Target date funds – Benefits Canada.com

Focusing on TDF glide paths as migration from DB to DC plans continue

mdunne — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 12:55:43 +0000

The selection of a target-date fund glide path is more crucial than ever as the migration from DB to DC pension plans continues. Since its formation in the mid-1990s as an optional alternative to the company’s longstanding defined benefit offerings, the DC plan has amassed more than $1.5 billion in total assets as members gradually […]

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How Poland’s new DC program was designed using behavioural science

bwolfe — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 12:53:08 +0000

Like many other countries around the world, Poland’s aging population is increasingly highlighting the topic of retirement savings. “Each year, the number of pensioners increase while the fertility rate decreases,” says Sebastian Ludwin, a Poland-based pension projects leader and business development manager at Aon. “On top of that, the public pension replacement rate also decreases […]

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Sounding Board: Tips for evaluating a target-date fund

Jennifer Paterson — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 13:00:54 +0000

Since target-date funds were introduced to the Canadian market in the early 2000s, they’ve become the dominant investment choice for defined contribution pension plan members. The funds, which are balanced with dynamic asset mixes that adjust as members approach retirement, are offered in a series — typically, one fund for each five-year target retirement band — with each fund […]

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2020 Top 50 DC Plans Report: Member behaviour under microscope amid pandemic

mschmit — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 04:56:06 +0000

Defined contribution pensions are taking a bumpy ride in the coronavirus pandemic, with plan sponsors and their members facing volatile stock markets, financial uncertainty and interruptions to business as usual. Whether related to plan design, investment options, decumulation or overall financial well-being and education, what issues are taking the spotlight this year and what changes […]

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Alain Malaket: An early-mover in the Canadian pension industry

mschmit — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 04:30:56 +0000

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 […]

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Coronavirus prompting CAP sponsors to review TDF suites

mschmit — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 04:45:09 +0000

My last column, in April, talked about how Canadian target-date fund suites behaved differently during the first quarter of this year, where markets were reacting to the coronavirus crisis. The disparity of year-to-date returns continued in the following months. For some capital accumulation plan sponsors, the behaviour of their plans’ TDFs over recent volatile market […]

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A look at the investment variables of variable benefits

mschmit — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 04:54:13 +0000

Since retirees and active plan members are fundamentally different, should their investment options reflect that distinction? That’s the question confronting defined contribution plan sponsors as they explore the relatively new world of in-plan decumulation. As of January, when the Ontario government passed a series of new regulations under the Pension Benefits Act, the majority of […]

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Plan Sponsor Week: How DC pension investments handled the pandemic crash

mschmit — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 04:40:52 +0000

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 or positive […]

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How DC pension investments weathered the pandemic storm

mschmit — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 03:45:20 +0000

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A look at private equity investing in DC plans

mschmit — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 05:48:12 +0000

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 […]

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