Bob Carter is an independent multi-lines consultant representing leading technologies in the fields of life, health, wellness and wealth. These are the views of the author and not necessarily those of Benefits Canada.
Bob Carter is an independent multi-lines consultant representing leading technologies in the fields of life, health, wellness and wealth. These are the views of the author and not necessarily those of Benefits Canada.
As many employees struggle with mental-health issues during these tumultuous times, internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy is one tool that may help them bounce back. Employers can play a pivotal role in supporting staff amid the coronavirus pandemic by investing in these offerings. The pandemic is having a significant impact on working Canadians’ mental health, with […]
On average, one in three Canadians will be disabled for 90 days or more at least once before they reach age 65, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. Therefore, income protection is important, but it’s not always fully understood and cost is sometimes perceived as too high. As a result, some groups […]
Plan sponsors are faced with competing offers by insurance carriers, group managing general agents and third-party administrators, as each group promotes their own unique, yet similar sounding, selling and value propositions. Group MGAs are firms that specialize in advising group benefits brokers and act as administrative back office, similar to life MGAs , which advise […]
While the move to more defined contribution-style health benefits plans provides greater clarity and flexibility to plan sponsors, it would be natural to wonder whether or not the available options are limited to the two extremes alone. The continuum of benefits plan design includes fully insured plans, fully self-insured (administration services-only or ASO) plans and hybrid […]
Health-care costs are projected to increase a whopping 130 per cent over the next eight years after a period of relatively flat growth, according to a study published by Mercer in 2017. One of the key drivers is rising drug costs, with expensive specialty medications and gene therapies making up the majority of new products in development. So […]
As the ways that Canadians use smartphones and apps continue to evolve, what are the implications for those technologies in health-care and wellness services? According to recent studies by digital marketing company Catalyst Canada, the number of apps per smartphone is declining, but the actual use of them is becoming more specialized. The studies note that, despite the […]
Today’s plan sponsors need to look at every cost and line item on their benefits billing statements in order to make every dollar stretch as far as possible. That means looking at seemingly minor elements of the plan design, such as out-of-country travel protection. Even though the costs associated with out-of-country benefits are relatively minor […]
Today, some 2.8 million Canadians live in countries around the world. This represents nearly eight per cent of our population waking up and heading to work in lands and time zones not their own. Many other nations bid temporary farewell to many of their own citizens to take positions in foreign countries, including Canada. It […]
Today’s health benefits plans are under pressure. Our labour force is changing. Based on data compiled in 2015 by Statistics Canada, 46 per cent of today’s active workforce are millennials, 30 per cent are Generation X and the baby boomers count for a shrinking 24 per cent of workers today. Plan sponsors are facing new […]
Stop-loss pools are under continued pressure to accommodate the ever-increasing number of claims for high-cost drugs. The explosion of claims for drugs to treat the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), for instance, has hit all drug plans and carriers alike – and hard. While the debate rages on as to whether these drugs constitute recurring claims, […]
With October inflation hitting an 18-year high, inflation risk is back on the radar of plan sponsors providing inflation-linked defined benefit pensions. In the past,…
The recent announcement that General Motors of Canada Co. purchased $1.8 billion of annuities for its salaried pension plan is creating a lot of excitement.…
Much has been written about how 2020 was unprecedented, challenging and exhausting — take your pick of adjectives. It was also a white-knuckle ride for…
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors who are interested in better pension risk management for their retirees have two main strategies to consider: They can either…
In a recent case, the Ontario Superior Court found an employee failed to mitigate damages when he refused a return-to-work offer from his employer, with whom he…
Many of the changes that were introduced to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act in January 2018 were short-lived, as the province’s new government elected in June…
With the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, 2018, employers have been preparing to answer questions about whether their current benefits plans should provide…
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found an employer didn’t constructively dismiss a long-service employee when it provided her with 18 months…
On Oct. 17, 2018, it will be legal to purchase and consume recreational cannabis in Canada. In a recent survey of Mercer’s employer clients and Canadian employees, we found…
Some organizations are unique. Their employees are genuinely excited to be at work and an undercurrent of energy and vitality permeates the air. They’ve transformed the…
While many Canadian organizations continue to search for solutions to rising health-care costs, most are falling short. That’s why they must investigate any opportunity to find…
Macroeconomic trends such as longer lives, a lack of access to pensions and retirement supports, a low-growth environment, and persistent lack of financial literacy and…
For months, Canadian employers have been creaking under the strain of a labour crunch. Finding top talent has always been one of leaders’ most pressing…
COVID-19 cases are dropping and vaccine counts are rising. The economy is reopening and we can expect to be back at the office soon. But…
Employee benefits and total rewards planning have always been a critical element of business planning, but never more so than during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.…
Over the past few months, we’ve all had to deal with the challenges of social distancing and self-isolation. Some people have faced the extra pressure…
In Canada, the coronavirus pandemic is entering a new phase — vaccines are widely available, travel restrictions are gradually lifting and people are returning to…
For most Canadians, it’s been well over a year since most of the country went into its first lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. I…
While talk about the importance of improving diversity on corporate boards and in the C-suite has been ongoing for decades, actual action has been too…
The Council of Parties to the United Nations’ climate convention, known as COP26, which is currently underway in Glasgow has put climate change on the…
As Canadians watch the U.S. reopen with life returning to normal in various stages, in addition to thoughts of attending sporting events, concerts and gathering…
As coronavirus cases rise across the country and some return-to-work plans become return-to-home plans, many employers are wondering how to help their employees adapt once again…
The coronavirus pandemic has been disruptive for all and sadly, devastating and difficult for many. In the pandemic’s early days, we saw a great deal…
After being off of Canadians’ radar screens for years, the re-emergence of inflation in recent months is receiving significant attention for many, including pension plan…
Over the past several months, much attention has been paid to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on financial markets and, subsequently, defined benefit pension plans’ financial conditions…
In January 2020, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries released final changes to the actuarial standards of practice for calculating commuted values, with the changes scheduled…
A retiree whose retirement savings are primarily in a registered savings plan, such as a life income fund or registered retirement income fund, already faces…
The images of floods, forest fires and heat waves over the past few years is putting climate change front of mind for many, including pension…
Pension governance policies have been common for many years, at least since the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities published its initial guidelines on pension…
Employers that act as pension plan administrators have statutory fiduciary duties that are defined by the plan documents and by governing pension legislation. While those duties…
An important case around an employer’s ability to change its practice in granting consent benefits under a pension plan is winding its way through the courts. The…
Any return to the workplace, whether it’s after a medical or parental leave — or say, following a global pandemic — requires consideration and care…
With the repatriation of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor following their three-year incarceration in China, relations between Ottawa and Beijing are to be reset.…
It’s a welcome development that so many pension fund managers are increasingly preoccupied with the ethical implications of their investments and incorporating data to ensure…
Various forms of digital health care have been available in Canada for several years, but I’d argue nothing has accelerated the awareness, need and adoption…
Anyone who’s ever run a marathon or completed an endurance race or trek knows the last few miles are the hardest, both physically and mentally.…
Any do-it-yourself handyman’s toolbox isn’t complete without a roll a flexible multi-purpose cloth adhesive that has unlimited uses — a.k.a. duct tape. It’s been used…
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, technology was blurring the lines between work and home life. An unhealthy attachment to our mobile phones made it easy…
Whether institutional investors welcome it — or even realize it — cryptocurrency is having an impact on their portfolios. The immense size of the crypto…
In case you missed it, a recent legal opinion by pension lawyer Randy Bauslaugh suggested plan sponsors might be personally liable for failing to consider…
A lawsuit settlement on the other side of the world is reverberating around the globe as it increases the environmental, social and governance standards for…
Meeting a deadline in the midst of a pandemic seems like a good test of corporate resiliency and, according to a recent survey of Canadian…
There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Asset owners and managers who are signatories of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investments…
Many employees may be dreaming of a carefree retirement following many years in the trenches — but they’ll likely have to keep dreaming if they…
For years, a major public sector pension governance time bomb has been hidden in plain sight. But it may be too late to alert the bomb squad;…
A report published by the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council in February 2019 offers compelling evidence about the broad benefits of workplace pension plans. The report,…
While retirement income security is top of mind for many Canadians, British Columbia’s public sector pension plans are noteworthy models that can be emulated by sponsors…
Diversity, equity and inclusion is top of mind for many plan sponsors these days. And, while issues around retirement and pensions likely aren’t the key focus…
More Canadian employers should consider target-benefit pension plans for their employees these days. The model is gaining steam. In mid-December, 2020, the Quebec legislator signed into…
The future will increasingly favour institutional investors that can break old patterns of thought. As we move forward and industries and new technologies converge at…
Almost 16 months since the global coronavirus pandemic was first declared, there’s now yet another thing for institutional investors to worry about — the possibility…
Back in December 2018, I wrote an article asking whether it was a good time for pension plan sponsors to revisit value investing. At that time, public…
Last August, I wrote about whether central banks were creating a financial bubble with their coordinated easing programs intended to spur economic growth and/or lift inflation.…
The investment industry has been talking a lot about our position in the economic cycle and our proximity to a recession. In fact, I wrote about it…
Words and imagery have the power to connect, evoke emotion and elicit a reaction. They also have the power to be inclusive, or exclusive, and…
It’s often said perception is reality and that’s definitely true when it comes to benefits plans. If employees can’t easily perceive the value in their…
How long is your attention span? Be honest and think back to the last time you received an email about your employee benefits and didn’t…
As many employees struggle with mental-health issues during these tumultuous times, internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy is one tool that may help them bounce back. Employers…
On average, one in three Canadians will be disabled for 90 days or more at least once before they reach age 65, according to the…
Plan sponsors are faced with competing offers by insurance carriers, group managing general agents and third-party administrators, as each group promotes their own unique, yet…
While the move to more defined contribution-style health benefits plans provides greater clarity and flexibility to plan sponsors, it would be natural to wonder whether or…