While medications used for treating inflammatory disease accounted for just 0.7 per cent of claims across Telus Health’s Canadian block of business in 2021, they represent the largest percentage of eligible drug costs at 12.6 per cent, due to the prevalence of high-cost treatments in this drug class. By comparison, diabetes medications accounted for 12 […]
Scotiabank is marking Pride Month by setting new targets for LGBTQ2S+ representation and connecting employees with volunteering opportunities in a range of communities. Dominic Cole-Morgan, senior vice-president of total rewards with responsibility for diversity and inclusion, says the bank is working toward a representation target of seven per cent in Canada by 2025, noting the […]
As the move away from traditional defined benefit plans continues and intensifies, Canada’s multi-employer pension plans are providing employers with another retirement savings option for their employees. And despite facing a number of challenges, from industries in decline to legislative obstacles, MEPPs continue to attract plan sponsors from across the country. Read: Canadian MEPPs facing challenges […]
The economic impact of the pandemic has been unevenly distributed across various industries, with travel and transportation among the hardest-hit sectors. However, while travel restrictions and subsequent employee layoffs in these industries made headlines throughout 2020 and 2021, the pension plans provided by these employers have largely weathered any economic fallout. The impact on air […]
Canada’s pension plans are weathering the coronavirus pandemic, with many plans currently in their best financial shape in several years. The early days of the pandemic painted a bleak picture for institutional investors. Between Feb. 19 and March 23, 2020, the S&P/TSX composite index dropped by 37 per cent — the latter date marking the index’s lowest point […]
With Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans in their best financial shape since 2009, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is advising plan sponsors and administrators to better prepare for the future. “They need a good sense of investment policies as well as how the plan itself may be affected [by different scenarios],” says Lester […]
The Toronto-Dominion Bank is enhancing its benefits offerings in 2022 with expanded family planning coverage. The bank’s benefits program is now covering fertility and reproductive treatments and offering support for surrogacy or donor costs and adoption costs, with a $20,000 lifetime maximum for each benefit, says Melanie Burns, TD’s senior vice-president of human resources and talent […]
The shift to hybrid and remote work models during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is one of several issues impacting pension plan and group benefits administrators in 2022, said Michael Wolpert, a pensions and benefits lawyer at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, during a webinar on Jan. 13 hosted by the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute. Specifically, […]
A high-profile fraud case and a devastating oil spill directly inspired Maria Elena Drew to focus on environmental, social and governance factors in her investment career. During her session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2021 Investment Innovation Conference, the director of research in responsible investing at T. Rowe Price said she began her ESG journey […]
Commuting can be a pain point for some employees returning to the office, so a Victoria, B.C.-based software company is considering several ways to incentivize employees to come into the workplace. Redbrick is rolling out a $500 incentive that employees can use towards bicycles and cycling gear to encourage physical wellness and to offset the cost […]