Pensions Archives - Word on Benefits

Freezing the Frame: Supreme Court Withdrawal Liability Case to Address Timing of Actuarial Assumptions

Guest Contributor

23 Oct 202523 Oct 2025

In the first withdrawal liability case to reach the Supreme Court in more than three decades, the Court will consider a statutory question, whose answer will determine pension plans have the flexibility to update actuarial assumptions after year end.

Canada Compliance Employee Benefits Pensions Regulatory

So, What Is a Fiduciary?

Tim Hennessy

10 Sep 202510 Sep 2025

Canadian courts have held employers, corporate trustees and boards of trustees affiliated with benefit plans as fiduciaries accountable to plan beneficiaries. Learn more about fiduciaries and their responsibilities in today’s blog.

Compliance Defined Benefit (DB) Plans Employee Benefits ERISA Legislative Multiemployer Pensions Retirement U.S.

Supreme Court Will Decide on Multiemployer Pension Plan Withdrawal Liability

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

01 Aug 202501 Aug 2025

In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide when withdrawal liability assumptions must be adopted, impacting multiemployer pension plans and contributing employers.

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans DOL Employee Benefits Investments Multiemployer Pensions Retirement U.S.

The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape Report: DB Key Findings

Cathe Gooding, CEBS

25 Mar 202525 Mar 2025

The overall health of multiemployer defined benefit (DB) retirement plans improved from 2020 to 2021. The average multiemployer DB plan net investment return for 2021 was 14.5%, up from 2020 (11.4%), according to The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2007-2021) recently […]

Employee Benefits Legislative Pensions Regulatory Retirement U.S.

Automation Speeds Up Social Security Fairness Act Processing

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

07 Mar 202507 Mar 2025

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has sped up implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) using automation, per Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security. The law requires SSA to adjust benefits for over three million people, the bulk of which […]

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Burnout, Productivity and Pensions

Eli Argueta

27 Feb 202505 Mar 2025

Many workers nearing retirement—especially women—don’t have enough saved amid rising costs of living and housing anxiety. Despite inflationary pressures, workers remain willing to pay for a pension. Conversely, employers are generally in a stronger position as the labour market softens, with confidence […]

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What Public Pension Plans Need to Know About the Social Security Fairness Act

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

30 Jan 202530 Jan 2025

Signed into law on January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) (HR 82) repeals two provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for some individuals who receive other benefits, such as certain state or local government pension benefits. The Social Security […]

Canada Employee Benefits Pensions Regulatory Retirement

CAPSA Guidelines: A Comprehensive Overview of Pension Plans

Eli Argueta

14 Oct 202427 Jun 2025

On September 9, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) released new guidance aimed at providing an update on the design, operation and administration of capital accumulation plans (CAPs). CAPs include defined contribution pensions, Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings […]

Canada Pensions Retirement

It’s Time to Retire the Concept of Retirement

Eli Argueta

02 Jul 202402 Jul 2024

For many, retirement is seen as the final chapter of life—a culmination of years of hard work and savings. But what if retirement wasn’t an end but rather a beginning filled with new opportunities? Over the last decade, more research and innovative […]

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans DOL Employee Benefits Investments Multiemployer Pensions Retirement U.S.

The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: DB Takeaways

Justin Held, CEBS

24 Jun 202426 Jun 2024

According to recent data from Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the fifteen-year period between 2006 and 2020 was turbulent for multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Financial markets were volatile, and 2008 saw the biggest […]