An article on Quebec’s incoming framework for variable payment life annuities was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Quebec introducing VPLA regulatory framework 2. BMO corporate employees returning to office four days per week this fall […]
The implementation of variable payment life annuities in Quebec will support employee financial well-being and retirement readiness, while providing a model for other Canadian jurisdictions, says Louis-Bernard Désilets, an associate at Normandin Beaudry. “Currently, there’s approximately $1.5 trillion in retirement savings accumulated in [registered retirement savings plans] and [defined contribution] plans in Canada, with likely […]
For most of the decade since I joined Benefits Canada, it feels like the pension industry has been moving at a snail’s pace. Don’t get me wrong — I have witnessed many substantial (dare I say, exciting) developments in the industry, each one touted as a potential solution to Canadians’ retirement readiness concerns and increasingly […]
While good governance practices must be at the core of any pension plan, intricate frameworks are designed to be proportional to the size of the sponsoring organization, according to Leah Fichter, vice-chair at the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities and deputy superintendent of pensions and executive director of the pensions division at the Financial […]
Rather than a single defined contribution plan sponsor tackling the decumulation dilemma alone, decisions need to be reframed as a decumulation ecosystem, said Nicole Lomax, vice-president and portfolio manager in institutional asset allocation at TD Asset Management Inc. During a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit, she outlined the five decumulation priorities based […]
Implementation of harmonized minimum funding regulations for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans tops the Pension Investment Association of Canada’s list of advocacy priorities in 2025. Currently, DB plan sponsors are operating amid a patchwork of minimum funding regulations across the country, as most provinces have introduced requirements of their own. “A unified ‘going-concern plus’ regime […]
Promoting employee financial awareness and retirement readiness amid the rising cost of living is a priority for the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council in 2025, says Cheldon Angus, co-chair of the CPPLC and chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Civic Employees’ Benefits Program. “More and more these days, employers are prioritizing their financial literacy education for […]
Variable payment life annuities and the impact of gender identity on actuarial standards are among the issues the Canadian Institute of Actuaries is monitoring in 2025, says Simon Nelson, a principal at Eckler Ltd. and chair of the CIA’s pension practice committee. A CIA task force on VPLAs will present its findings early this year, […]
Inspired by the University of British Columbia’s variable payment lifetime annuity option, the Australian Retirement Trust is taking a similar approach to decumulation, which, in turn, may hold lessons for Canadian defined contribution plan sponsors, said Brnic Van Wyk, the plan’s head of asset and liability management, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC […]
During a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Defined Contribution Plan Summit in February, three defined contribution plan sponsors shared their respective decumulation journeys and their thoughts on where the DC plan sector is in terms of effectively supporting this particular phase of plan members’ lives. At ATCO Ltd., roughly 5,500 employees are enrolled across […]