The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities is asking industry stakeholders to weigh in on its proposed changes to funding and asset allocation rules for multi-jurisdictional pension plans. Read: Five provinces enter into multi-jurisdictional pension agreement CAPSA’s consultation paper aims to build an agreement that would clarify how each government’s pension legislation applies to the […]
There’s little doubt that working Canadians want a secure source of retirement income. The challenge for the pension industry is how to deliver the desired retirement income in a sustainable manner. In April 2017, the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council published the results of a survey that provided key takeaways that will be useful to governments, policy-makers […]
In the last few weeks, employees — both current and former — of troubled retailer Sears Canada Inc. have had plenty to worry about after the company announced plans to restructure and then asked for relief from fulfilling its retiree benefits obligations and making special payments to its pension plan as it cut off severance payments to […]
British Columbia’s pension regulator is cracking down on vague termination expense assumptions over fears unrealistic calculations have caused some plans to overstate their solvency ratios. “We’re becoming a little more rigorous in our expectations,” says Michael Peters, the acting superintendent of pensions at the Financial Institutions Commission of British Columbia in Vancouver. Guidance issued […]
Ontario has announced the board of directors for the new financial services regulator it announced in last year’s fiscal update. Bryan Davies, Kathryn Bouey and Judith Robertson will supervise the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and develop a detailed transition plan for it to eventually replace the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. Davies will act as chair of […]
It seems the current pension crisis — whether it be over reform of the Canada Pension Plan or high levels of underfunding among private plans — is always the most significant one yet. But as past issues of Benefits Canada going all the way back to the first one in 1977 show, alarm about the […]
The enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan are problematic and incomplete and won’t do much to improve the retirement income prospects of low-income employees, according to a new study by the Institute for Research on Public Policy. The study, authored by pension consultant Bob Baldwin and statistician Richard Shillington, does acknowledge that the Liberal government […]
Alongside the Ontario government’s announcement earlier this month regarding a new funding framework for defined benefit pension plans in the province, it also said it would require plan administrators to establish written governance and funding policies. This move is one of a number of proposed measures designed to protect benefit security for members of defined […]
By 2050, the six countries with the world’s largest pension systems will have a combined funding gap of $224 trillion largely due to demographic trends, according to a new study by the World Economic Forum. The report found Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States will face significant challenges in providing for their […]
While Ontario’s proposed solvency changes for defined benefit pension plans may help plan sponsors with funding obligations, they may put plan members in a more precarious position, says Michael Mazzuca, a partner in the pension and employee benefits group at Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto. “There’s obviously a suggestion that, in addition to the emphasis on going […]