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 […]
With no federal requirement for U.S. employers to offer retirement savings options, individual states are stepping up and delivering meaningful programs. Speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Plan Summit, Michael Frerichs, state treasurer at the Illinois Treasurer’s Office, said the U.S. is facing a retirement crisis and he hopes these government tools can be […]
Amid all of the Canadian industries impacted by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, targeting the production of aluminum shows a misunderstanding of the industry, said Douglas Porter, chief economist and managing director at BMO Financial Group, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Plan Summit on Feb. 28. “Frankly, not to […]
In the early days of Bell Canada’s defined contribution plan, there was a lot of emphasis on information and big campaigns, but at that time, employers were reluctant to get too involved, according to Robert Marchessault, the telecommunications company’s director of pension and benefits, noting it was soon clear its members needed more guidance. Speaking […]
The evolution of pension plans from retirement tools to encompassing flexible savings models that prioritize financial wellness is a defining change over the past 25 years in the defined contribution pension industry, said Wendy Mizuno, senior vice-president of total rewards at Loblaw Companies Ltd, during a panel session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit […]
Increased investment volatility could trigger additional questions on the decisions of Canadian pension funds as governance reviews come into focus, says Level Chan, a partner in the pensions practice at Stewart McKelvey. “Where there’s greater volatility, we could expect that triggering more questions about how pension plans are weathering the storm.” When responding to additional […]
Toronto-based strategic consulting firm Grantbook Inc. is transitioning to an employee ownership trust, inviting its employees to help define their retirement savings model. “It was kind of like a jagged, ragged journey, crunching through the problems for which the answer was an EOT and then finally stumbled on it at the last minute at the […]
While community bonds, an investment asset offered by not-for-profits looking to raise capital for socially conscious projects, are growing in Canada, they don’t match the investment needs of institutional investors, says Rod Lohin, executive director at the Lee-Chin Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. “[Community bonds are] just […]
Natasha Trainor has overseen the pension strategy at NAV Canada for nearly half a decade and she’s made her imprint by adding a novel review process. “We went through an exercise over the past few years of looking at each asset class and coming up with what we called asset class designs,” says the organization’s […]
In the face of uncertainty around the business and political relationship between Canada and the U.S., Canadian institutional investors aren’t considering allocation strategy changes just yet. Kim Hart, principal investment consulting at Eckler Ltd., says immediate discussions with Canadian plan sponsors show they aren’t looking to move away from U.S. investments or to decrease allocations […]