The pension industry is at a turning point, with the asset value of defined contribution plans growing, while defined benefit plans are shrinking. “In a decade’s time, you will have a situation where DC will be almost $50 trillion in size, but DB will be $10 trillion in size and there will be big changes […]
The Canadian Investment Review launched the first annual Pension Leadership Awards in 2020 to recognize and award leading plan sponsors across several categories who are on the leading edge of pension investments. Over the past few months, a panel of expert judges has reviewed the nominations. We are pleased to announce the finalists for this […]
While target-date funds are now a staple in the Canadian defined contribution pension industry, it wasn’t always so. Some of the first employers to bring target-date funds to Canada were George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Limited, says Alain Malaket, who is currently chief executive officer of InBenefits, but previously oversaw those organizations’ pension and […]
While many Canadians panicked and stocked up on toilet paper when a global pandemic was declared in March, most capital accumulation plan members stayed calm enough not to make fund changes, according to a webinar hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Thursday. “[We] found, overall, plan members appear to be staying the […]
Defined contribution plan members are contending with volatile equity markets, ultra-low interest rates and the threat of inflation as the country’s economy begins its tentative recovery. In the first half of 2020, equities took an almost round trip, dropping significantly in the first quarter and recovering to the point that most markets are in neutral […]
Retirement and savings programs should motivate plan members to think about how they want to spend their time in retirement as well as their money. “If we focus in just on the financial part of the equation and then [plan members] get to that point where [they’re] retiring, not only might they not have enough […]
In considering changes to its retirement savings programs, Rogers Communications Inc. is generally focused on three main internal and external factors: regulatory changes, employee feedback and demographics. “As we see the millennial and gen Z workforce grow quite a bit, we’re really trying to understand what that’s going to do to our plans in terms […]
The Halifax Port ILA/HEA has found a way to provide its defined contribution pension plan members with a defined benefit upon retirement — and it’s been doing so successfully for 35 years. As a private sector multi-employer plan, the pension has about 450 active members, 300 retirees and about $210 million in assets. The DB […]
Much debate remains about whether private equity is an appropriate option for members of capital accumulation plans. Canada’s neighbours to the south have been examining the potential legal pitfalls of these allocations. A recent information letter from the U.S. department of labor set forth a framework plan sponsors can use to consider the prudence of […]
Target-date funds lead to defined contribution plan members taking more risk and becoming more diversified than they would be if left to their own devices. But despite these benefits, TDFs fail to provide what members really want and need — a reliable income replacement for life managed by somebody else. My colleague Ioulia Tretiakova and […]