A story about the federal government considering whether to include booster shots in the next version of the coronavirus vaccine mandate for workers was the most read story of the week on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: Feds consider definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ in review of federal worker mandate […]
The federal government’s 2022 budget, which set out $56 billion in new spending on Thursday, has a few offerings that could impact employers and employees. Dental-care program, pharmacare The budget confirmed the government’s commitment to rolling out a national dental-care program, which was announced in March, by specifying a $5.3-billion investment in its implementation. It also […]
While a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw negative investment returns in March, it also improved on a solvency and accounting basis, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. Last month, the typical DB pension plan used in LifeWork’s monthly pension indices saw investments dip in value by 0.4 per cent as a […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is investing US$425 million in an Indian content technology platform company. Following an initial equity investment of US$50 million in VerSe Innovation Private Ltd.’s previous funding round, the CPPIB was a lead investor in the latest round with a further US$375 million. Founded in 2007, the organization operates Dailyhunt, […]
As employees continue to adjust to the dynamics of working remotely since the coronavirus pandemic, 76 per cent of workers believe remote work has given them a better work-life balance, with nearly as many (72 per cent) saying it’s afforded them a more flexible schedule, according to a new survey by artificial intelligence solutions company […]
While the overall private drug plan spend per member increased by 4.3 per cent in 2021, fewer plan members submitted claims and the per-claimant cost grew, according to Express Scripts Canada’s latest prescription drug trends report. Specifically, the percentage of plan members that made a claim decreased by 0.3 per cent last year while spend […]
Recent technology developments are enabling institutional investors to use decentralized finance tools, according to a new report by the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. “Until very recently, institutional investors largely appear to have limited their participation in DeFi protocols, which they have indicated are due to issues around DeFi protocols’ compliance with applicable jurisdictional […]
Since the Alberta Investment Management Corp. introduced an employee networking platform in the fall of 2020, nearly 500 connections have been made, more than 95 per cent of participants feel more connected to the organization’s people and culture and 88 per cent consider the platform to be a valuable addition to their professional network. The […]
Empower Retirement, the U.S. subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc., has completed the previously announced acquisition of Prudential Financial Inc.’s full-service retirement business. With the completed acquisition, Empower’s reach in the U.S. is expanded to more than 17.1 million retirement plan participants and assets under administration to US$1.4 trillion on behalf of about 71,000 workplace savings plans, according to […]
As employers prepare to bring employees back to their physical workplaces in 2022, they’re planning to position mental health (91 per cent), physical health (60 per cent) and work-life balance (57 per cent) initiatives as integral components of the transition, according to a new survey by Fidelity Investments Inc. and Business Group on Health. The […]