Group Benefits

Rising Benefit Costs a Top Issue for Employers – Survey

A new survey by Williss Towers Watson suggests 73% of Canadian employers say rising benefit costs is their number one issue influencing their benefit strategy this year. The survey polled 145 employers across both public and private sectors and also found 55% plan to reallocate or rebalance their benefits spend over the next three years which is up from 10% in 2024.

Mental-health concerns among their employees continues to climb and 55% of employers cited this as a top issue. There were different approaches cited with the majority not looking to increase spend on benefits and 64% said they plan to enhance value by switching to better vendors for both health and retirement benefits.

Canadian Employee Well-being Declines in 2024

According to a new report by Dialogue Health Technologies Inc., Canadian employees well-being is declining with workers reporting an average well-being score of 43.7 out of 100. The report surveyed over 13,000 employees and assessed their responses across five dimensions of well-being which include mood, stress, sleep, activeness and sense of purpose.

It found employees aged 20 to 29 reported the lowest average score (40.6) but symptoms such as lack of sleep and physical activity ranked low among all age groups. Of the five dimensions measured, sense of purpose ranked lowest with employees noting negative stressors that include financial instability causing a delay in life events (70%), mental-health challenges (48%), work-life balance (33%) and negative news and world events (33%) undermining their sense of purpose.

A similar poll by Telus Health, which included roughly 3,000 employees, found similar results but also noted employees aged 50 and older are nearly three-times more likely than workers aged 40 and younger to report no work stress, while non-managers are 60% more likely than managers to report they aren’t stressed.

Weight Regain May Begin within Weeks of Stopping Weight Loss Drugs

A new study which reviewed 11 clinical trials involving over 2,500 participants found that significant weight gain often began as early as 8 weeks after discontinuing anti-obesity medications.

This new study published in BMC Medicine focused on weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy which accounted for more than half of the reviewed trials. The study also found that, while the weight regain started after 8 weeks, it was sustained through 20 weeks.

Concerns raised about the National Dental Program

A new study by Hellodent uncovered some challenges for the new National Dental Plan. Ontario offers the best access to dental care in Canada with 68.44 Dentists per 100,000 residents with British Columbia and Alberta at 67.91 and 62.65 respectively but then there is a significant drop in other areas.

While the plan applies to households earning under $90,000, another concern are the co-pays as a household earning between 70 to 80 thousand will have a 40% co-pay and, above that, there is a 60% co-pay.

There is a real concern that some employers may assume employees are covered, cancel the Dental benefit under their group benefit plan and then the employee is left with nothing or a reduced benefit.

Group Savings

Pension Plan Membership Increasing: Report

According to a new report by Statistics Canada, overall pension plan membership grew by 4.2% between 2022 and 2023. Pension plan membership grew in all provinces except Manitoba with the largest being in Ontario followed by Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

Defined contributions plans increased by 5.1% while membership in combination plans – Deferred Profit and Registered Retirement savings – grew by 3%.

Legislative

Government of Canada Introduces Temporary Employment Insurance Measures

The Government of Canada has introduced new temporary employment insurance (EI) measures to support workers impacted by foreign tariffs, These temporary amendments include:

• Boosting regional unemployment rates used to determine access to and duration of EI benefits
• Suspending the rules regarding earnings allocation and repayment of monies related to separation from employment
• Suspending the rules regarding earnings allocation and repayment of monies related to separation from employment

More information is available in the Canadian Gazette under Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations (Pilot Project No. 24).

Bill 229 Now Effective in Ontario

On June 19, 2025, Bill 229, the Working for Workers Act, amends the ESA to include a new long-term job-protected leave. This leave allows an employee who has already been employed for 13 consecutive weeks to have up to 27 unpaid weeks of leave if they are unable to work due to a serious medical condition.

The employee must advise the employer in writing and provide a note from a doctor, RN, psychologist or other practitioner and that note must include the period of time that employee will be off work.

It is recommended employers review their policies regarding leaves accordingly.

Quebec Public Prescription Drug insurance Plan

The regie de l’assurance du Quebec (RAMQ) has published the new contributions and premiums for the public drug insurance plan which covers the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.

These rates affect Quebec residents between the ages of 18 and 64 as well as seniors aged 65 and older not receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Here are the highlights:

• The annual out-of-pocket maximum increases to $1,232
• The monthly out-of-pocket maximum increases to $102.64
• The monthly deductible remains $22.00
• The co-pay reduces to 30%
• The premium premium increases to $766

For group plans that cover Quebec residents, the regulation affects them in two ways:

1. The plan’s reimbursement level for drugs will move to 100% once a plan member reaches the annual out-of-pocket maximum listed above
2. The plan’s co-pay must be equal to or better than the RAMQ co-pay listed above