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Amex Canada supporting employee well-being with onsite counselling, enhanced mental-health resources

American Express Canada is supporting employee well-being with onsite counselling and enhanced mental-health resources. Employees can register for free in-office counselling sessions with a registered psychotherapist or virtual sessions with licensed counsellors. The company also upgraded its digital mental-health resources, including access to meditation and breathing exercises via a wellness app. Annette Kingsley, Amex Canada’s […]

  • May 23, 2023 May 23, 2023
  • 09:00

2023 DC Plan Summit: AI insights on financial wellness

Financial stress is impacting Canadians’ mental and physical health, as well as decisions related to their pension plans, said Matt Davison, Western University’s dean of science and principal researcher, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. In an analysis of the National Payroll Institute’s annual survey, Western’s financial wellness lab found respondents’ financial perspectives […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:49

2023 DC Plan Summit: A look at McGill University’s search for a comprehensive decumulation solution

While McGill University has factored decumulation into its pension plan for decades, the plan sponsor is continually fine tuning these strategies for members, said John D’Agata, the university’s director of pension and benefits, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. McGill’s pension plan has more than $1.5 billion in assets and more than 9,500 […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:48

2023 DC Plan Summit: Demystifying what ESG means for DC pension plans

While there’s a lot of noise and confusion around environmental, social and governance factors, it comes down to delivering value for investors in terms of better risk-adjusted returns, said Aaron White, CIBC Asset Management Inc.’s vice-president of sustainable investments, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Part of the confusion around the topic, he […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:47

2023 DC Plan Summit: Exploring secular trends and the impacts on retirement outcomes

Factors such as population demographics, productivity and geopolitics impact economic growth and, by extension, the retirement outcomes of defined contribution pension plan members over longer-term time horizons, said Jon Knowles, senior investment analyst at Fidelity Canada Institutional, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Ageing populations have traditionally been viewed as a dis-inflationary force due […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:46

2023 DC Plan Summit: How PepsiCo Canada is making its savings plan more flexible

PepsiCo Canada’s enhanced defined contribution pension plan is supporting the retirement goals of a very diverse employee population. The company, which employs roughly 11,000 people across its food and beverage divisions, has a wide range of roles, from drivers and warehouse workers to sales employees. While the organization offers multiple pension plans, the majority of […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:45

2023 DC Plan Summit: Mitigating longevity risk key to ensuring income for life for DC plan members

Mitigating longevity risk is key to solving the decumulation challenge, said Pat Leo, Purpose Investments Inc.’s vice-president of longevity retirement solutions, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Referring to a recent survey, he noted defined contribution pension plan members were most concerned about market and sequence risks, while underestimating the impact of longevity risk. […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 5, 2023
  • 08:43

2023 DC Plan Summit: Eight billion reasons why capital investment matters again

With eight billion people consuming the planet’s resources, assets such as clean energy and sustainable agriculture are becoming increasingly important to institutional investors, said John Cook, a senior vice-president portfolio manager and co-lead of the Greenchip team at Mackenzie Investments, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Each year, it takes roughly 13.5 billion […]

  • May 12, 2023 May 16, 2023
  • 08:42

FHSA may work best in conjunction with group RRSP, TFSA

The new first home savings account may work better in conjunction with a group registered retirement savings plan or group tax-free savings account rather than as a stand-alone product, says Eric Monteiro, senior vice-president of group retirement services at Sun Life Financial Inc. “The [FHSA] limit is kind of low — it’s a $40,000 lifetime maximum […]

  • May 3, 2023 May 3, 2023
  • 09:00

How Shopify is supporting employee well-being with additional paid time off

Just like professional athletes, employees have to balance high performance with periods of rest. To this end, Shopify Inc. introduced its Intermission program in 2018 to ensure workers aren’t burning out. “We must feed our mind and body with good input to achieve good output,” says Kelly Dawson, the organization’s global lead for wellness and […]

  • April 14, 2023 April 12, 2023
  • 08:58