Sun Life Financial has introduced a product designed to lessen longevity risk for companies that offer DB pension plans: longevity insurance.
According to many commentators, the Indalex case turns accepted law on the priority of debtor-in-possession (DIP) and working capital security on its head, and introduces new concerns for employers about how to properly discharge their sometimes conflicting duties under corporate and pension law.
The New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation—which provides investment management services for the province’s public sector pension plans—saw the value of its portfolio decrease by 2.7% for the first six months of fiscal year 2011-2012. John Sinclair, the president and CEO of the corporation, said these types of short-term returns are not unusual given the equity […]
Born in 1946, the first wave of Canada’s baby boom generation will be 65 years old in 2012. If they haven’t saved enough for retirement, it’s too late to start.
Everyone knows why organizations around the world have been closing down their DB pension plans in recent years: in a Sophie’s Choice of sorts, they have opted to reduce risk on behalf of shareholders rather than absorb risk on behalf of employees. A 2003 Morneau Shepell survey confirmed this. The question is whether or not there is a more tangible way to express that risk.
The vast majority of U.S. employers that suspended their 401(k) plan matching contributions during the recent economic downturn have since restored them, according to research by Towers Watson. The study surveyed 260 employers that had suspended their 401(k) matching contributions and found that 75% of respondents have now restored their contributions. Among those employers, 74% […]
Retirement planning will remain a major issue for workers of Quebec-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that don’t offer pension plans. According to the latest SME Confidence Index—Fonds de solidarité FTQ, 54% of Quebec SMEs do not offer pension plans or other forms of contribution to employees’ retirement plans. What is especially striking is that […]
Federal tax rules are preventing many Canadians—especially those in the private sector—from saving enough for retirement, according to a report released by the C.D. Howe Institute and co-authored by James Pierlot, a member of Benefits Canada’s online expert panel. The report, Legal for Life: Why Canadians Need a Lifetime Retirement Saving Limit, says that workers […]
Many public and private employer pension funds have under-reserved for longevity risk, a new report from Swiss Re reveals. The report, Longevity risk and protection for Canada, provides some solutions insurers may wish to think about. The report identifies more than $1 trillion of pension assets and immediate annuity reserves as “at risk” in Canada […]
The market volatility that swept through global equity markets in the third quarter had a severe impact on pension plans, according to RBC Dexia Investor Services. The Canadian pension assets that RBC Dexia tracks fell 5.5% in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2011, sinking year-to-date performance into negative territory at -3.2%. “Ongoing uncertainty over Europe’s […]