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, […]
Despite the low interest rate environment, it still makes sense for defined benefit pension plan sponsors to adopt a liability-driven investment strategy, said Serge Lapierre, global head of LDI at Manulife Investment Management, during a webinar it sponsored on Monday. LDI investing is a risk management framework, he noted. “It’s not an asset class or a […]
Defined benefit plan sponsors can’t predict the future — but with a provision for adverse deviation, they can at least plan for it. “Given the work that actuaries do, where it’s all about quantifying risks and all these unknowns, it’s always best to be conservative,” says Andrew Gillies, partner and consultant at Robertson, Eadie & […]
The solvency ratio of Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans jumped four per cent in the third quarter of 2020, according to an update by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. The increase is further evidence that market recovery is well underway since the coronavirus pandemic rocked the world economy in early 2020, noted the […]
The federal government is publishing a consultation paper on potential solvency funding relief options for 2021 and measures to further strengthen the framework for federally regulated pension plans. The announcement follows the government’s commitment in its 2019 budget to enhance the security of workplace pension in the event of corporate insolvency. The budget proposed the following measures: Requiring […]
In January 2020, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries released final changes to the actuarial standards of practice for calculating commuted values, with the changes scheduled to come into effect on Dec. 1, 2020. The changes will affect the lump-sum amounts paid from many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in situations such as: the termination of employment of […]