A new law expanding retirement plan options for small businesses may encourage more American companies to offer the benefits to their workers. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the SECURE Act, won final congressional approval in the Senate last month and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. One […]
French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to launch a crucial week of negotiations with labour unions amid nationwide protests and transport strikes against the government’s plans to overhaul the pension system. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio that “a compromise has never been so close,” as talks between the prime minister […]
The holiday season is a time to reflect on the events of 2019 and how they may affect trends in the year to come. I predict a couple of trends on the pension landscape in 2020: much needed progress on the expansion of decumulation options and the outsourcing of the chief investment officer function. Expansion of […]
Legislative changes and plan design were among the leading topics in the pension and retirement industry in 2019, with the top three most read stories tackling those topics. Benefits Canada rounds up the industry’s favourite pension stories of the year: 1. Budget 2019: Proposed changes to pension legislation, annuities, CPP 2. DB pensions best option for Canadian employers, economy: report 3. Alberta budget includes […]
Following similar moves in jurisdictions across Canada, British Columbia’s proposed changes to its defined benefit pension solvency funding requirements will take effect on Dec. 31. Under the changes, DB plan sponsors in the province will be permitted to fund to a solvency ratio of 85 per cent instead of the previous requirement of 100 per cent. […]
About a year ago, Benefits Canada introduced a few new columns and features, including our Head to Head, where every month we choose a hot industry question and open up a two-person debate. I’m often tempted to join in the discussion, but ultimately fall on the side of restraint. This month, though, I can’t resist […]
Pension plan stakeholders will see a continued evolution of both short- and long-term reform, with some significant developments expected in 2020. “Hopefully, Ontario will finalize the rules for its target benefit regime — perhaps we’ll see the introduction of single employer target-benefit rules — and there should be some action on variable benefits because the […]
A new report by the C.D. Howe Institute is recommending the federal government amend legislation to allow Canadians to buy life annuities within a tax-free savings account. It also suggested the government modifies the draft legislation creating advanced deferred life annuities and variable payment life annuities to make them both available within a TFSA. “More than 45,000 employers […]
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 […]
Two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian millennials said they worry if they buy a home and delay their savings, they won’t have enough for retirement, according to a new survey by KPMG. However, among millennial survey respondents who do own a home, 42 per cent said they’re putting their retirement savings on hold to pay […]