Rising rates of chronic illness among younger people and women are changing the picture of chronic disease in Canada, according to Sun Life data. Forty-five per cent of Canadians now live with a chronic disease, said Alexandra Dalkie, the insurer’s director of ePharmacy, during Benefits Canada’s 2026 Chronic Disease at Work conference. While older Canadians […]
Mental and physical health care have long been treated as separate silos, but there’s a growing recognition in the benefits industry that an integrated, personalized care experience can improve health outcomes, manage chronic disease and reduce “ballooning health spend,” according to Matthew Chow (pictured right), chief mental health officer at Telus Health. “We’re moving employee […]
Democratic nations are facing a host of monumental challenges, including a shifting world order, the rapid spread of misinformation, an aging population and a rapidly warming world. Time is of the essence for Canada to mitigate the impacts of these mega trends, said Andrew Coyne, political journalist with the Globe and Mail, in the keynote […]
With target-date funds now a dominant investment vehicle in Canada’s defined contribution pension landscape, the glide path is the primary determinant of plan members’ outcomes in retirement, according to Farzan Qureshi (pictured left), director of institutional business development, client relationships for Sun Life Global Investments Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Investment Forum. Glide […]
After a “Goldlilocks period” of low inflation and economic stability in the 2010s, the coming decades are expected to be marked by a higher cost of living and broader economic turbulence. Defined contribution plan members’ portfolios need to be “structured for this new reality,” said Nicole Lomax, vice-president, director and lead of institutional asset allocation […]
Inconsistency in public health care and private benefits coverage for vision care could be keeping many Canadians from getting their eyes checked regularly, according to Tracy Weng, an optometrist and clinical consultant at Specsavers Canada, during Benefits Canada’s 2025 Toronto Benefits Summit. About 60 per cent of Canadians have private insurance and, among that group, […]
With many Canadian employers likely to have employees go on leave related to cancer, one survey suggests they need guidance on how to support those plan members before, during and after their leave, according to Julie Holmes, senior advisor for disability management at Desjardins Insurance, during Benefits Canada’s 2025 Toronto Benefits Summit. The survey, by […]
As more Canadian employers introduce return-to-office mandates, remote work opportunities remain a sought-after perk by plan members, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. Four in five (84 per cent) plan members said they expect their employer to support their health and well-being outside of offering a benefits plan. Asked to select the three […]
A fifth (22 per cent) of plan sponsors said their organization has seen an uptick in benefits fraud, either by plan members, service providers or organized crime, according to the 2025 Benefits Healthcare Survey. During a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Toronto Benefits Summit last week, Lancelot Lambert, regional vice-president of Ontario and Atlantic […]
Women’s mental health has historically been underfunded and under-researched, with just three per cent of neuroscience and psychiatry studies between 2009 and 2019 conducted exclusively in females, compared to about 30 per cent in males, according to research cited by Manulife Canada’s Georgia Pomaki during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Mental Health Summit. Yet, […]