The Canadian pension risk transfer market reached roughly $6.8 billion in 2025, down from a record $11 billion in 2024, according to a new report by Sun Life Financial Inc. The report found these transactions consisted of risk transfers valued at less than $800 million, noting 115 defined benefit plan sponsors purchased group annuities in […]
While the Canadian pension de-risking market decreased in 2025, many plan sponsors that opted to not shed liabilities last year have simply delayed these plans amid evolving economic conditions, says Mathieu Tessier, vice-president of client relationships and innovation for defined benefit solutions at Sun Life Financial Inc. “The geopolitical and economic situation of the last […]
Laurentian Bank of Canada is buying group annuity contracts to cover the responsibility for pension benefits owed to about 400 retirees, beneficiaries and deferred pension members. The bank says the deal with Canadian insurer Assuris transfers about $60 million in obligations and related assets in connection with its three registered defined benefit pension plans. Read: Fraser […]
The funded status of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan increased on a solvency basis but decreased on an accounting basis during the month of November, according to a new report by Telus Health. The monthly pension index revealed the typical DB plan grew slightly from 107.3 per cent in October to 107.4 per […]
Canadian pension risk transfers reached an estimated transaction volume of $1.7 billion during the third quarter of 2025, according to a new report by Telus Health. The result beat the final transaction volume from the first quarter and second quarter of 2025. However, it fell short of the $2.1 billion recorded in Q3 2024, leading […]
Heightened volatility could make defined benefit pension plan sponsors pause before deciding how to approach the use of favourable financial positions resulting in surpluses. While Canadian DB plan sponsors have been in surplus on a going concern basis for a significant amount of time, many are now facing a surplus situation on a solvency basis, […]
Two shared-risk pension plans for former employees of New Brunswick-based Fraser Papers Inc. are de-risking via annuity buy-in transactions totalling $114 million. A board of trustees overseeing the plans completed the pension risk transfer service transaction with Sun Life Financial Inc. Read: Pension risk transfer market reaching $1.4 billion in first half of 2025: report […]
An article on the how capital accumulation plans are increasing their exposure to private assets was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: How does increased exposure to private assets impact CAP members’ financial health, retirement readiness? Pension […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors have made roughly $1.4 billion in annuity purchases during the first two quarters of the year, according to a new report from Telus Health. At the halfway point of 2025, the pension risk transfer market has seen a considerable slowdown in activity following a record-breaking 2024, which resulted in […]
An article on how plan sponsors can handle lost pension claims was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Expert panel: How plan sponsors can handle lost pension claims 2. Feds increasing pay, retention bonuses for CAF […]