Benefits June 27, 2012

Canadians May Overestimate Health Coverage in Retirement

June 27, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Employees in Canada may be mistaken about their access to healthcare coverage in retirement, a survey suggests.
Reported by

Sanofi Canada Healthcare found half (51%) of Canadians expect they will continue to have access to their healthcare benefits when they retire, which may not necessarily be the case. Expectations are especially high among plan members ages 55 and older (69%) and those who work for large companies (67% for companies with 5,000 or more employees).

Plan members who work for government employers are most likely to expect health benefits in retirement (72%), while non-unionized (39%) and private-sector (37%) employees are least likely.

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“Employers shouldn’t waste any time educating employees on what happens to health benefits upon retirement,” said Pierre Marion of Medavie Blue Cross. “Right now employees are not factoring healthcare costs into their retirement planning. Many will be in for a surprise when they realize that extended benefits may not be available.”

At the same time, a number of survey repsondents are willing to pay out of their own pockets to keep benefits when they retire (54%).

Just 13% of respondents say they understand their healthcare benefits extremely well, down from 19% in 2005. Forty-five percent believe they understand very well, down from 53%, and 39% understand somewhat well, up from 23%.

Ipsos Reid surveyed 1,757 primary holders of group health benefit plan on behalf of Rogers Business and Professional Publishing between January 11 and January 18. In addition, Rogers Business and Professional Publishing conducted 125 online surveys with benefit plan sponsors from across the country from January 12 to January 18.

For more information about The Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey, including the complete text of this year’s report, visit www.sanofi.ca. 

Products June 27, 2012

BNY Mellon Forms Global Collateral Services

June 27, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com)  - BNY Mellon has created a unit to help clients manage collateral.
Reported by

Global Collateral Services serves broker-dealers and institutional investors facing rapidly expanding collateral management needs as a result of current and emerging regulatory and market requirements. The unit is led by Kurt Woetzel, senior executive vice president and head of BNY Mellon’s Global Operations and Technology. It brings together the firm’s broker-dealer collateral management, securities lending, collateral financing, liquidity and derivatives services teams. 

“Global regulations and changing market dynamics are mandating new and complex requirements for the use of collateral, which are forcing both sell-side and buy-side firms to reevaluate their need for and use of collateral,” said Gerald L. Hassell, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We have a compelling opportunity to build on our industry leading position in this space given the clear and growing client requirements for secure, efficient and reliable collateral services.”

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BNY Mellon also operates a proprietary global collateral management technology platform designed to handle all asset types denominated in any currency. It processes a wide array of transaction types, including derivatives, tri-party repurchase agreements, portfolio swaps, and collateralized loans, as well as a variety of margin management activities.

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