If financial trouble at your employer has shaken your confidence in the long-term security of your pension, that feeling deserves to be addressed, not ignored.
This is important. If you read some of our blogs, read this for your defined benefit pension.
Usually clients will come to us not worried that the company will fail tomorrow, they are worried about whether the company will still be strong enough decades from now when they are well into their 80s and relying heavily on predictable income.
Folks say to us: “My company pension plan is fully funded.” We say: “Yep, for now. But who’s contributing in the future?”
This is where copycat annuities often enter the conversation.
A copycat annuity is designed to closely replicate the monthly income of a traditional defined benefit pension, but without tying that income to the future of a single employer. Instead of relying on the company’s long-term health, income is backed by a large, regulated financial institution.
For people who have lost confidence in their employer’s long-term stability, this shift can provide meaningful peace of mind.
Why Trust Matters More As You Age
In your 60s, you may feel comfortable managing uncertainty. In your 70s and 80s, priorities often change.
What matters most later in life is not maximizing returns or outperforming markets. It is knowing that income will arrive every month, regardless of economic conditions, corporate performance, or management decisions made years after you retire.
A copycat annuity replaces employer-specific risk with institutional risk, which for many retirees feels easier to accept and understand. Think of it this way: you take your company pension BUT you draw that from a Cdn insurer, same pension.
Separating Your Retirement Income From Your Employer
One of the biggest risks in retirement is concentration. When your salary, benefits, and pension have all come from the same employer, your retirement income can remain tied to that same source long after you stop working.
A copycat annuity allows some people to separate their retirement income from their former employer entirely. Instead of hoping the company remains healthy for decades, income is contractually guaranteed by the issuing institution.
This shift can be especially attractive to those who have watched their employer struggle, restructure, or downsize over the years.
Assuris
This is an insurance policy on the insurance companies in Canada. Look it up. If one insurer in Canada fails, this policy guarantees payment to you. Most pensioners are safe. We invite you to look up the limits.
Income Stability Into Your 80s and Beyond
Longevity is one of the greatest risks retirees face. Many people will live well into their 80s or 90s, and income decisions made at retirement must hold up over that entire period.
For individuals who worry about whether their company will be around long enough to support that timeline, a copycat annuity can offer reassurance. Payments continue for life, independent of what happens to the former employer.
This can remove a lingering source of anxiety that otherwise follows people into retirement.
Not About Fear, About Alignment
Choosing a copycat annuity is not about assuming disaster. It is about aligning income sources with personal comfort levels.
Some people are comfortable trusting their employer indefinitely. Others prefer to remove that dependency once they stop working. Neither approach is inherently right or wrong.
What matters is whether your retirement income plan reflects how you want to feel about risk in the years ahead.
A Thoughtful Option, Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution
Copycat annuities are not the right choice for everyone. They are one of several tools that can be considered when evaluating pension options.
At Pension Solutions Canada, we help people understand how copycat annuities work, how income compares, and how this option fits alongside other retirement income sources. The goal is not to push a solution, but to ensure decisions are made with clarity and confidence.
