cent, according to Aon’s monthly survey. Among the plans surveyed, 48 per cent were more than fully funded, down just 0.2 percentage points from the end of […]