Companies That Boast The Best Pension Plans In Canada
It can make a huge difference to your professional life if you work for a company that takes care of its employees. But you also need to think about what comes after retirement. Ideally, you want to work for a company that wont only take care of you while youre working for them but will help you have a comfortable life once youve stopped. When you consider any new employer, you shouldnt just look at the pay and perks they offer now but also at their retirement benefits. Here are some of the companies with the best pension programs in Canada.
Registered Retirement Savings Plans
Your employees can contribute to RRSPs, and you can match their contributions as part of your overall compensation package. However, keep in mind that your contributions will count as taxable income for your employees. Remind them that the total of their contributions and yours shouldnt exceed the current years deduction limit.
What Type Of Retirement Plans Are These
State-sponsored retirement plans are commonly Roth individual retirement accounts . With this type of savings, employee contributions are deducted from post-tax income, which means their money is generally tax free at the time of withdrawal. In comparison, a traditional IRA is funded with pretax payroll deductions, thereby lowering the employees taxable income. When the individual draws from the account, however, the money is subject to taxes.
You May Like: Does Illinois Tax Retirement Income
Ringcentral Is A Publicly
Headquarters: Belmont, California
Industry: Computer software
Employee’s quote on the perks and benefits: “Best part of the package is the healthcare. I really appreciate having two free dependents for my mother and father. They are getting old, and it is very important to them to have these kind of benefits especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.”
Why Did Companies Stop Offering Pensions

In reality, large corporations were lobbying Congress to shut down their pension plans because they were too expensive to administer, and the employer held all of the investment risk. The 401 allowed companies an alternative to pension plans so that they were no longer responsible for paying their retired employees.
You May Like: Empower Retirement Check Verification Phone Number
How Does Retirement Work In Canada
All employed Canadians pay into the Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan . These plans are a key source of retirement income for many seniors. In January 2021, the average monthly CPP benefit was $619.75 per month. If youre a new beneficiary, the maximum you could receive is $1,203.75.
It doesnt take a financial wiz to know that this is hardly a liveable income even if youre able to access the maximum.
Best Retirement Plans For Small Businesses & The Self
Self-employment is increasingly popular in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2019 16 million Americans were self-employed, and 29.4 million people worked for self-employed individuals, accounting for 30% of the nations workforce.
Being a small business owner or a solo entrepreneur means youre on your own when it comes to saving for retirement. But that doesnt mean you cant get at least some of the benefits available to people with employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Whether you employ several workers or are a solo freelancer, here are the best retirement plans for you.
Who Is It Best For? | Eligibility |
---|---|
Self-employed business owners with no employees . |
Higher contribution limits than IRAs. Contributions are tax-deductible as a business expense. |
Also Check: Kiplingers Best Places To Retire
United Technologies 401k Match
United Technologies has an automatic employee enrollment feature in its 401 plan that starts at a contribution rate of 6%. This rate increases by 1% every year until it reaches 10%.
United Technologies matches 60% of an employeeâs first 6% of their eligible pay contributed to the 401, which is equivalent to 3.5% for employees who contribute at least 6% or more into the plan.
Apart from matching contributions, United Technologies also makes automatic contributions to the 401 plan based on the employeeâs age. Employees below 30 receive 3% in automatic contributions while those above 50 receive 5.5%.
Employees are 100% vested in the matching contributions after three years of employment.
Companies With Seriously Impressive Benefits
Dont be fooled your salary is much more than just the number on your paycheck. While your annual salary does figure into your total compensation, benefits also play a vital role in helping you save money, stay healthy and just enjoy life more in general. In fact, a 2015 survey from Glassdoor revealed that four out of five employees would prefer better benefits to a raise. If youre on the hunt for an employer with generous perks, but arent quite sure where to look, relax weve got your back.
Check out the open jobs at these companies offering impressive benefits, and apply now!
Where Hiring: Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL San Francisco, CA Saint Louis, MO and more
Benefits Details: Rubicon, a worldwide leader in sustainable, cloud-based waste and recycling solutions, tries to take care of their employees just as much as they take care of the environment. Andwith an impressive benefits rating of 4.8 out of 5, its safe to say that Rubicon employees are pretty happy with the perks their company offers. Some of the most-lauded benefits include health insurance with premiums that are 100 percent paid for by the company, performance bonuses, the flexibility to work from home and the ability to take an unpaid sabbatical of up to six months after just three years with the company!
Rating: 3.5
Where Hiring: Charlotte, NC Chattanooga, TN Chandler, AZ Washington, DC and many more
Rating: 3.3
Where Hiring: Irvine, CA Dallas, TX Philadelphia, PA Louisville, KY and more
Don’t Miss: How To Retire In 3 Years
Canadian Pension Plan / Quebec Pension Plan
You pay into the Canada Pension Plan your entire income-earning life. Its designed to replace 25% of your pre-retirement income. And when you retire, you can finally reap the benefits.
Monthly payments from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board can start as early as age 60, or as late as 70. Many experts, however, recommend you start later since benefits are based on how long and how much you contributed.
In other words, its quite clear that this benefit alone wont be anywhere near enough for a sustainable, liveable life. Some sort of supplementary retirement savings is necessary.
Complete Your Profile To Continue Reading And Get Free Access To Benefitsprocom Part Of Your Alm Digital Membership
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO.com content isnt changing.Once you are an ALM digital member, youll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO.com information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events.
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Also Check: How To Find Out If You Have Retirement Funds
Cash Value Life Insurance Best Insurance Plan For Retirement
#4 Cash Value Life Insurance Best Insurance Plan for Retirement
Cash value life insurance is a great value for you when you want to protect your family financially if something were to happen to you, while also accumulating cash value without paying monthly premiums for life insurance.
This plan also saves you money, because it prevents price hikes on renewal like is often the case on other life insurance plans.
Another benefit is that if you withdraw your cash value, its not taxable. This plan is similar to a Roth IRA in that sense.
The best part about this plan is you can cover a death benefit, protect your family from financial disaster, or have it as a source of income. Its quite flexible while also protecting your future.
What we found is this type of policy is a quality third option for high salaried employees, who have maxed out other retirement plans they have.
Building A Secure Future

Too many choices can leave you stumped and not wanting to tackle this important part of your life. So we left it to five options. The most common and useful plans.
We focus on simplicity and touch on all the retirement plans most of our readers like you fall into and would want to know about.
But the other thing that youre responsible for is setting a timeline. Whether youre getting a retirement plan from your employer or an IRA, youll need to do some math to schedule how much you need to put in so that you can retire right on time.
Government workers, schools, and charities have specialized plans. If you work in those fields, you can maximize your retirement strategy and even accelerate your schedule if you wield them correctly.
When you are starting your journey, crystallize in your head what you need to retire happy and secure. Ask yourself what plan is going to give the best return on your investment in the right amount of time.
Read Also: What Age Can You Retire In Illinois
What Is The Average Canadian Retirement Income
A 2017 Statistics Canada survey found that the average senior household spent $60,359 annually. This amount has likely crept up even higher. In the end, that makes for one heck of a shortfall between what seniors have and what they need in retirement. Whats crystal clear is the need to determine where you may have gaps in income, and how much youll actually need for those post-career years.
Individual Retirement Account Best For Tax Advantages
This plan is for you if you dont have an employer that gives you access to a 401 and you want to take the initiative to save on your own. And a provider like Empower can help you find one with ease.
An individual retirement account, or IRA, offers you significant tax advantages.
We will discuss two separate kinds of IRAs: a traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. Each has their own advantages.
If you know a thing or two about retirement plans, you know there are five other types of IRAs, but they are beyond the scope of this article.
The traditional IRA allows you to contribute funds and grow your investment tax-free up until you withdraw, which is very similar to a 401. The big difference is the limitless amount of investments you can use in your portfolio to grow your wealth.
This includes real estate, bonds, stock, CDs, and other, riskier investments. You can have an advisor if you choose, or you can manage your portfolio yourself. This is unlike the 401, which an employer manages.
The Roth IRA works differently for taxes. Your advantage is in saving after-tax dollars. You pay taxes upfront, which allows you to save without worrying about how much you will get charged later. And you pay no taxes on your gains.
You also get the flexibility to take out contributions at any time without penalty.
Either way, if youre responsible for finding a good individual retirement account, head to Empower to get guidance on selecting the right one for your needs.
Don’t Miss: Best Places To Retire In Japan
Understanding The Basics Of Retirement Benefits Plan
The pension plans for employees are either qualified or non-qualified kinds. The qualified plans for retirement benefits have the following characteristics:
- The income that is generated by the qualified plan assets is not subjected to income tax. This is because the revenue is generated and handled within the framework of a proper and efficient tax-exempt trust.
- The employer is subjected to a current tax deduction for making contributions to the retirement benefit plan.
- The participants of the qualified plan need not pay any income tax on the amounts that are contributed on their behalf till the year the funds are evenly distributed to them by their employer.
- As per the favorable circumstances, the beneficiaries of qualified plan distributions earn special tax treatment.
Non-qualified retirement benefit plans are those who do not earn preferential tax treatments. These plans are usually designed to give deferred compensation for single or more executives in an organization. Small businesses and organizations typically opt for the qualified retirement benefit plan as they provide tax advantages to the employer. The retirement benefit plans are furthermore divided into broad categories of a defined benefit and contribution plans as well as hybrid plans.
Fidelity National Financial Group
- 401 match: Up to 7% of contributions per pay period
- Total participants: 30,000
- Net plan assets: $1.84 billion
Part of the Fidelity National Financial Groups business involves advising some of the largest retirement plans in the country. So its no surprise that it offers a generous plan to its own employees. Fidelity matches employee contributions dollar for dollar up to 7% per pay period.
In addition, the firm built its investment menu with more than 200 proprietary mutual funds and options from other firms. BrightScope ranked the firm among the top 15% when it comes to total plan costs and praised the firm for having among the lowest fees in its study.
Recommended Reading: How Old To Retire In California
Pacific Gas & Electric
PG& E is one of the few Fortune 500 companies that still offers a 401k and a pension plan. The natural gas and electric service provider offers both final pay formula and cash balance formula pension plans. You can also designate a preretirement beneficiary to make sure your vested benefit pension goes to a spouse or another primary beneficiary in the event you die before retiring.
College And University Workers
Almost all staff and workers in college and university institutions receive a defined contribution plan and healthcare benefits. Among all the 96% who retired can get an employer contribution of $3.18 per hour. College professors usually teach several graduate classes while monitoring the academic capabilities of the students. They also publish journals and research papers. This job is among the most secure jobs in society these days, mainly in the public sector.
Also Check: How Much Money To Retire At 50
Which Companies Have The Best 401 Matching
Generous company 401 matches are great. But if your retirement plan offers few investment options or has high fees, even the best 401 match may leave your retirement savings coming up short. Thats why its important to have an excellent plan as well as a high company match percentage. To give you a sense of whats possible, in 2019 SmartAsset conducted an in-depth study of companies across different sectors, such as finance, tech and energy. If your 401 match and plan seem weak in comparison to the ones profiled here, consider working with a financial advisor who can help you optimize your investment returns.
Defined Contribution Plans 401 Best For Most

401 plans are a valuable employee benefit. They help you save for retirement and give you peace of mind knowing you have money set aside for the future.
Plus, your employer usually chips in on the effort. The best employers match what you put in fully, but most should at least contribute 50% to 75% of what you invest.
This is not saying if your employer doesnt do this they are bad. It just means some companies put a large spotlight on helping employees save for retirement. Its a retention benefit, and a big one at that.
If youre a small business owner and you want to add this benefit for your employees, you can look into a service like Paychex that can find affordable 401 plans for you.
Bottom line, a 401 further increases your savings potential. And dont worry about being forced to contribute too much. You can schedule the amount you want to come out of your paycheck so you save just the amount you feel comfortable with.
There are other defined contribution plans besides the 401. They work the same in essence, but are for different types of employees and institutions.
For example, schools, charities, and churches can invest into a 403. If you are a state or local government employee, your retirement plan will be a 457.
In the end, a 401 is the easiest path to a retirement plan. Normally there is an open enrollment period for benefits at work. If thats the case for you, all you have to do is talk to your HR department about what you need to do in order to get started.
Don’t Miss: Best Places To Retire Near Raleigh Nc
The Best Employee Retirement Plans
Published on – Written By: Lars Lofgren
Studies show that retirement plans are a benefit the vast majority of employees want. In fact, 81 percent of workers say they would like it if their employer enrolled them in a 401 automatically. Despite this, a mere 22 percent of employers actually do so.
So what accounts for the disconnect? In many cases, business owners, and especially small business owners, are intimidated by the prospect of employee retirement plans. Admittedly, retirement plans can seem complicated. They can also involve high administrative costs and various fees.
If you take time to learn a little bit about employee retirement plans, however, youll see theyre not as overwhelming as they sound. There are also low-cost plans available.
Compare Quotes From The Best Employee Retirement Plans
Get matched up with an employee retirement plan that fits your specific needs.
Heres a look at some of the top employee retirement plans, along with tips for picking the best one for your business.
Companies With The Best Benefits
However, not many employers actually provide good benefits packages. Because it takes too much time to research all of this yourself, weve done the work for you.
If youre looking for a new career, it can be important where you start. If you apply at these companies and know how to write a resume with no experience, youre getting ahead.
Read Also: Sun City Retirement Community Florida