The implementation of variable payment life annuities in Quebec will support employee financial well-being and retirement readiness, while providing a model for other Canadian jurisdictions, says Louis-Bernard Désilets, an associate at Normandin Beaudry. “Currently, there’s approximately $1.5 trillion in retirement savings accumulated in [registered retirement savings plans] and [defined contribution] plans in Canada, with likely […]
It’s a generally recognized fact that institutional investors in the Nordic region pioneered the approach to sustainable investing, including incorporating environmental, social and governance factors. Sweden’s large public pension funds — AP1, AP2, AP3, AP4, AP6 and AP7 — are regulated by a law introduced in the early 2000s stipulating that sustainability needs to be […]
The Office of the Chief Actuary is launching a peer review process for its next actuarial report on the Canada Pension Plan, which is expected to be released in December 2025. As part of the process, the OCA is seeking members for the external peer review panel, with an application form due by July 18, […]
Risk management continues to be one of the hottest topics in the pension industry for a number of reasons, including the uncertainty caused by the current geopolitical and economic climate and the September 2024 release of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ new guideline for risk management for plan administrators. While pension plan administrators […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is recommending a few amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, including the required disclosure to spouses and electronic communications with plan beneficiaries. In a letter to the Department of Finance, the ACPM noted the PBSA currently requires information that’s provided to a plan member or former member — […]
An article on the Association of Canadian Pension Management’s call for modernized pension legislation in Alberta was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. ACPM urging Alberta government to align pension funding, administration rules with other provinces […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is calling on the Alberta government to modernize its provincial pension legislation and align its laws with other Canadian jurisdictions in terms of funding rules, innovation, administration and reducing red tape. In an open letter to Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner, the ACPM outlined several proposed legislative changes, based […]
Seventeen of the largest workplace pension providers in the U.K. have agreed to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution default funds in private markets by 2030, with half of that total allocated to the U.K. The voluntary initiative, known as the Mansion House Accord, will be jointly led by the Association […]
Administering a pension plan involves the accumulation of large amounts of data in the form of documents, filings, reports, emails and letters. At some point, plan administrators who have amassed all this information will ask themselves, “How long do we need to keep these records?” There’s some guidance from pension legislation, as well as pension […]
For most of the decade since I joined Benefits Canada, it feels like the pension industry has been moving at a snail’s pace. Don’t get me wrong — I have witnessed many substantial (dare I say, exciting) developments in the industry, each one touted as a potential solution to Canadians’ retirement readiness concerns and increasingly […]