There’s a new organization out there aiming to help bring pension leaders up to speed on some emerging issues – societal, economic, and environmental – that are having new impacts on the way retirement savings programs are run.

Save with SPP spoke with Caroline Cakebread, founder of the new Canadian Leadership Congress, about what the new group hopes to achieve.

Cakebread, a veteran financial journalist who edited Canadian Investment Review for more than 15 years, says the Congress is designed to fill an information gap here in Canada. “We wanted to do something different, some things that haven’t been done much in Canada,” she explains. The group, she adds, will bring pension CEOs and CIOs together for “intimate conversations” about emerging issues, like geopolitical risks, the pros and cons of emerging markets, and environmental impacts on investing. The Congress’ focus is strategic, she explains.

Other key issues the Congress will be looking at with leaders include the growing role of technology, diversity and leadership, and the overall “very uncertain investment environment.”

The Congress held its first major session in Montreal early in June. The format, she says, features speakers, panels, “congressional huddles” and lots of opportunity for networking. A goal, she says, is to connect the pension leaders with experts in a format that encourages free and open discussion, and lots of talk around the table. A number of comments from participants and speakers were made available on Twitter, notes Cakebread. 

The educational outreach the Congress provides is a new approach, Cakebread says, and one that many pension leaders had privately told her is not currently available in Canada. As well, rather than targeting one type of pension organization, the Congress is “more available” to a wider range of plan types. While all of the plans represented are fairly large, some are defined benefit, some are defined contribution, some offer both types, and so on.

While there is a lot out there for pension leaders in terms of educational conferences, there is less for executives who are at a “deal maker” level when it comes to decision making, she says. She’s hoping that the new Congress will meet that need.

Cakebread says that during her time in the pension industry, the public’s interest has really begun to grow. “When I started out, as editor of a pension publication years ago, in the early 2000s, pensions were considered a dull topic,” she says. But now, as the boomer population ages and people begin to grasp the significance of pension income and retirement security, “pensions are cool,” she says with a smile.

If you’re interested in finding out what the Congress is up to, be sure to follow them on Twitter, the handle is @CLCongress. We thank Caroline Cakebread for taking the time to speak with us.

It’s true that pensions were a pretty dull topic in the early 2000s, but the growing retiree population in the intervening years has indeed make retirement security “cool.” The general decline in the number of workplaces offering plans means many of us will need to save on our own. If you’re in that number, a great resource is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Check them out today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

By Sheryl Smolkin

And before you know it it’s almost the middle of August. I haven’t seen any coloured leaves drifting down…yet. But already the days are getting shorter. This week we feature interesting blogs from top bloggers who kept on writing even when many of us were on vacation.

In GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca, Caroline Cakebread shares 5 ways to tap your home for cash in retirement. They are: sell and rent; sell and downsize; become a landlord; rent out your home  temporarily; and, get a reverse mortgage.

If you are in your 50s and starting to get really serious about planning your retirement, take a look at Rich at any age: In your 50s by David Aston, Romana King and Julie Cazzin on MoneySense. They suggest that you get a ballpark figure of what you will need; max out your savings; and then, pick the right moment.

Are you still agonizing over whether it makes more sense to save in an RRSP or a TFSA? Then take a look at RRSP Myth – Retirement Income Has To Be Lower For RRSP Benefit by Mike Holman on MoneySmart. He gives interesting examples to illustrate that even where income in retirement is a bit higher than in the earning years, RRSPs will likely still save you some taxes or at worst – won’t save you any tax, but won’t cost you anything either.

Mr. CBB gives advice to a couple with $5,000/month of discretionary income on Canadian Budget Binder about buying their first home. He says they should talk to a financial advisor about retirement savings and life insurance; figure out the size of mortgage they can afford on one income; factor in home maintenance costs before they buy; and understand how to be prepared for emergencies.

Dan Bortolotti writes on Canadian Couch Potato about Calculating Your Portfolio’s Rate of Return. Rate of return calculations fall into two general categories: time-weighted and money-weighted. If a portfolio has no cash flows (that is, the investor makes no contributions and no withdrawals), both methods produce identical figures. He says the key point to understand, therefore, is that any differences in reported returns come about as a result of cash inflows and outflows.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.