Former employees of the now-shuttered Northern Pulp mill in Pictou, N.S., will see their pension fund made whole and fully wound up due to the recent purchase of the company’s woodland assets. The assets secured a buyer at auction for $235 million, which includes enough money to repay the $37 million owed to the union […]
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 independent review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System will examine the unique governance structure of the investment organization. The current structure of the investment organization designates two separate entities with different duties and responsibilities, notes Jordan Fremont, a partner in the pensions and benefits group at Stikeman Elliott LLP. The OMERS Sponsors Corporation […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System recently launched a new hub on its member website dedicated to retirement income sources. The new webpage is designed to support the OMERS’ members on their retirement savings and planning journey, emphasizing the importance of a secure and stable income foundation in retirement. This includes interactive tools to illustrate the […]
Capital accumulation plan members continued to see an uptick in their plan outcome for the second quarter of 2024, as gross income replacement ratios remained at multi-year highs, according to a new report by Eckler Ltd. The consultancy’s latest CAP income tracker found a typical male member retiring at the end of June 2024 achieved […]
Retirement plan members who engage with their plan digitally have an average retirement account balance 230 per cent higher than those who weren’t engaged ($123,800 versus $51,800), according to a new report by Sun Life Financial Inc. The report, which analyzed data from 1.45 million Sun Life group retirement plan members, found employees who were were digitally engaged are also more […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans remained flat in the second quarter of 2024, compared to the previous quarter, according to a report by Mercer. The report, which tracked 450 DB pension plans, found the median solvency ratio was 118 per cent, as at June 28, 2024, the same as at […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has updated its guidance on the roles and responsibilities of pension plan administrators, adding three additional areas for administrators to enhance protection and stability for pension plan beneficiaries. The guidance, which took effect earlier this month, stated an administrator is responsible for all aspects of the administration of the […]
In its newest guidance, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is barring pension plan administrators from registering retroactive adverse amendments that could have a negative impact on plan members or beneficiaries, such as changes in contribution rates, subject to limited exceptions. “What we found coming out of the [coronavirus] pandemic, . . . there was […]
The evolution of artificial intelligence is creating new challenges and investment opportunities for defined contribution pension plan members, said Kathrin Forrest, equity investment director at Capital Group, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC Plan Summit in February. While the technology itself isn’t new, AI has rapidly developed in recent years, exemplified by generative […]