By integrating their benefits and pension plans, employers can fulfill their plan objectives while creating a better experience for plan members, said Christine van Staden, regional vice-president of group customer and national accounts at Canada Life Assurance Co., during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Benefits & Pension Summit. “This is a trend we’re seeing more of in […]
With auto-related accidents contributing to absenteeism and lost workplace productivity, accident prevention is a key component of corporate wellness, said Fernand Vartanian, general counsel and head of corporate development at Onlia Holding Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2021 Benefits & Pension Summit. Traditionally, corporate wellness programs have focused on areas such as mental health, stress management and physical well-being. […]
Employers are applying several lessons from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to their benefits offerings, particularly the importance of employee well-being and access to virtual health care, says Marie-Josée Le Blanc, a partner and innovation leader at Mercer Canada. “Before the pandemic, there were two types of organizations: those that were doing more to support well-being […]
Canada’s pension plan sponsors have a fiduciary responsibility to consider climate change in their financial decisions, according to Randy Bauslaugh, counsel for pensions and benefits and executive compensation at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, during a webinar hosted by the Canada Climate Law Initiative and the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute. “The failure of plan administrators and […]
While the rates of drug and disability claims are returning to their pre-pandemic levels, employers are still contending with the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their benefits plans. Following the declaration of the pandemic in March 2020, there was a subsequent surge in drug claims attributed to medication stockpiling, said Frédéric Leblanc, strategic advisor […]
Lafarge Eastern Canada’s new employee wellness program is highlighting the importance of mental and physical health amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “It was always my intention to promote wellness through my communications, but when the pandemic happened, it was really the time to focus on this,” says Jessica Assaf, manager of corporate communications for Lafarge […]
The Universities Academic Pension Plan is withdrawing control of its $2.7-billlion public equities portfolio from the Alberta Investment Management Corp. The withdrawal comes following ongoing discussions at the UAPP about the AIMCo’s public equities strategy and the investment manager’s volatility trading program that was wound down in 2020, says Geoffrey Hale, chair of the UAPP’s […]
When Algonquin College decided to streamline its absence management process in 2019, it was important to partner with a provider that would go beyond merely adjudicating files and deliver a touchpoint for employees. The school quickly found that partner in Morneau Shepell Ltd., which was already providing ad-hoc absence management services to Algonquin, says Jessica […]
While a national pharmacare program is yet to be revealed by the federal government, any future plan should contain provisions for all costly treatments and not just rare diseases, says Jennifer Schmidt, a principal at Mercer Canada. Read: Federal budget highlights national childcare system, extension of pandemic subsidies This week’s federal budget announcement contained only […]
Rising incomes and technological change in the emerging economies present considerable investment opportunities for investors with longer-term horizons. Investments in emerging markets weren’t spared the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic. But the ongoing crisis has had uneven effects, with economies and sectors reporting widely-varying results while revealing important lessons for investors in 2021 and […]