Whether plan sponsors expect a bear or a bull market in 2018, if they’re in a position to de-risk their pension plan, they should do it now, according to two investment consultants who spoke at an event in Toronto on Thursday. “From our perspective, if you look at the world over the last six years, […]
Plan sponsors and administrators finally have guidance on Quebec’s supplemental pension plan legislation, two years after initial amendments on Jan. 1, 2016. The regulations, which came into force on Jan. 4, 2018, don’t differ significantly from the draft version circulated for consultation last summer. The key features address annuity purchases, funding policies and variable benefits. Read: New pension […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries has responded to Nova Scotia’s consultation on a new defined benefit pension funding framework, including how a target-benefit funding model could be linked to an enhanced going-concern funding model. The province’s consultation, which began in September 2017, put forward a number of options for a new framework, including: maintaining the current solvency funding standard […]
Almost all Canadian middle-class families will see more money coming off their paycheques by the time changes to the Canada Pension Plan take full effect, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. The report, released today, includes both the portion of CPP contributions paid by the employer and the employee in its calculations and accounts for the full […]
Organizations representing Canada’s veterans say the government’s announcement of the long-awaited lifelong disability pensions has failed to live up to the Liberal’s election promise. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan unveiled the new pensions in December, but the National Council of Veteran Associations and the War Amps of Canada are contending that they’ll have limited applicability to a majority of disabled […]
With 2017 coming to a close and 2018 on the horizon, professionals in the pension, investment, benefits and human resources industries have a number of dates to add to their calendars for the new year. Jan. 1: Ontario’s new youth pharmacare program takes effect. It will provide universal coverage of all medicines listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit […]
As 2017 draws to a close, we turn our attention to the new year. As usual, there’s a lot happening in the Canadian pension environment. Below are four pension trends to watch for in 2018. 1. Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan reform The Canada Pension Plan enhancements will be phased in from Jan. 1, 2019, and the Quebec […]
Bankruptcy and its impact on company’s pension plans was a big story in 2017, with Sears Canada Inc. and Stelco Inc. grabbing the most headlines of the year. Benefits Canada rounds up your favourite pension stories of 2017: Sears faces $300M retirement benefit shortfall as retailer seeks CCAA protection 2017 Top 100 Pension Funds Report: The evolution of DB […]
With the pension woes at Sears Canada Inc. in the spotlight, the political parties have been busy touting their solutions to the defined benefit conundrum. This fall, parliamentarians from both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party put forth private members’ bills aimed at boosting the priority of pension obligations during bankruptcy and restructuring […]
Ontario has published a description of its new funding framework for defined benefit pension plans, including details on how the provision for adverse deviations will work under new going-concern rules. Under the proposed new funding framework, the provision for adverse deviation — a percentage used to determine additional contributions in respect of the normal cost and going-concern […]