With the new year underway, recipients of Canada Pension Plan and old-age security benefits are getting a modest increase from the federal government. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, CPP payments will increase by 1.5 per cent for those already receiving benefits. For 2018, the maximum CPP retirement benefit for new recipients age 65 will be $1,134.17 per […]
As 2017 draws to a close, we turn our attention to the new year. As usual, there’s a lot happening in the Canadian pension environment. Below are four pension trends to watch for in 2018. 1. Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan reform The Canada Pension Plan enhancements will be phased in from Jan. 1, 2019, and the Quebec […]
Bankruptcy and its impact on company’s pension plans was a big story in 2017, with Sears Canada Inc. and Stelco Inc. grabbing the most headlines of the year. Benefits Canada rounds up your favourite pension stories of 2017: Sears faces $300M retirement benefit shortfall as retailer seeks CCAA protection 2017 Top 100 Pension Funds Report: The evolution of DB […]
Should Canadians be able to dip into their registered retirement savings plans to help their children buy their first house? The Canadian Real Estate Association certainly thinks so. It recently made a submission to the House of Commons standing committee on finance recommending the idea for the 2018 federal budget, as an extension of the federal government’s […]
Decumulation is a clear and significant concern for the sponsors of capital accumulation plans, the results of Benefits Canada’s 2017 CAP Member Survey show. The annual survey found 61 per cent of plan sponsors would be likely to allow their members to leave their assets within their plans after they retire if regulations allowed. Of […]
Few Canadian employers are tracking the impact of their defined contribution pension plans or measuring their outcomes, according to new research by Willis Towers Watson. It found only 26 per cent of survey respondents measure the retirement readiness of their employees at least every three years, while 30 per cent monitor it periodically and 40 […]
At a meeting in Ottawa on Monday, Canada’s finance ministers agreed in principle to a number of additional features in the Canada Pension Plan enhancement that would help further protect the value of retirement benefits during periods of low or no earnings for parents, persons with disabilities and young widows. The proposed changes are: Further support […]
Despite coming improvements to public pension plans, Canada will still be about 10 percentage points behind the average net replacement rate for the typical worker across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Future OECD average replacement rates for the full-career, average-wage worker will reach 63 per cent, according to the organization’s annual report on pension systems […]
Canadian xennials, those aged 34 to 40, are finding that the pressing expenses of daily life are getting in the way of saving for retirement, according to a new survey by TD Canada Trust. The survey polled Canadians of all ages, including this micro generation between generation X and millennials. It found that 74 per cent of […]
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is taking a more holistic approach to workplace wellness by putting financial fitness on the same pedestal as physical well-being and mental health. “Traditionally, workplaces have focused on physical wellness and dedicated a lot of resources to it at the expense of overlooking the mental and financial aspects of […]