Home Kelsey Rolfe

Webinar: Meeting the growing demand for mental-health services caused by the pandemic

Eight months into the coronavirus pandemic, employees continue to face a myriad of stressors, including health anxiety, isolation, financial concerns, family issues and increased workloads. This prolonged stress is impacting sleep, energy and motivation, while driving a heightened demand for mental-health services and medication. “If you think of a classic disaster, . . . [like] an […]

  • November 13, 2020 November 13, 2020
  • 09:00

The challenges of the outsourced chief investment officer model

Over the last 20 years, managing a pension plan has looked a little like riding a roller coaster — with the 2001 technology bubble, 2008/09 financial crisis and the recent coronavirus market volatility providing sudden, gut-wrenching drops that can draw a scream from even the heartiest of souls. “From an investment standpoint, we’ve been in […]

  • October 16, 2020 March 3, 2021
  • 08:54

What’s the latest on benefits, retirement advisor fee disclosure?

When the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association rolled out its proposed compensation disclosure guideline in January 2018, it quickly inflamed tensions with group benefits and retirement advisors. The guideline, G19, stipulated that all of the CLHIA’s insurer members begin disclosing to plan sponsors the fees, commissions and bonuses they paid to advisors. Facing backlash […]

  • October 16, 2020 March 3, 2021
  • 08:51

How are insurers using block-level contract amendments to control drug costs?

An upcoming Sun Life Canada drug plan change that will be implemented outside of plan sponsors’ renewal periods is calling attention to the practice of block-level contract amendments. Sun Life is set to implement the first phase of its reference drug program on Oct. 1, which the insurer says will help plan sponsors with drug plan sustainability by creating categories […]

  • September 28, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:15

A look at the investment variables of variable benefits

Since retirees and active plan members are fundamentally different, should their investment options reflect that distinction? That’s the question confronting defined contribution plan sponsors as they explore the relatively new world of in-plan decumulation. As of January, when the Ontario government passed a series of new regulations under the Pension Benefits Act, the majority of […]

  • September 18, 2020 March 3, 2021
  • 08:54

Do Taiwan’s cuts to public sector pensions offer lessons for Canada?

Faced with ballooning and unsustainable public pension liabilities, Taiwan’s government was forced to make a tough decision. In 2017, the country’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party passed a bill to dramatically cut retirement benefits for the country’s civil servants, public school teachers, police officers, firefighters and private sector workers. The changes were unpopular, but necessary. Underfunded […]

  • September 18, 2020 March 3, 2021
  • 08:52

How do sovereign bonds differ when it comes to ESG?

Environmental, social and governance factors are highly relevant to fixed income investment outcomes, but integration is complicated by the variety of issuers within the asset class. For corporate fixed income, integration is quite simple. Issuers could use the same frameworks as their equity counterparts, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s materiality map, said Joshua […]

  • September 18, 2020 December 5, 2020
  • 08:37

Coronavirus pandemic drives 20% increase in new claims for mental-health drugs

Claims for medications treating mental-health issues like anxiety and depression reached 97 per cent of 2019’s total claims volume by the end of August 2020, according to new data from Express Scripts Canada. In addition, 2020 has seen a 20 per cent increase in claimants for medications relating to depression compared to 2019. “For the remainder of […]

  • September 17, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 10:00

Considerations for integrating ESG into fixed income

Environmental, social and governance factors are highly relevant to fixed income investment outcomes, but integration is complicated by the variety of issuers within the asset class. For corporate fixed income, integration is quite simple. Issuers could use the same frameworks as their equity counterparts, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s materiality map, said Joshua Palmer, a […]

  • September 16, 2020 November 17, 2020
  • 09:45

What will coronavirus mean for pension investors in the long term?

Real estate, a long-time stable, returns-generating asset class for pension plans, may no longer be as solid due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “A pretty traditional asset class for pension plans may have been in office and retail, but one of the changes that’s happened is [the move to] remote working,” said Barbara […]

  • September 14, 2020 May 11, 2021
  • 08:41