Even before the coronavirus pandemic, employers were predicting challenges around meeting the demands of unfilled roles in the skilled trades. For the last decade, the trades workforce has been gradually ageing out. Now, tradespeople are retiring at unprecedented rates and it isn’t slowing down. While businesses in the sector have traditionally attracted employees with certain […]
In its 2023 budget on Tuesday, the federal government proposed roughly $13 billion over the next five years and $4.4 billion ongoing to fully implement the national dental-care program. The plan — to be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator — will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual […]
The union representing employees at Ontario-based flooring company Gesco Ltd. Partnership has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes retirement and paid leave gains. The company will now match all regular employees’ contributions to the group registered retirement savings plan to a maximum of four per cent of their basic annual earnings. The agreement also […]
The median 401(k) account balance for women is 65 per cent lower compared to men, according to a new survey by T. Rowe Price. The survey, which polled roughly 3,900 401(k) plan members and more than 1,100 retirees, found the median annual contribution for women was 43 per cent less than men. It also found women are […]
A British Columbia court has dismissed an appeal of a Supreme Court of B.C. decision that upheld the B.C. Credit Union Employers’ Pension Plan’s choice to increase its normal retirement date to age 65 from age 62. In its decision, the court found the appeal — brought by a group of plan members — alleged […]
After reaching a near 40-year high over the past year, headline inflation started to cool in the final months of 2022 following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index was up 6.3 per cent year over year in December, down from a […]
Traditionally, Chinese workers have relied on two pillars of income in retirement — the basic state pension and employer-sponsored plans open to employees in certain sectors. However, in late 2022, the Chinese government poured some concrete into the mould of a third pillar, unveiling the details of a previously announced private pension scheme. Under the […]
Spain’s left-wing government won the backing of unions to reform the nation’s public pension system on Wednesday, in stark contrast with neighbouring France, where plans to raise the retirement age have led to waves of strikes and mass protests. The leaders of Spain’s two main labour unions, UGT and CC.OO., appeared alongside Minister of Social Security […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is encouraging the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities to prioritize decumulation in its draft 2023-2026 strategic plan. In an open letter to the CAPSA, the ACPM recommended the strategic plan address all potential decumulation income sources beyond defined contribution pension assets, noting that, while a focus on these […]
Ontario-based pension plan sponsors can help reduce the number of missing plan members by examining their communications strategies and maintaining best practices in record keeping and data management, says Caroline Blouin, executive vice-president of pensions at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. “As an employer, there is an opportunity to provide some education and […]