Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has agreed to convene a meeting with provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss Alberta’s proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan. The agreement comes after Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy called for the meeting in a letter to Freeland, saying Alberta’s withdrawal could cause “serious harm.” Freeland says any province […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau entered the Alberta pension-exit debate Wednesday, saying the federal government will fight any threat to the stability of the Canada Pension Plan. In an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the prime minister also took her to task for launching the debate in the first place. Smith’s office didn’t immediately […]
Only 17 per cent of U.S. employees aged 50-plus and 23 per cent of retirees are very confident they’ll be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle throughout retirement, according to a new survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in collaboration with the Transamerica Institute. The survey, which polled more than 10,000 U.S. employees, […]
A third (34 per cent) of U.S. women say they don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while a fifth (22 per cent) say they’ve emptied their employer-sponsored retirement account to meet non-retirement expenses, according to a new survey by software company Iralogix Inc. The survey, which polled more than 200 women, found nearly […]
The majority (95 per cent) of U.S. 401(k) plan sponsors say they intend to change their plan design by the end of the year, according to a new survey by Fidelity Institutional. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 employers, found a quarter said they plan to increase their matching contribution (26 per cent) and […]
Diversifying target-date funds by incorporating illiquid assets — such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure — could result in a 0.15 per cent annual increase in return over a decade, according to a recent report by Georgetown University’s Center for Retirement Initiatives in partnership with CEM Benchmarking Inc. The report was authored by Angela Antonelli, a […]
More than two-fifths (43 per cent) of U.S. defined contribution pension plan sponsors say their plan offers automatic escalation, up from 21 per cent in 2013, according to a new survey by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The survey, which polled more than 700 employers, found nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) said they take a proactive […]
Just over half (56 per cent) of Americans feel on track for retirement, an 11 per cent drop in confidence compared to 2022, according to a new survey by BlackRock Inc. The survey, which polled more than 450 large defined contribution pension plan sponsors, 1,200 workplace retirement plan savers, 1,300 independent savers and 300 retired […]
The Fraser Institute’s president says Alberta’s newly elected premier should ride the wave of the United Conservative Party’s election win and move forward with exploring leaving the Canada Pension Plan. In May, Albertans re-elected Danielle Smith, with the UCP securing a majority government. There’s no better time to start the ‘leave’ discussion than now, says Niels […]
Even though it sounds obvious, maximizing retirement income and making it last for life isn’t what drives most retirees when it comes to making decisions — which is contributing to the challenges around decumulation, said Fred Vettese, an author and pension expert, during Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Defined Contribution Plan Summit. “The hurdles we have to […]