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Nearly four years after a global health crisis sparked an enduring spotlight on Canadians’ mental health, employees are increasingly making use of their workplace benefits while employers continue to push the boundaries in the programs and support they offer. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of Canadian benefits plan members used their mental-health benefits in the last […]

  • February 9, 2024 February 8, 2024
  • 08:59

The organization’s chief mental-health officer discusses sharing lived experiences, a new employee and family assistance program and maintaining his own mountain biking trail. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: In a professional services firm, where the demands on people’s time are significant, it can be challenging to find the proper […]

  • February 9, 2024 February 8, 2024
  • 08:53

Since this month’s editorial is my farewell (for just five months) as I prepare for the birth of my second child at the end of 2023, sitting down to write it prompted me to look back at my editorial three years ago when I was getting ready to become a parent for the first time. […]

  • December 15, 2023 December 14, 2023
  • 09:00

The organization’s vice-president of talent acquisition and total rewards discusses promoting careers to equity-deserving communities, a new menopause policy and the stability of joining a defined benefit pension plan. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: One of the organization’s commitments to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture is to […]

  • December 15, 2023 December 14, 2023
  • 08:54

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. Across the globe, geopolitical tensions are more elevated than they’ve been in decades, while the day-to-day lives of average people closer to home continue to be upended by the overarching threats of high inflation and interest rates, as well as the unrelenting cost-of-living crisis. The […]

  • November 17, 2023 November 16, 2023
  • 09:00

While the term decumulation may sound very technical and often leads to confusion among pension plan members, it’s actually quite simple — effectively, it’s the opposite of accumulation. These two terms make up the typical retirement savings journey — the accumulation phase is the working years when capital accumulation plan members put away their nest […]

  • November 17, 2023 November 16, 2023
  • 08:52

Defined contribution pension plan members are currently in a different place, especially the younger generations, who are likely feeling as though their financial priorities don’t line up with workplace pensions the way they did for previous generations. “What I’m getting at here is the idea that retirement saving isn’t the undeniable consensus top priority it […]

  • November 6, 2023 November 2, 2023
  • 07:59

Whether it’s in the magazine, on the website or at our various defined contribution pension plan events, Benefits Canada is regularly writing about how DC plans are evolving. The pension industry has come a very long way in the last few decades. When my parents began their working lives in the early 1970s, they both had defined […]

  • October 13, 2023 October 12, 2023
  • 08:59

Every time I sit down to write my editorial for our annual Women’s Issue, now in its sixth year, the themes these issues highlight for women feel extremely personal to me. This year is no different. In this year’s Cover Story, on page 14, six women between the ages of 22 and 53 shared how […]

  • September 15, 2023 September 14, 2023
  • 09:00

The organization’s manager of national total rewards discusses incorporating ESG into the DEI space, its experience reimbursement program and spending time around B.C.’s lakes and mountains Q: What new programs or initiatives are you looking to implement? A: Since the actions of organizations are deeply intertwined with environmental, social and governance issues, excelling in these […]

  • September 15, 2023 September 14, 2023
  • 08:52