The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ latest consultation is seeking feedback on amendments to its guideline No. 8 for defined contribution pension plans, focusing on considerations around decumulation, such as communicating variable benefits, assumptions used in retirement projections and fee disclosure. When it comes to withdrawals from a variable benefits plan, according to the amended guideline, plan administrators […]
The real solution for missing pension plan members is the establishment of a regime that allows plan sponsors to turn over unclaimed balances to a public agency, according to the Pension Investment Association of Canada. “The inability of a plan sponsor to discharge its fiduciary duty for un-locatable members is a function of a public policy […]
The majority of small business owners in Ontario want the government to scrap or delay the Canada Pension Plan enhancements, according to a new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Its survey, which polled 2,065 business owners in the province, found 52 per cent would like to see the government delay the enhancements until a review […]
This series of articles examines some actionable ideas to help plan administrators meet the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ guideline No. 4. Following on from the previous article, which looked at the first five principles of this guideline, this one will cover the next five principles around pension governance. Principle 6: Governance information The sixth principle recommends that […]
As the average income replacement rate for capital accumulation plans continues to trend downwards, can employers mitigate this movement with the Canada Pension Plan’s incoming enhancements? According to a new report by Eckler Ltd., CAP replacement rates fell to a new low at March 31, 2018, settling at 58 per cent for men and 56 per cent for women. These […]
Until recently, Alberta common-law couples that were splitting up couldn’t divide their pension assets, even if both parties wanted to. This changed in April 2018, after the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta heard Lubianesky v. Gazdag. It determined the provision of the Employment Pension Plans Act that prevented such division was unconstitutional. In 2015, two […]
The National Pension Hub is awarding funding to three research projects, focusing on themes like portfolio construction and plan design. The hub, which the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services created in October 2017, is a Canadian centre for pension knowledge and research. One research project, which will be led by Stephen Bonnar, a post-doctoral fellow, and Douglas […]
The federal government has increased the old-age security benefit by 1.2 per cent as of July 1. The change means a single senior receiving OAS and the guaranteed income supplement with no other income may receive $1,728.84 more today than in November 2015. The government also noted that restoring the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS […]
Facing a $10.3-million pension deficit in 2016, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa had some tough decisions to make. It felt that closing its defined benefit plan, converting to a defined contribution arrangement or cutting benefits were all out of the question. But with the Ontario government having enacted regulations in 2015 to permit the […]
Since 2011, Norway’s national pension provider has been calculating the life expectancy of those turning 61 as part of pension reforms introduced at that time. It then factors the calculation into the pension benefits people in that cohort will receive. The National Insurance Scheme, which is the standard public pension Norwegians pay into during their […]