Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is calling for a merger of the management services for the province’s public-sector pensions. Pallister says he’s not suggesting the funds themselves merge — only that they be managed as a group. A much larger pool of funds would be subject to lower management fees, he says, which could save roughly $200 million […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is appointing Blake Hutcheson as its new chief executive officer, effective June 1, 2020. Hutcheson, who is currently OMERS’ president and chief pension officer, will succeed current CEO Michael Latimer, who is retiring after two decades at the pension fund and six years at its helm. Read: Michael Sabia to step down as […]
When central banks took on the challenge of saving a drowning global economy during the 2008 financial crisis, pension plans appeared to have plenty to be thankful for. However, as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank embark on their latest round of monetary stimulus, these policy changes mean pension plans are now […]
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 case, Hall et al v Canadian National Railway, involves a dispute by a group of former employees of the Canadian National Railway Co. who resigned, prior to age 55, between the years […]
Domtar Corp. is entering into an agreement with Sun Life Financial for a group annuity buyout. The transactions will transfer about $360 million in obligations and related assets from the paper mill company’s defined benefit plans in Canada over to the insurer. Read: Rayonier Advanced Materials pension taking on annuity buyout In addition, it will convert about $101 million […]
The Manitoba government has proposed changes to the provincial Pension Benefits Act that will allow the creation of in-plan solvency reserve accounts for defined benefit pension plans registered in the province. The amendments would permit plan sponsors to withdraw funds from the reserve account when the plan is in surplus and would prohibit them from […]
The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a $267,017 award to a pensioner for negligent misrepresentation after the Alberta Pensions Services Corp. provided mistaken estimates of the pensioner’s retirement benefits. But the lawyer for Dr. William Calder and his wife says the ruling, which also validated a change in the ASPC’s interpretation of the governing […]
In a new white paper, the Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging the federal government to reform the Income Tax Act rules for registered pension plans. In the ACPM’s view, ITA reforms are required to build on government initiatives aimed at increasing retirement savings by updating the tax rules released in 1992 so they better reflect today’s socioeconomic environment and Canadians’ […]
Institutional investors have been rushing into the arms of alternative, less liquid, investments over the past two decades. But how major players approach these investments varies considerably, according to a paper by Kristy Jansen a PhD student at Tilburg University, and Patrick Tuijp, a research affiliate at the University of Amsterdam. In examining a survey of nine […]
The United Way Greater Toronto is the latest organization to join the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus plan. Following a 90-day consent process, an overwhelming majority (99 per cent) of the 350 members of the organization’s defined benefit pension plan voted in favour of the move. Employees will begin contributing to and earning a pension under […]