With the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Co., Kraft Heinz Canada was left with a “mixed bag” of savings and retirement programs. It’s goal for a new streamlined program was a mandatory base plan and a voluntary component with 100 per cent employee participation. “It was important for us to come together […]
Providing tools to help defined contribution pension plan members make solid financial decisions rather than making the decisions for them was the impetus for Canadian Forest Products Inc.’s multi-year financial wellness program, according to Lisa Weber, the company’s pension and benefits advisor, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 DC Plan Summit. Since Canfor closed […]
The much-deserved, overdue and rising attention bestowed on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace over the last couple of years is a win-win for employers and employees — but it’s vital that a DEI focus goes beyond ideas and words and translates into action. Benefits Canada is seeing action across the industry, by benefits […]
By introducing gender affirmation and fertility benefits coverage, DuPont Canada is aligning its benefits plan with its multinational diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. It all started with an informative webinar and Kelly Desautels’ own personal experience. In July 2021, the organization’s human resources leader was invited to a lunch and learn session on LGBTQ2S+ perspectives […]
Highlighting the power of the mind to overcome physical obstacles, Silken Laumann, four-time Olympic rower and founder of the charity Unsinkable, shared the struggles she faced after an injury during a warmup for the 1992 Summer Olympics. “I was the No. 1 ranked rower in the world,” she said during the closing session of Benefits […]
As the days grow warmer and Canada’s gradual seasonal shift steers toward spring, employers across the country are finally implementing their longstanding and much-delayed plans for returning to in-person offices or worksites — despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is deep into a sixth wave. It’s important to recognize that the workplaces we’re returning […]
As employers increasingly customize their human resources, benefits and pension communications campaigns, how are these methods connecting with employees? Long gone are the days of chunky tomes of group benefits and pension information. Once the norm, those pages and pages of minutiae have gradually been replaced by more personalized and targeted communications. “Direct communication is […]
Earlier this year, I received an email from a Canadian National Railway Co. employee who had recently learned their defined benefit pension plan was winding up and they’d be moved into a defined contribution plan. According to the plan member — who will remain anonymous — CN closed the DB plan to new hires more […]
In 2021, Foresters Financial redesigned its retirement and benefits plans to be more flexible, relevant and competitive, modernizing the plans with the recognition that employees have varying financial priorities. “Overall, we have a very diverse employee base,” says Ken Adams, the financial services company’s vice-president of total rewards. “Someone who is a few years out […]
With two of Ontario’s government parties promising to develop portable benefits plans, it’s important to remember that plan sponsors need the freedom to design and price their benefits packages, as well as stability in terms of government processes, says one expert. “Plan sponsors are already delivering programs to a large proportion of the workforce and […]