The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian pension plans in the S&P/TSX composite index increased from 90.8 per cent to 91.2 per cent during the past 12 months, according to Aon’s pension risk tracker. Aon found the funded status deficit decreased by $200 million, which was driven by asset increases of $18.7 billion and offset by year-to-date liability increases of $18.5 billion. Pension assets returned 9.9 per cent over 2020 and ended the fourth quarter up 3.9 per cent. The year-end, [...]

A rally on the stock market in the fourth quarter helped boost the strength of Canadian defined benefit pension plans to end 2020, according to a new report by Mercer Canada. The consulting firm said its pension health index, which represents the solvency ratio of a hypothetical DB plan, rose to 114 per cent at the end of December from 107 per cent at the end of September. Mercer said in the fourth quarter the funded positions of DB [...]

Canadian defined benefit pension plans experienced a pronounced upsurge in the second quarter, posting a median return of 9.6 per cent, according to the RBC Investor & Treasury Services All Plan Universe.  This marked the highest single quarter return in the universe’s history, reversing the steep Q1 losses and raising the median plan’s return to 1.4 per cent on a year-to-date basis. The gains followed a series of aggressive fiscal and monetary support measures introduced in March to address [...]

Defined benefit pension plans aren’t just better for Canadian workers, but for the country’s economy in general, according to a new study by the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council. Statistics Canada data from 2018 showed 37.5 per cent of Canadian workers have some type of pension or retirement savings plan through their workplace, and 25.2 per cent have a DB plan. Far more (88 per cent) employees in the public sector participate in some form of retirement savings plan compared to the private sector [...]

Any modifications to federal pension legislation should encourage plan sponsors to continue offering defined benefit pension plans, while helping them fulfil their pension promises to plan members, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Fulfilling pension promises is especially important for those plan members who can least afford the risk of benefit reductions, such as those with a modest monthly pension and those who are at an age where pension losses cannot easily be made up with new savings,” wrote the CIA in [...]