YWCHSB delivers stability to Yukon employers
For release | November 15, 2019
The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board (YWCHSB) announced today that in order to continue to keep rates stable and maintain the integrity of the Compensation Fund, rebates will not be distributed to Yukon employers this year.
From 2012 through 2018, over $60 million* was distributed to Yukon employers in the form of rate subsidies and rebate cheques. The compensation system still has the funds needed to provide excellent care to every Yukon worker injured on the job.
“The decision to not distribute a rebate this year is a continuation of our measured approach to the long-term stewardship of the Compensation Fund,” said Mark Pike, Chair of YWCHSB’s Board of Directors. “By exercising this caution, we’re providing downside protection to the Fund if a market correction occurs and that means a lower risk of rate volatility for employers. It’s the most prudent financial decision to protect the interests of employers and the integrity of the Fund itself.”
YWCHSB aims to maintain its Compensation Fund at between 121 and 129 per cent of our total liabilities, a range established through consultation with worker and employer stakeholder groups. This guarantees that the funds are available to meet not only the current needs of injured workers but also any future unanticipated needs.
At the end of 2018, YWCHSB’s funded position was 132 per cent, down from its peak of 160 per cent at the end of 2014. This peak was a result of the unprecedented growth in global financial markets.
“After four years of rebates and rate reductions, and ongoing careful financial management, we can now rely on our funding policy to do what it was designed to do: bring the Fund into our target range; ensure rate stability and avoid large fluctuations; absorb shocks and bumps from claims costs and market volatility; and ensure a solvent Compensation Fund,” said Kurt Dieckmann, President/CEO of YWCHSB.
Yukon employers share collectively in the obligation to provide compensation to injured workers by contributing to the Compensation Fund, which provides injury prevention services, wage-loss benefits, and stay-at-work and return-to-work support to eligible claimants.
* Correction: this figure was previously reported incorrectly as $65 million.