After a “Goldlilocks period” of low inflation and economic stability in the 2010s, the coming decades are expected to be marked by a higher cost of living and broader economic turbulence. Defined contribution plan members’ portfolios need to be “structured for this new reality,” said Nicole Lomax, vice-president, director and lead of institutional asset allocation […]
KPMG in Canada is aiming to boost plan member engagement with its retirement savings programs with a host of changes, including a refreshed defined contribution plan investment lineup, a new first home savings account, financial education programming, digital tools and switching record keepers. The changes, launched in early October, stemmed from a review of the […]
Canadian capital accumulation plan members are increasingly allocating their investments to target-date funds, according to a new report by Sun Life Financial Inc. The report analyzed 8,600 employer-sponsored CAPs in Sun Life’s database, representing 7,500 plan sponsors and 1.5 million plan members. It found two-fifths (42 per cent) of CAP members opted for TDFs, representing […]
Benefits Canada celebrated the Defined Contribution Plan Summit’s 25th anniversary by looking at how the world has changed over the last quarter century, the subsequent impact on the pension sector and what’s next for DC pensions. On Feb. 26-28 in Montreal, the 2025 DC Plan Summit highlighted the lessons of the last several decades, putting […]
Over the past 25 years, the pension industry has seen many significant shifts, from defined benefit to defined contribution, from accumulation to decumulation and from education and guidance to financial planning, said Chris Walker, regional vice-president of business development and investment strategy at Desjardins Insurance, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit. […]
An emerging trend in U.S. defined contribution investment strategies is the ‘blend trend,’ which is a target-date solution that allocates to underlying building blocks that are managed both actively and passively. During a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit, Jessica Sclafani, global retirement strategist at T. Rowe Price, shared data from the investment […]
With no federal requirement for U.S. employers to offer retirement savings options, individual states are stepping up and delivering meaningful programs. Speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Plan Summit, Michael Frerichs, state treasurer at the Illinois Treasurer’s Office, said the U.S. is facing a retirement crisis and he hopes these government tools can be […]
Since 2008, when the U.S. enacted legislation allowing target-date funds as the default, total assets in these funds have grown from around US$150 billion to $3 trillion, according to Glenn Dial, vice-president of retirement thought leadership and research at American Century Investments, during a session sponsored by CIBC Asset Management Inc. at Benefits Canada’s 2025 […]
Three-quarters (76 per cent) of Canadian capital accumulation plan sponsors say employees’ financial resilience and retirement readiness are the main reasons they’re modernizing their plan, up from 41 per cent in 2020, according to a new survey by WTW. The survey, which polled more than 150 Canadian employers, found two-thirds (64 per cent) are also […]
The volatile global conditions of the last four years have culminated in a looming economic downturn, impacting defined contribution pension plan sponsors and members alike. On Oct. 3 at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto, the 2024 DC Investment Forum highlighted the various tools and strategies that can help plan sponsors navigate turbulent economic waters […]