With Bill C-15 receiving royal assent, the federal government is moving forward with pension reforms that allow thousands of frontline workers to retire after 25 years of service without penalty, according to a press release by the Public Service Alliance of Canada. This reform was first confirmed in the 2025 federal budget. The changes amend the Public Service […]
Financial stress is an ever-present concern for many employees — among women, it’s even more pronounced. A survey by the Financial Resilience Institute found almost two-thirds (72 per cent) of women said money worries cause them emotional stress, eight percentage points higher than men, while 71 per cent of Canadian women are stressed about not […]
Employers can remove friction from benefits and pension plan design by encouraging ease of use, communications and reducing decision fatigue, according to a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s inaugural Women’s Health & Wealth Summit. According to the 2025 Employee Savings Survey, women were less likely than men to describe their financial health as excellent or […]
The federal government is proposing amendments to pension regulations aimed at increasing flexibility for plan members and improving retirement security. The proposed changes would allow members of federally regulated defined contribution pension plans who receive variable benefits to unlock up to 50 per cent of their pension funds within the plan. This would align their options […]
A third of U.S. plan sponsors say they’re very or extremely confident in their participants’ ability to retire at their target age, up from just 18 per cent one year ago, according to a new survey by MFS Investment Management. The survey, which polled more than 150 U.S. defined contribution pension plan sponsors, found their […]
EY Canada is supporting employee well-being by expanding its list of reimbursable wellness expenses and introducing a series of financial education seminars. Employees can now be reimbursed for purchases such as mattresses, pillows, board games and Lego kits, as well as classes and supplies for personal enrichment including cooking, music, photography, languages and mindfulness. Workers […]
Canadians’ outlook on retirement has dropped over the last decade, with 82 per cent having a positive attitude 10 years ago compared to 71 per cent last year, said Peter Bowen, vice-president of tax and retirement at Fidelity Investments Canada, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Summit. Sharing the results of […]
While more than half (52 per cent) of workplace savings plan members count on the plan as their main source of retirement income, both men (16 per cent) and women (12 per cent) overstated their account balances, according to Sun Life’s latest survey of 1,900 plan members. Sharing the survey results at Benefits Canada’s 2026 […]
During a recent transition between record keepers, KPMG in Canada focused on keeping communications with employees human and simple, including what to say, when to say it and how to measure confidence. “It wasn’t just a record-keeper change,” said Christine McCloskey-Bruno (pictured right), senior total rewards manager, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2026 Defined […]
Understanding retirement savers’ views, concerns and points of stress related to their financial lives allows the industry to build investment solutions and craft communications strategies that are more likely to resonate and be more impactful, according to Jessica Sclafani, global retirement strategist at T. Rowe Price, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2026 Defined Contribution […]