Happy New Year, and welcome to our 2026 Edition of the Vita Talks Podcast!
To kick off the January episode, Gianna sat down with Cristelle Sary, a lawyer with over 15 years of experience in pension, benefits, and employment law. Cristelle is registered with both the Quebec and Ontario bars and has also worked as a policy advisor at the federal level, giving her a unique perspective on how law, policy, and workplace realities intersect.
Our conversation explores what happens when employees continue working past traditional retirement age, and how courts are increasingly questioning age-based benefit cutoffs. Cristelle walks through recent case law, explains the employer’s duty to act in good faith, and shares why some benefit changes are upheld while others are ruled discriminatory.
If your organization employs—or expects to employ—older workers, this episode offers insight you won’t want to miss.
Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
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More About Our Guest
Cristelle Sary
Cristelle Sary is a lawyer and the managing partner of Messier Sary & Consultants, which she founded in 2018. Specializing in pensions, benefits, employment, and executive compensation law, Cristelle brings over 20 years of experience from top Canadian law firms, multinational actuarial firms, and government roles.
Cristelle advises clients on pensions, employment, benefits, and group annuities, with a focus on governance, plan design, mergers, wind-ups, administration, and tax-related matters. She also provides strategic guidance on French language law compliance, as well as cybersecurity and privacy issues affecting pension plans, members, and administrators. Her experience across legal, political, and business environments enables her to deliver practical, strategic advice to employers and plan administrators.
Connect to Cristelle on LinkedIn.
