Plan sponsors in the U.S. that suspended or reduced employer-matching contributions are reinstating them or increasing their levels by 2021, said a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. According to the survey, 60 per cent of plan sponsors said they intend to match their members’ contributions at the same level as they were prior to their suspension or […]
The Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada is the latest organization joining the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus pension plan. The benchmarking collaborative, formerly known as Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative, established itself as an employer earlier this year and is now providing its employees with CAAT’s defined benefit pension plan retroactive to Oct. 1, 2020, said a […]
During the virtual 2020 Defined Benefit Investment Forum on Thursday, the Canadian Investment Review announced the winners of its inaugural Pension Leadership Awards. The winners are: Investment governance award — Concordia University pension plan Sustainable investing award — Bâtirente Chief investment officer of the year — Julie Cays, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan DC investment […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is commenting on a consultation from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ actuarial standards board, providing feedback on benefit security, stress testing and windup valuations. In a letter, the PIAC said the meaning and mandated disclosures of benefit security are public policy issues for lawmakers and regulators. “While the views of the [actuarial standards […]
The Toronto Transit Commission Pension Fund Society has been reminded of the importance of liquidity during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Sean Hewitt, the fund’s chief executive officer, during a virtual roundtable hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Thursday. “COVID-19 was a really interesting test study in liquidity,” he said, noting the TTC plan […]
Morneau Shepell Ltd. is appointing Gavin Benjamin as partner in its retirement solutions business. With more than 30 years of experience in the pension industry, he was most recently senior director of retirement and actuary at Willis Towers Watson. As a consulting actuary, he advises plan sponsors on all aspects of pension plan management, including design, […]
Despite the low interest rate environment, it still makes sense for defined benefit pension plan sponsors to adopt a liability-driven investment strategy, said Serge Lapierre, global head of LDI at Manulife Investment Management, during a webinar it sponsored on Monday. LDI investing is a risk management framework, he noted. “It’s not an asset class or a […]
Defined benefit plan sponsors can’t predict the future — but with a provision for adverse deviation, they can at least plan for it. “Given the work that actuaries do, where it’s all about quantifying risks and all these unknowns, it’s always best to be conservative,” says Andrew Gillies, partner and consultant at Robertson, Eadie & […]
For years, a major public sector pension governance time bomb has been hidden in plain sight. But it may be too late to alert the bomb squad; the coronavirus pandemic and climate change may have already activated a countdown that can’t be stopped. Investment management is a key component of sustainability and central to any pension governance […]
Alberta’s Local Authorities Pension Plan is cancelling its coordination option, citing regret and confusion from plan members who mistakenly accessed the feature without fully understanding the financial implications. According to a statement by the LAPP, coordination will be discontinued for members who start their pension on or after Jan. 1, 2021. It noted the option’s elimination will […]