Barry Gros – Is It Too Late To Change The Conversation On Target Benefit Plans?
From: Barry Gros To: Canada’s pension regulators Date: November 5, 2020 Re: Is it too late to change the conversation on target benefit plans? Why is it that when I’m in conversations about the viability of target benefit (TB) pension plans I keep hearing that “contribution adequacy” or “contribution sufficiency” seems to be the primary concern? I’ve been following […] Plaidoyer Pour Une Deuxième Caisse De Dépôt – La Presse Opinion
Les Québécois ont raison d’être fiers de leur Caisse de dépôt et placement, qui gère avec efficience les avoirs de leur Régime de rentes et ceux des fonds de pension de presque tous les employés du secteur public. Malheureusement, les employés des municipalités et des universités n’ont pas cette chance.
Je connais un grand nombre de gestionnaires de régimes de retraite des villes et des universités et je sais que ce sont des gens dévoués et compétents. Toutefois, leurs caisses étant plus petites, ils n’ont pas accès aux mêmes ressources, aux mêmes occasions de placement et doivent assumer des coûts plus élevés, qui pénalisent tant leurs participants que leurs employeurs et, en fin de compte, les contribuables.
La Caisse…
Robert Siddall – Accounting Standards Need To Keep Pace With The Evolution Of Public Sector Pension Plans
From: Robert Siddall To: Canadian Public Finance Officials Date: July 29, 2020 Re: Accounting Standards Need to Keep Pace with the Evolution of Public Sector Pension Plans One of the things I like most about accounting standards is their need to continuously evolve to remain relevant to users of financial information and to accurately reflect […] Gaps, Quirks and Fixes: Accounting for Broader Public-Sector Pension Plans in Canada
The Study In Brief Multi-employer, contingent-benefit pension plans cover hundreds of thousands of current and former employees of Canadian governments, and millions more in Canada’s broader public sector – employers such as hospitals, school boards, and colleges. Understanding the value of these plans’ obligations, and whether their financial condition affects governments’ ability to deliver services […] Barry Gros – Rules-based Regulations A Poor Fit For Target-benefit Pension Plans
From: Barry Gros To: Canada’s pension regulators Date: June 25, 2020 Re: Rules-based regulations a poor fit for target-benefit pension plans Regulations for target-benefit pension plans have been developed across the country in several jurisdictions and without consistency. But as I outline in my recent C.D. Howe Institute paper, their basic direction is actually a […] Room to Thrive: Why Principles-based Standards Make Sense for Regulating Contingent Pension Plans
by Barry Gros As membership in traditional defined-benefit pension plans declines, plans in which benefits are contingent on the financial status of the plan are becoming more common. Rather than placing all the risk on sponsors to deliver guaranteed benefits to members, these contingent pension plans require members to take on at least some of […] The Shifting Ground of Pension Design: Reflections on Risks and Reporting
The Study In Brief Debates about the relative merits of defined-benefit (DB) and defined-contribution (DC) pension plans have been a prominent part of pension discourse over the past forty years. The intensity of the debate has ebbed and flowed over the years but has been more intense in recent years as there has been a […] Let Canadians access their RRSP wealth for an immediate, cheap source of financial assistance – Financial Post Op-Ed
In recent weeks, Ottawa has announced several financial assistance measures for those most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. They include increased flexibility for employment insurance benefits, generous wage subsidies for businesses, and an emergency response benefit of $500 per week for affected workers and caregivers. But these programs pose implementation challenges that could result in Canadians waiting weeks to receive the financial assistance they need, assuming they qualify at all.
An unprecedented demand spike is already challenging the capacity of the employment insurance system, especially with Ottawa having closed Service Canada outlets across the country. Technical difficulties around eligibility conditions for the…
The Power of Postponed Retirement
by Joseph Nunes Workers participating in a defined-contribution pension plan have a few levers to provide for adequate income in retirement, including saving at a greater rate during their working years and/or postponing retirement until their savings (including government benefits) reach the necessary level. The purpose of this E-Brief is to quantify the relationship between […] Laurin, Robson – Crisis Relief For Canadian Savers
To: Finance Minister Bill Morneau From: Alexandre Laurin and William Robson Re: Crisis Relief for Canadian Savers Date: March 16, 2020 Plummeting stock markets are aggravating anxiety and the potential economic impact of COVID-19. The market crash is worst for older Canadians who rely on savings in registered retirement saving plans (RRSPs) and defined-contribution pension […] Bill Robson on BNN – RRSP age limit needs to be raised amid COVID-19 crisis
Bill Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, explains why he thinks the government of Canada should be allowing Canadians to contribute to their RRSPs past 71 and eliminate the drawdowns in RRIFs as markets continue to plunge due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
TFSAs: Time for a Tune-Up
December 19, 2019 – Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have had great success over the past decade, but could use a tune-up, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “TFSAs: Time for a Tune-Up,” author Alexandre Laurin argues that after a decade in existence, there is now enough data and empirical analysis on […]