According to MFS Investment Management’s Sean Kenney, his three sisters would all fall within the same target-date age cohort, but their lifestyles and retirement goals are completely different. His oldest sister, married with three kids, makes a middle-class income, doesn’t have a lavish lifestyle and loves being at home. Kenney’s twin sister, single with no […]
While integrating private assets into target-date funds can give plan members income-generating and diversification benefits at an attractive risk profile relative to traditional asset classes, these assets aren’t without complications, said Brett Goldstein, senior vice-president and head of asset allocation portfolio management at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. Speaking during Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Investment […]
While roughly half of Canada’s provinces now provide some form of public coverage for fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization, the cost is still too prohibitive for many people. Employers are starting to help bridge the gap, “but there’s definitely still room for improvement,” said Tara Wood, principal of Purpose PR and co-founder of Fertility […]
Balancing benefits plan sustainability against meeting the evolving needs of employees continues to keep Canadian plan sponsors up at night. “I think since COVID we’ve seen such a shift in expectations [around] work-life balance, a focus on [diversity, equity and inclusion] and mental health,” said Laura Carter (pictured left), associate director of benefits at the […]
Canadian plan sponsors are consistently underestimating the share of their employees living with at least one chronic condition, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. While three in five (59 per cent) plan members reported having at least one chronic condition, plan sponsors estimated that an average 38.5 per cent of their workforce had […]
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of plan members are open to receiving personalized communications about their health from their benefits plan provider, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. This is up from 66 per cent in 2018, when the question was first asked. The question clarified that the respondent’s employer wouldn’t be aware […]
Three in five (60 per cent) plan members would choose an extra $10,000 in cash per year over their benefits plan, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. The survey asked half of 1,000 plan member respondents whether they’d rather receive their benefits plan or an extra $5,000 in cash per year, while the […]
A record number of benefits plan members are dealing with extreme levels of daily stress, according to the 2025 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. The 27th edition of the survey, which polled 1,000 Canadian group benefits plan members and 500 plan sponsors earlier this year, found two in five (39 per cent) members said they experience […]
The costs associated with mental-health stress and psychosocial risks are extremely high — in Canada, they amount to about $50 billion in direct costs and $500 billion in indirect costs, according to Maude Villeneuve (pictured right), coordinator and relief research chair in mental health, self-management and work at Laval University, during a session at Benefits […]
With more than 70 per cent of individuals who use alcohol or illicit drugs actively employed, addiction is present in the workplace and has consequences for these individuals, their colleagues and their employers, according to Stephanie Ipavec-Levasseur, director of product development and group insurance at Desjardins Insurance. During a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Mental […]