FORUM 2014 Sessions

	Agenda	Speakers	Receptions & Dinner	Accommodations	Tours

FORUM 2014 Sessions

Opening Keynote Session
What's Happening with Our Workforce: Making Generations Work!
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 7:45 - 8:45 EDT

	Jim Carroll Futurist, Trends, Creativity & Innovation Expert
Join international futurist, trends & innovation expert Jim Carroll as he explores some of the biggest challenges facing organizations today. With the coming “end of retirement,” most companies will come to realize they’ll need a lot of telephones with big buttons for members of the 70+ folk who are still a part of their workforce — and a lot of innovative workplace practices as well.

Is There a Looming Pension Crisis in Canada?
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 9:00 - 10:45 EDT


René Beaudry, Co-founder, Normandin Beaudry; Jim Leech, President and CEO, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Malcolm Hamilton, Senior Fellow; C.D. Howe Institute; Hon. Wes Sheridan, PEI Provincial Treasurer, Minister of Finance, Energy and Municipal Affairs; Moderator: Don Bisch, Director, Corporate Communications, Equitable Life of Canada
Low workplace pension coverage and RRSP savings rates are evidence to some that Canada is on the cusp of a retirement crisis. “A large number of Canadians – particularly middle-income earners in the workforce today – are at risk of seeing their living standards fall in the golden years,” read a recent editorial in The Globe and Mail. But is the risk overstated? Our expert panel will debate the severity of the problem and will suggest reforms to make the existing retirement system more robust.

Is Social Security In Worse Shape than Detroit's Pension System?
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 11:15 - 12:15 EDT

	Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics, Boston University, Research Associate, National Bureau of Economics Research; President, Econonic Security Planning Inc.
Taken together, Detroit's two pension systems are underfunded by roughly 15 percent. Social Security, in contrast, is underfunded by 22 percent, where both degrees of underfunding are measured in terms of benefit cuts required to achieve long-term solvency. How these two pension systems reached this point is a sorry tale of accounting fraud, financial malfeasance, and dereliction of fiduciary responsibility. This talk will tell this tale, but also provide economics' perspective on how to properly account for pension systems and how to properly invest pension assets.
Learning objectives: Understand how economists assess the financial status of pension systems Understand why truncated projection horizons aren't valid Understand the malfeasance involved in Detroit's and Social Security's pension funding, understand the degree of insolvency of the two system Explain that the malfeasance in these systems is characteristic of much of postwar U.S. government policy.

Understanding and Applying the Health “Reformation”
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 11:15 - 12:15 EDT


Carlos Balarezo, Chief Executive Officer, Genescient; Robert Paterson, President, Renewal Consulting Group Inc, former Senior Advisor to the President, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
In 2013, the U.S. will spend $2.9 trillion, or 18% of its GDP, on healthcare. Of that, $3 out of $4 will be spent on chronic disease ($1.9trillion). In Canada, the spend is $211 billion or 11.2% of GDP. The epidemic of chronic illness continues to increase all over the world. What will be the cost in 10 years? A new framework for understanding chronic illness health is now available. Using this framework most of the costs go away and most people return to health. But the challenge is that it contradicts the conventions and it demands a change in culture to implement it. So what is this framework and how can we implement it?
Learning objectives: Understand the framework Define the cultural barriers Offer a workable strategy to defeat cultural barriers Understand what success or failure means This session is intended for: corporate leaders who need to reduce the costs of chronic illness, insurance leaders who wish to see how they can help drive the health revolution, corporate leaders that wish to create a more collaborative and innovative culture and any person that wishes to free themselves from the risks and costs of chronic illness.

Global Fixed Income - Global Opportunities in a Rising Rate Environment
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 11:15 - 12:15 EDT

	Elsa Goldberg, Vice President, Senior Product Manager, Franklin Templeton, San Mateo, California
The low yield, low interest rate environment continues to weigh on the ability of plan sponsors to fund liabilities. Fixed income investments have traditionally been used in pension plans primarily as a hedge against liabilities, yet plan sponsors are looking for ways to ensure investment returns keep pace with solvency liability growth. Increasingly, they are restructuring the fixed income allocation of their plan portfolios not only for protection of capital, but also as a potential source of risk-adjusted returns. This session will focus on the rationale for expanding into foreign investments such as global bonds, emerging market debt and high yield securities to address the need for diversification and pursuit of higher yields. The session will also set out the opportunities, the risks and how, as a plan sponsor, to address them.
Learning objectives: Understand the size, scale and opportunity set by investing in global fixed income; Recognize the effects of monetary policy changes and global liquidity conditions; An awareness of the opportunities in emerging markets; Appreciate the shifting sentiments towards global fixed income given the interest rate outlook This session is intended for plan sponsors, pension boards, pension committee members, consultants and research staff.

Les médias sociaux : une stratégie et non un canal
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 11:15 - 12:15 EDT


Sophie Bellemare, Associate Vice-President, Digital Strategy, Standard Life Karrina Dusablon, National Director, Education and Training, Desjardins Financial Security
La sensibilisation d'une génération plus jeune à l’importance de la planification de leur retraite constitue l’un des plus grands défis auxquels doit faire face le milieu des services financiers. Collectivement, comme industrie, nous avons tout essayé : des séances d’éducation, des vidéos, des webinaires, la ludification et des concours. Rien à faire, nous avons toujours de la difficulté à inciter les employés à participer activement à la planification de leur retraite. Les médias sociaux sont-ils la solution? Le cas échéant, comment pouvons-nous les appliquer efficacement à l’univers des régimes de retraite et des avantages sociaux? Cette étude de cas démontrera comment une entreprise se sert des médias sociaux pour combler le fossé générationnel et amorcer un dialogue fructueux, qui permet d’améliorer la participation et la sensibilisation des employés à l’égard de la planification de leur retraite.

Lunch Speaker
BOOMERS: The Future of Financial Services and Retirement Tuesday May 27,2014 - 1:00 - 2:00 EDT

	Brent Green, Author of « Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions » and « Generation Reinvention: How Boomers Today Are Changing Business, Marketing, Aging and the Future »
Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, have changed every life stage they’ve occupied. As infants they propelled nascent industries such as Gerber’s prepared baby food and Johnson & Johnson’s Band-Aids. Then they dominated mainstream culture and media as teenagers and young adults, propelling The Beatles to international acclaim along with gas-saving vehicles from Toyota and Volkswagen. In middle age they inspired the term “yuppie” and pushed growth in housing, mutual funds, travel, fitness, personal computing, and luxury automobiles. To anticipate their significant impact on the financial services industry and what we today refer to as “retirement,” it’s beneficial that we understand the unique nature of Generation Reinvention, how Boomers are changing retirement, and how generational marketing insights can create competitive advantages in the marketplace. This will enable the pension and benefits industry to develop programs and services along with marketing initiatives of greatest value and relevance to Boomers. In this fast-paced multimedia presentation, featuring classic rock music, provocative videos and surprising research insights, author and social commentator Brent Green reveals the demographic, sociological, and cultural forces that are shaping a future fraught with risks and opportunities. Unprecedented success awaits those who crack the Boomer code, and Brent gives his audiences a profound emotional understanding of why and how.
Learning objectives: Understand what the aging Boomer population means to today’s financial services and retirement benefits industries Understand historical and cultural factors making Boomers a distinctive generation that can be reached through target marketing and messaging strategies Understand the Age – period – cohort” model: the three social, cultural and psychological influences on Boomers’ values and motivations today and tomorrow Understand why and how generational marketing is gaining momentum, including new Boomer market research Identifying marketing case studies from major consumer brands such as Sony, Pfizer, Fidelity, and Chrysler, demonstrating how targeting Boomers can be successful in advertising and sales promotions Understand the Boomer mega-trends that are challenging and changing financial services targeting this generational cohort

The D’Amours Report and its Intriguing Longevity Pension
or how all Defined Contribution Plans could become hybrid plans
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT

	René Beaudry, Co-founder, Normandin Beaudry
Instead of an improvement to the C/QPP, the D’Amours Committee is proposing a newmulti-employer defined benefit pension plan, conservatively funded, with a target benefittwist. Not a new social program, not another payroll tax, the Longevity Pension could transformall Defined Contribution Plans into hybrid plans, at no additional cost to plan sponsors.René Beaudry, a member of the D’Amours Committee, will illustrate what differentiates theLongevity Pension from C/QPP expansion options. He will also explain how it wouldsupport the two main public pension programs – C/QPP and OAS - in addressing thelong-term risk most workers are facing of out living their pension savings. Learning Objectives: Explore an innovative approach to combining optional DC plans with a new multi-employer DB plan. Better understand flexibility inherent in the C/QPP and OAS under their current designs. Forge an opinion on one of the options currently under examination for an improved overall pension program in Canada. Appreciate how evolving demographics are changing the grounds on which pension programs are built. This session is intended for plan sponsors, pension boards, pension committee members, consultants and research staff.

Oh What a Life...On Drugs
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT

	David Willows, Vice-President, Strategic Market Solutions, Greenshield
Beginning with an overview of prescription drug consumption in Canada, this session will highlight the primary factors driving increasing plan sponsor drug spend. Which age brackets, what drug classes, and what disease states are propelling these claim volumes and costs? David will discuss how GSC-sponsored studies have clearly established the plan member age group and the conditions that are driving the majority of claims and costs, and how future trends will be affected by demographic patterns and current health management practices. David will also share the results of a recent GSC study which demonstrated how pharmacist intervention with a population of GSC plan members with uncontrolled blood pressure produced startling improvements in their health. This study has the potential to lead to new kinds of interventions that will improve both Canadians’ health and the sustainability of benefits programs.
Learning objectives: Understanding drug consumption trends in Canada Identifying the “impactables” Understanding the background, method, and results of GSC’s hypertension study Applying the study results to the management of employee benefits programs This session is intended for plan sponsors, advisors, and providers alike will gain an up-to-date perspective on the latest data and strategies to change the health behaviours of plan members.

The Alternative Solution
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT


Peter Muldowney, Senior Vice President, Institutional Strategy, Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group; Colin Spinney, Treasurer, Dalhousie University
With fixed income deemed to offer too low returns and equities too volatile returns, can alternative solutions become the new traditional core portfolio holding of the future? If so, how do smaller plans and less investment experienced committee members get comfortable with these types of solutions? The session will include an overview of a range of alternative solutions, such as infrastructure, real estate, timberland, synthetic solutions and will consider the merits and challenges of alternative solutions from a governance, implementation and ongoing monitoring perspective, including the personal experience of a plan sponsor. The session will also consider why some solutions may have been dismissed in the past, but will gain broader acceptance today due to a better fit with the needs of plan sponsors.
Learning objectives: Alternative investments offer a different risk and return profile to traditional investments There are a range of different solutions and vehicles to access alternatives that can make sense for smaller and mid-sized investors Alternatives are more complex, so more time needs to be allocated to understand these investments Allocation to alternatives could be accessed through a different governance model. This session is intended for those participants who are responsible for the oversight of pension and endowment assets, as well as members of a pension and endowment investment committee.

Titres à revenu fixe mondiaux – Des occasions à l’échelle mondiale dans un contexte de hausse des taux d’intérêt
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT

	Elsa Goldberg, Vice-présidente et directrice principale de produits, Franklin Templeton, San Mateo, Californie
La faiblesse des taux d’intérêt et des taux de rendement continue de nuire à la capacité des promoteurs de régimes à financer leurs engagements. Les régimes de retraite ont traditionnellement utilisé des placements dans des titres à revenu fixe pour couvrir leurs engagements, mais les promoteurs des régimes recherchent des façons de s’assurer que les rendements des placements compensent la croissance du passif de solvabilité. Un nombre croissant de promoteurs modifient la composante de titres à revenu fixe des portefeuilles de leurs régimes pour que, non seulement, elle protège le capital, mais pour qu’elle constitue également une source possible de rendements corrigés du risque. La présente séance se penchera sur les raisons qui justifient de se tourner vers des placements étrangers, comme les obligations mondiales, les titres de créance de marchés émergents et les titres à rendement élevé, afin de répondre aux besoins de diversification et de chercher à obtenir des rendements plus élevés. Nous examinerons également les occasions, les risques et les façons par lesquelles les promoteurs de régimes peuvent gérer ceux-ci.
Objectifs d'apprentissage: Connaître l’importance et l’étendue des possibilités de placement dans les titres à revenu fixe mondiaux. Reconnaître les effets des changements de politique monétaire et des conditions de liquidité à l’échelle mondiale. Être conscient des occasions offertes sur les marchés émergents. Comprendre les changements d’attitude à l’égard des titres à revenu fixe mondiaux qui sont suscités par les perspectives à l’égard des taux d’intérêt Cette séance est prévue pour les promoteurs de régimes, administrateurs et membres de comités de caisses de retraite, consultants et analystes.

A New Approach in Underwriting High-Cost Drugs
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT


Jonathan Bohm, Consultant, Benefits, Normandin Beaudry; Nicolas-Pierre Bergeron, Partner, Group Benefits, Normandin Beaudry
Private plans are now exposed to a new risk with unparalleled consequences that is threatening their sustainability: high cost drugs. A single drug claim can now exceed $500,000 per year for several years. Because more and more of these drugs are hitting the market and have been proven effective, their consumption is likely to increase dramatically over the next few years.
During the session, various questions will be explored and a new underwriting approach will be presented. Learning objectives: What are the impacts of high cost drugs on private plans? Do sponsors and individuals have appropriate coverage? Are current pooling arrangements sufficient? New approach: underwriting this risk in the same way as the risk associated with long-term disability benefits. Find out why this new approach warrants careful consideration and may very well be an effective and lasting solution. This session is intended for plan sponsors, consultants and insurance carriers working in group insurance.

Government and Healthcare: Preparing plan sponsors to weather the storm Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT

	Tim Clarke, Chief Innovation Officer, Canadian Health & Benefits Consulting, Aon Hewitt
The rising cost of healthcare is an issue not just for Canadian employers, but Canadian governments as well. Provinces struggle to balance their budgets while at the same time deliver higher quality, more timely healthcare to an aging population increasingly afflicted with lifestyle driven illnesses. The underlying issues are not unique to Canada, but as we have seen substantial change in the government role in healthcare in the United States, a similar change is brewing in Canada. While few expect the Canadian public healthcare system to disappear in the coming years, many expect substantial change in some elements of funding or delivery. What kinds of change might we expect? How do sponsors of private health plans need to prepare for these seemingly inevitable changes? Tim Clarke, Aon Hewitt's Health & Benefits Chief Innovation Officer will discuss the Canadian healthcare environment plan sponsors operate in today, where it might go in the coming years, and the things we can be doing now to prepare.
Learning Objectives Deeper perspective of the financial challenges to both public and private healthcare in Canada Understanding of potential changes impacting government funding and delivery of healthcare in Canada A future-view to the impact on employers, and what they can be doing now to prepare Practical steps to protect your private health care plan as the landscape evolves This session is intended for anyone interested in the future of health & benefit program design in Canada, and how changes to the public system might impact the delivery of healthcare to Canadians, including both insurance, HR executives, Benefits and Wellness plan managers.

Surmounting the Political Barriers to Infrastructure Investing in Canada
Tuesday May 27, 2014 - 2:15 - 3:15 EDT

	John-Christian Bourque, Senior Consultant, StrategyCorp Inc.
Surmounting the political barriers to infrastructure investing in Canada Large pools of sophisticated capital are facing increasing global competition for assets, including infrastructure. Given this competition, these funds will need to create the conditions for investing in jurisdictions which historically have not had the same investment opportunities as more open jurisdictions (for example Australia and the U.K.). For many asset classes, including large public infrastructure assets, Canadian jurisdictions have been closed to investment. This session will discuss the public policy and political barriers that have prevented the recent sale of large public assets in Canada, and the steps necessary to open them to investment by domestic and international pension funds and other pools of sophisticated capital.
Learning Objectives: Explaining the paramountcy of political and public policy considerations to public asset sales internationally Understanding the political and public policy barriers to investing in Canadian infrastructure What is needed to be done make public infrastructure assets available from a political and public policy perspective

Keynote
Chasing Bernie Madoff
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 8:00 - 9:00 EDT

	Harry Markopolos, Madoff Whistleblower
NY financier Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in jail for bilking clients of more than $50 billion. Markopolos candidly explains his long fight to “gift wrap and deliver the biggest Ponzi scheme to the SEC ever” and reveals a captivating cloak-and-dagger story of one man and his tightly knit, highly-trained team of trusted allies that never gave up. By relying on his unique combination of skills as a 22-year veteran of the finance industry, he pieced together the facts and numbers and blew the whistle on Madoff. With modesty, steely integrity, and self-deprecating humor, Markopolos offers not only an insider account of his actions, but a vivid examination of our financial system

Is It Time to Rethink the Role of Benefit Plans?
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 9:15 - 10:15 EDT


Sarah Beech, President, Pal Benefits; Brian Lindenberg, Senior Partner, Mercer; Marilee Mark, Vice-President, Market Development, Group Benefits, Sun Life Financial
The company benefit plan was born of a simpler time. Designed to attract and retain valued employees, it was largely ignored until a visit to the dentist. Today, benefit plan managers must deal with the conflicting demands of aging boomers and tech-savvy millennials, rising rates of chronic disease and increasing calls for workplace wellness plans, all while operating in a slow-growth economic environment. Our expert panel rethinks the role of benefits over the next five years.

Pensions 2.0
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 10:45 - 11:45 EDT


Robert Brown, President, International Actuarial Association, former President, Canadian Institute of Actuaries Will Sandbrook, Director of Strategy, Research and Analysis, UK, National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)
Can both employers and employees have access to retirement schemes that are cost effective and help to expand universal pension coverage? This session looks at innovative new schemes in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Social Media: A Strategy, Not a Channel
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 10:45 - 11:45 EDT


Sophie Bellemare, Associate Vice-President, Digital Strategy, Standard Life; Karrina Dusablon, National Director, Education and Training, Desjardins Financial Security
One of the biggest challenges in financial services is engaging a younger demographic in retirement planning. As an industry, we've tried it all – education sessions, videos, webinars, gamification and contests, and we're still struggling with how to get employees to actively participate in their own retirement planning. Is social media the next new tool? If so, how do we effectively use it in the pensions and benefits universe? This case study will show how one company is using social media to bridge the generation gap and start meaningful conversations that help increase participation and awareness around retirement planning.

Understanding the Connections: Health, Financial Well-Being and the Workplace
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 10:45 - 11:45 EDT

	Matt Miles Vice-President, Product & Marketing, Group Benefits & Retirement Solutions, Manulife Financial
Are employees who are less anxious and distracted about their personal finances also more likely to be healthier and more productive in the workplace? Working with Ipsos Reid Research, Manulife recently conducted a survey with over two thousand working Canadians to look at the connections between employee financial well-being, health and workplace productivity. Come join Matt Miles of Manulife Financial as he reveals the groundbreaking--and surprising--research results.
Learning objectives: Understand how an employee's personal financial situation can impact their physical and psychological health, and their ability to be productive in the workplace Gain a greater understanding of the stress employees are facing when they are financially unprepared and how this affects their view of their employer Understand the impact that having a group benefits and retirement plan has on employee financial preparedness, health and productivity Review the options that are available for employers to help their employees to become more financially prepared

A Tonic for Interest Rate Headaches?
Wednesday May 28, 2014 - 10:45 - 11:45 EDT


Philip Falls, Senior Consultant, PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd. Steve Morris, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Liability Driven Investments, Sun Life Financial
Low interest rates have caused pain for many Canadian defined benefit pension plans over the past several years, and while most economists believe rates will rise, the timing and level are difficult to predict. This interest rate uncertainty has left many plan sponsors wondering how best to manage the costs of their DB pension plans. But what if there was a way for you to stop worrying about interest rates completely? This session will examine how pension plans in the U.S. and the U.K. are changing the way they manage interest rate risk and will provide a case study to illustrate how this new approach is being done in Canada. It will also provide practical steps you can take to alleviate your interest rate headaches.
Learning objectives: Understand how changes in interest rates affect the assets and liabilities in a DB pension plan. Learn how and why plan sponsors in the U.S. and the U.K. are changing their approach to interest rate risk Understand the different approaches that Canadian sponsors can do now to reduce volatility and better manage interest rate risk This session is intended for DB pension plan sponsors, CFOs and VPs of Finance.

Closing Speaker
Lessons for Private Sector Retirement Security from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands
Wednesday May 28, 2014 12:00 - 1:00 EDT

	John A. Turner Director, Pension Policy Center (US)
The paper, Lessons for Private Sector Retirement Security fromAustralia, Canada and the Netherlands, provides international perspectives on retirement security by outlining social security retirement programs, quasi-universal retirement programs, voluntary employer-provided retirement plans, and individual plans in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. These countries have retirement income systems that are recognized for their high quality in terms of adequacy, sustainability, and integrity. This paper assesses the level of security and risk provided to retirees by each country’s retirement system. All three countries provide generally adequate income replacement rates for low- and middle-wage workers through their social security and employer plans. Canada has a voluntary employer sponsored retirement plan system. Australia and the Netherlands have universal or quasi-universal employer sponsored programs.
Learning objectives: The basic structures of the retirement income systems in Australia and the Netherlands, compared to that of Canada The retirement benefit outcomes of the retirement income systems in Australia and the Netherlands, compared to that of Canada The retirement income risks facing retirees in Australia and the Netherlands, compared to retirees in Canada Policy lessons learned from studying the retirement income systems in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands This session is intended for pension policy makers and policy analysts, sponsors of pension plans and service providers to pension plans.

Agenda

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Receptions & Dinner

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FORUM 2014 Sessions