Manitoba’s Liberal Party is concerned about a number of pension plan design changes put forth by the province’s Conservative government in a public review earlier this month. “We are extremely concerned about the direction the Pallister government is taking on pensions,” Dougald Lamont, the leader of the Manitoba Liberals, said in an email to Benefits Canada. The […]
Whether plan sponsors expect a bear or a bull market in 2018, if they’re in a position to de-risk their pension plan, they should do it now, according to two investment consultants who spoke at an event in Toronto on Thursday. “From our perspective, if you look at the world over the last six years, […]
Building on a wellness program that covers employees’ overall well-being, Allstate Insurance Co. of Canada is introducing a trio of programs in January. “January can be a stressful and a tough month for many,” says Adrianne Sullivan-Campeau, the organization’s vice-president of human resources. “So you’re coming down from the holiday high, you have large bills coming in from your holiday purchases, […]
Plan sponsors to consider new mortality improvement scale.
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries has published a new mortality improvement scale as part of an effort to better reflect Canadians’ increased longevity and harmonize actuarial work in the pension and life insurance industries. The organization put together a task force to look into mortality improvement last year and, following a consultation process, issued a report in September. The report provided […]
As Hawaii introduces new legislation to provide working caregivers with a daily stipend of US$70 to offset the costs of elder care, how does it measure up against Canada’s new employment insurance caregiver benefit? The Kapuna Caregivers Assistance Act, which took effect in December, will provide the stipend to Hawaiian employees working more than 30 hours a […]
Quebec employers are expressing concern about the business impact of the province’s move to eliminate disparities in pension and supplementary group benefits plans. “It’s an issue of attractiveness of foreign investments because we’ve heard from companies that, should this situation be passed here, they could reconsider their investments in Quebec,” says Guy-François Lamy, vice-president of labour and […]
Ontario has published a description of its new funding framework for defined benefit pension plans, including details on how the provision for adverse deviations will work under new going-concern rules. Under the proposed new funding framework, the provision for adverse deviation — a percentage used to determine additional contributions in respect of the normal cost and going-concern […]
With the holidays approaching, music is everywhere. And if hitting the high notes in the privacy of your shower each morning raises your spirits for the day ahead, it stands to reason that singing in a workplace choir over your lunch hour can create the same sense of well-being. The concept may have grown out of […]
In its sixth year of offering employees educational workshops during Financial Literacy Month, Western University has changed its approach this time by delivering information on a range of topics rather than just the organization’s pension plans. In the past, the university has used the financial literacy focus to communicate the details of its two defined contribution plans, […]