Eight hundred unionized employees of Regina-based Co-op Refinery remain locked out after contract negotiations stalled. The refinery, which is part of Federated Co-operatives Ltd., locked out members of Unifor Local 594 on Dec. 5. Unifor said Co-op is demanding major concessions on the employees’ defined benefit pension. Currently, the DB plan is fully funded by Co-op, but […]
Canadian insurance and risk management brokerage Navacord Corp. is acquiring Concord, Ont.-based SmartChoice Benefits Inc. The acquisition will allow Navacord to enter the third-party administration space, noted a press release. “It also shows our commitment to building the required scale, carrier relationships, . . . products and technology solutions to place us among the leaders in the Canadian market for […]
Heading into 2020 and beyond, the outlook for interest rates is impacting the federal government’s projected pension obligations and its budgetary balance. In its 2019 fall economic update on Monday, the government reduced the projected budgetary balance by $4.2 billion in 2019/20 and $11.6 billion in 2024/25. While the balance projections aren’t entirely related to pension obligations, […]
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 […]
The majority (70 per cent) of U.S. employees said their top financial concern is saving enough money for retirement, according to a new survey by StanCorp Financial Group Inc. The survey, which polled 1,000 full-time U.S. employees between the ages of 21 and 69, also found 57 per cent said they’re also concerned about monthly […]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is urging governments around the world to urgently reform their pension systems to ensure employees in temporary or part-time employment can contribute enough during their working years to receive adequate retirement income. A new report said non-standard employment, including self-employment, temporary or part-time work accounts for more than a third of employment across […]
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the minimum retirement age will remain 62, but employees will have to work until 64 to receive a full pension. In a sweeping speech on Dec. 11, he said the implementation of the pension changes will be delayed. The new pension system will only apply to people born after […]
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 […]
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 […]
As pension regulators move forward with legislation permitting annuity options for certain capital accumulation plans, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is calling on the federal government to make flexible annuities available for registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds and tax-free savings accounts. In March 2019, the federal budget proposed enabling advanced life deferred annuities for […]