How are group benefits and group RRSP brokers paid, and what is a fair commission?
Book a 10-minute callWant your own numbers?- start with the fee review- First $50,000 of annual premium
- 10%
- Next $50,000
- 7.5%
- Next $150,000
- 5%
- Next $250,000
- 3%
- Next $500,000
- 2%
- Above $1,000,000
- 1%
A guideline, not a standard. No regulator enforces it. Canadian Group Insurance Brokers, Group Benefits Scale, cgib.ca, accessed August 2026.
Group benefits brokers in Canada are usually paid a commission built into the premium, on a declining scale as the premium grows; group RRSP and DPSP advisors are usually paid out of the investment management fee charged on members' accounts. No regulator or association publishes a "fair" rate. The scale most brokers reference starts at 10 percent of the first $50,000 of annual premium and steps down from there. A fair arrangement is one you have seen in writing, in dollars, every year. RiskX discloses its compensation in writing annually. [JAROD: confirm written annual disclosure is current practice]
RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. is an independent, family-owned employee-benefits and group-retirement brokerage founded in 1994, licensed as an insurance brokerage in Alberta and Ontario, which publishes its group benefits commission schedule and discloses the commission earned on each client's plan in writing every year.
Last updated: August 2026
How group benefits brokers are paid
Most group benefits plans pay the broker a commission that is part of the premium the employer already pays. The reference point many brokers use is the Group Benefits Scale published by the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers association: 10 percent on the first $50,000 of annual premium, 7.5 percent on the next $50,000, 5 percent on the next $150,000, 3 percent on the next $250,000, 2 percent on the next $500,000, and 1 percent above $1,000,000 (CGIB, Group Benefits Scale, accessed August 2026). On the association's own examples, a $24,000 premium works out to about $2,400 a year to the broker, a $240,000 premium to about $15,750, and a $1.2 million premium to about $35,750.
Annual premium
$24,000
To the broker
about $2,400
Annual premium
$240,000
To the broker
about $15,750
Annual premium
$1.2 million
To the broker
about $35,750
Two things the association itself says, and we repeat because they are true. First, the scale is a guideline, not a standard, and no regulator enforces it. Second, for small groups many brokers set the scale aside and charge a flat 10, 12 or 15 percent, because small plans take as much work to run as mid-sized ones. That is a structural fact about the market, not a criticism of anyone.
How group RRSP and DPSP advisors are paid
On the retirement side the money is less visible. An advisor's compensation is usually embedded in the investment management fee charged on every member's account, alongside the fund manager's cost, the provider's margin and recordkeeping. Two plans quoting the same all-in fee can pay the advisor very different amounts. There is no published Canadian range for what that component should be on a 100-person plan, so we will not invent one. The useful question is the one CAPSA Guideline No. 3 tells plan sponsors to ask: request "a description and breakdown of the different categories of all member-borne fees" (CAPSA Guideline No. 3, section 6.2, 2024), and read the advisor line in it.
The all-in fee on your own plan is a different question, and it has its own page with a calculator. See what your plan's fees are costing your employees.
What "fair" means when there is no official number
Fair is not a percentage. It is three things you can check:
You can see it.
The amount, in dollars and percent, in writing, every year, without asking twice. A proposed Canadian industry guideline on exactly this disclosure was put forward in 2018 and later withdrawn, and provincial rules vary, so in most of the country disclosure is a choice the broker makes rather than a rule. Ask for it.
It pays for work you can name.
Renewal negotiation, claims and service issues, enrolment and education, the annual fee and governance review on the retirement side. If you cannot list what the compensation buys, that is the finding.
It does not depend on you staying put.
A broker paid the same whether your plan moves or stays has no reason to keep you where you are.
How RiskX is paid
On group benefits, RiskX is paid by commission within the premium and discloses the amount to you in writing every year. [JAROD: confirm written annual disclosure is current practice] On group retirement, [JAROD: one sentence on the group-retirement model, e.g. "our compensation is a stated component of the plan’s investment management fee, shown to you in basis points and dollars before you sign and every year after", or fee-for-service]. If a review shows your plan is fine where it is, we say so and the review costs you nothing.
The full group benefits commission schedule RiskX works to, by premium band, is published on our brokerage relationships and compensation page.
Questions we get
How are group benefits brokers paid in Canada?
Usually by commission built into the premium, on a declining scale as premium grows; the scale brokers commonly reference starts at 10 percent on the first $50,000 of annual premium (CGIB). Some brokers charge a flat rate on small groups.
What is a fair broker commission for a 100-person company?
There is no official number. On the commonly referenced scale a 100-person group's premium would land in the 5 to 7.5 percent bands on the portion above $50,000 (illustrative; it depends on the premium). Fair means disclosed in writing, in dollars, every year, for work you can name.
How are group RRSP advisors paid?
Usually out of the investment management fee on members' accounts. Ask for the fee breakdown by category; CAPSA Guideline No. 3 expects sponsors to request it.
Do brokers have to disclose their commission?
Rules vary by province and a proposed national disclosure guideline was withdrawn; in much of Canada it is not required. Ask for it in writing; a broker who hesitates has answered the question.
Does RiskX disclose its compensation?
Yes, in writing, every year. [JAROD: confirm written annual disclosure is current practice] [JAROD: one sentence on the group-retirement model, e.g. "our compensation is a stated component of the plan’s investment management fee, shown to you in basis points and dollars before you sign and every year after", or fee-for-service]
Prepared by RiskX
Written by Jarod Smith, CEO, RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. Reviewed by Gordon Smith, RiskX Insurance Brokers Inc. Updated August 19, 2026.
Sources
Commission scale and worked examples: Canadian Group Insurance Brokers, Group Benefits Scale, cgib.ca, accessed August 2026; the association states the scale is a guideline and not an official standard, and that many brokers charge a flat rate on small groups. Fee breakdown expectation: CAPSA Guideline No. 3, section 6.2 (2024), which is guidance, not legislation. Compensation disclosure: a proposed Canadian industry guideline on group compensation disclosure was put forward in 2018 and later withdrawn, and provincial disclosure rules vary (clhia.ca). No Canadian source publishes a range for the advisor component of a group retirement plan's investment management fee, so none is given here. RiskX compensation practice is first-party. Information here is general and not individualized advice.