With many women at risk of outliving their retirement savings, employers can help by educating female employees about their investment options, says Michelle Connell, a chartered financial analyst and owner of Portia Capital Management. Since women are often the primary caregivers, she says they tend to put less money into their retirement accounts than men […]
Last year, Benefits Canada hosted its 2020 CAP Member Survey webinar just a few weeks after the World Health Organization declared the global coronavirus pandemic. It was early days and, as uncertain as we all felt, I don’t think anyone expected we’d still be working from home and struggling through the crisis almost a year […]
The past year and a half has been characterized by marked change. The move to remote work, industry layoffs and the desire for more robust support left plan sponsors and consultants rapidly altering the ways they work together. Certain trends, such as virtual care, mental-health support, changing retirement needs and industry consolidation have slowly been […]
For the past 15 years, Benefits Canada’s CAP Member Survey has taken the pulse of capital accumulation plan members’ retirement readiness, their knowledge, confidence and satisfaction in their employer-provided CAPs and how their financial wellness is affecting their physical and mental health. Tracking sentiments through the 2008/09 financial crisis, its subsequent recession and recovery and […]
Telus Communications Inc. recognizes that all employees manage their health and well-being in different ways, so it allows staff to choose how they use the company’s flexible wellness offering — they can take time off to enjoy a staycation, pay down student loans or top up their health-care spending accounts. “We provide [employees] with credits […]
Market expansion in 2021 is a priority among Canada’s defined contribution pension consultants, according to a new survey by PIMCO Canada. The inaugural survey, conducted across 12 major DC consulting and advisory firms that serve roughly 2,500 Canadian plan sponsor clients, found up-market expansion and down-market expansion in 2021 were the top strategic priorities among […]
A majority (72 per cent) of plan sponsors believe their retirement savings plan is meeting its goals this year, up from roughly 66 per cent in 2020, according to a new survey by Fidelity Investments Inc. While 68 per cent said their employees are saving enough for retirement — up from 59 per cent in […]
A majority (63 per cent) of U.S. employees said their employer doesn’t offer a financial wellness program, according to a new survey by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association. It found only 18 per cent of respondents have access to financial wellness resources through their employer and, of these respondents, just eight per cent have […]
SAP Canada Inc. is accelerating the expansion of virtual wellness offerings through its benefits package amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic has essentially pressed fast-forward on a direction that the market was already going,” says Megan Smith, vice-president and head of human resources at the software company. “It forced the issue of remote work, causing employers […]
The majority (64 per cent) of consulting and advisory firms said their plan sponsor clients are looking to improve financial wellness programs, according to a new defined contribution plan consulting survey by PIMCO. The same percentage (64 per cent) of respondents said plan sponsors want to improve participant retirement education and evaluate investment fees. The […]