In a world where knowledge drives decisions, there’s no one better to have at the wheel than the actuarial specialists at GBL. This national actuarial consulting firm has a deep bench of experts in Calgary and Toronto with decades of experience in the industry.
They are the market leader in innovative strategies such as the Individual Pension Plan (IPP), Retirement Compensation Arrangement (RCA) and other strategies that help business owners, incorporated professionals, corporate executives and professional athletes navigate ever-changing financial cycles, legislative and tax changes, and macroeconomic issues to save for retirement, reduce tax and mitigate risk.
The IPP is a “supercharged RRSP” for business owners which allows for higher contributions and corporate tax deductions. The Retirement Compensation Arrangement (RCA) is a “supercharged IPP” built for executive compensation, severance, and cross-border and business sale considerations. Both are widely used as advanced planning strategies by business owners, executives and their advisors.
The company got its start with a 17-year-old Scotsman who bypassed his final year of high school to get a different kind of education with an insurance company. Gordon B. Lang entered the actuarial department and built a career that brought him to Montreal as part of the Commercial Union team in 1964.
He continued to build his resumé in Montreal, Toronto and finally Calgary in 1987. When big accounting firms shuttered their consulting operations in 1995, Lang and his wife Louise purchased Sobeco Ernst & Young’s Prairie pension practice, which would become Gordon B. Lang & Associates (GBL). Lang noted, “I had witnessed the power of IPPs in the ’80s, and retirement losses of a Defined Benefit plan after a company had gone bankrupt had illuminated the importance of RCAs,” leading him to specialize in these strategies.
Today, that team of two now numbers over 20 talented professionals who have helped build the business into a go-to resource for business owners and incorporated professionals across Canada. GBL has a stellar reputation for service, accuracy and integrity; Lang worked hard to attract the best in the business to maintain those standards. He met fellow actuary Navaz Cassam at an actuarial conference and recruited him to the team in 2015.
When Lang decided to hand over the reins of GBL and retire, fellow actuary and colleague Laura Davis jumped at the opportunity to partner with Cassam. It was an incredible marriage of specialties and personalities. Together they have made GBL an industry leader in IPPs, RCAs, Fair Market Valuations of Life Insurance (FMVs), Corporate Defined Benefit (DB) Administration and Consulting, Family Law Valuations, and Cross-Border Strategies.
“GBL has a history of not only helping business owners and their advisors navigate macroeconomic events and changes to tax legislation, we’ve also stood up for them in Parliamentary committees. We’ve built our brand around helping the business owner, their advisor and accountant through advanced planning strategies,” says Ryan Ackers, Senior Vice President, Growth & Corporate Development for GBL.
Its long-time team of four actuaries supported by actuarial analysts, administrative experts, and a client and advisor-focused sales team offers versatile strategies that help its diverse client base mitigate factors like tariffs, pandemics, tax changes and inflation as they plan for their futures. While GBL isn’t a wealth manager, it augments wealth managers as a full-service operation that offers advanced retirement and tax planning strategies used alongside traditional savings vehicles (such as the RRSP). The GBL team knows that there is a learning curve to such specialized strategies, and they guide clients and their advisors through the process.
“Pensions can be complex. When clients call, sometimes they might not know exactly what they need. From the very first call, they will be connected to an expert who can guide them – it’s very rewarding,” says Margie Benedict, Vice President, Plan Administration.
GBL continues to grow with organic expansion, new business lines and acquisitions. One key addition was Pat Johnston and Pension Strategies Inc., which brought experience in Corporate Defined Benefit, Commuted Value and Marriage Breakdown (Family Law) Valuations.
“I could see my retirement somewhere in the nearer future. I was seeking a firm that would be a good fit, and after meeting with Navaz and Laura, it became evident that GBL was the perfect fit,” says Pat Johnston, Senior Vice President and Actuary.
This merger made GBL one of the few firms in Canada to specialize in how to split a pension in the event of a relationship dissolution. Now the team offers services in virtually any area, from charitable gifting of life insurance and cross-border exempt testing, to cross-border compensation strategies, from golden handcuff Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs) to executive severance solutions that allow severed executives to pay less tax and keep more of their severance, from group retirement and health benefits to actuarial consulting.
“Once business owners and advisors understand what we do and the options available to them that they may not have heard of, they tend to become clients and spread the word,” says Cassam. “We see a massive untapped market. Even though we are the largest provider of our flagship strategies, we consistently spread the word, innovate and adopt new lines of business as the need arises.”
As the largest national provider in a specialized industry, much of GBL’s growth centres on education. Their goal is to help clients and their advisors understand their situation and the options that they may be unaware exist. GBL takes on the role of partner rather than commodity and is truly a part of a client’s wider team.
“We go above and beyond to provide the best service possible for our clients and their planning team. We work closely with their financial advisors and accountants because our products are niche. We’re always available to them and strive to provide the best customer service in our industry,” says Davis.
What lies ahead for GBL? Keeping with its reputation of innovation, GBL recently expanded its human capital business line, which utilizes its pension expertise in talent attraction and retention tools such as Defined Contribution (DC) plans, Group RRSP plans, and Health Benefits for corporate clients and their employees.
This proudly Calgarian firm has built a national reputation for service, analytical rigor and turning complex challenges into clear strategies. With innovative solutions to enhance retirement savings, GBL is the business owner’s best-kept secret.
Suite 130, 5720 4 St SE,
Calgary, AB T2H 1K7
(403) 249-1820
info@gblinc.ca
