While Blair Richards understands why the industry is moving away from defined benefit pension plans, he worries about what may be lost in the process. When Richards — the chief investment officer at the Halifax Port ILA/HEA pension plan — joined the institutional investor 40 years ago, DB plans were an attractive hiring and retention […]
While the term decumulation may sound very technical and often leads to confusion among pension plan members, it’s actually quite simple — effectively, it’s the opposite of accumulation. These two terms make up the typical retirement savings journey — the accumulation phase is the working years when capital accumulation plan members put away their nest […]
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors that are considering winding up their plans or converting them to another framework following the federal government’s super-priority bill have more innovative options, according to Mitch Frazer, managing partner at Mintz LLP, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. Although Bill C-228, which received royal assent at the end […]
With the coronavirus pandemic and rising inflation causing economic uncertainty, capital accumulation plan sponsors are looking for new ways to help their members feel secure and get the most out of their savings plans. Benefits Canada asked CAP sponsors and other industry experts what’s on their wish lists to make these plans more effective and engaging […]
As a new year dawns, our attention turns to what’s ahead, the following are a few of my predictions for trends in the world of pensions in 2022. Volatility We’re entering the year in an environment of considerable economic and financial market uncertainty. Supply chain problems, elevated price inflation and labour shortages in certain industries […]
Among all the legal issues facing DC plan sponsors and administrators, questions around contribution errors is top of mind. “The industry has been speaking with [the Department of] Finance Canada on the tax side to see what can be done to help support us in fixing these errors,” said Susan Nickerson (pictured, left), a partner […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is calling on the federal government to reform pension solvency rules while supporting legislation to introduce solvency reserve accounts and variable-payment life annuities. In response to a federal consultation paper, the PIAC said while it supports temporary relief measures amid the current economic climate, it cautioned against an approval […]
The federal government is consulting on potential solvency funding relief options for 2021 and measures to further strengthen the framework for federally regulated pension plans. About seven per cent of private pension plans in Canada are federally regulated, such as those in industries like banking, telecommunications and inter-provincial transportation, noted a press release from the […]
The federal government is publishing a consultation paper on potential solvency funding relief options for 2021 and measures to further strengthen the framework for federally regulated pension plans. The announcement follows the government’s commitment in its 2019 budget to enhance the security of workplace pension in the event of corporate insolvency. The budget proposed the following measures: Requiring […]
The Global Risk Institute is bringing together experts from various institutions to build a roadmap for implementing variable payment life annuities to achieve lifetime income for retirees in response to growing concerns of outliving retirement savings. Canadians are living longer, but with this longevity, they’re also watching their workplace pension coverage decline, noted a press […]