CONTINUING the CONVERSATION

OPTrust’s mission is paying pensions today, preserving pensions for tomorrow. We keep our members’ interests in mind, in everything we do.

Last year, OPTrust started a conversation about “the measure that matters.” We renamed the Annual Report the Funded Status Report (FSR) because the measure that matters to a pension plan’s members is its funded status — the benchmark that directly determines the Plan’s ability to pay the expected benefits at the current cost. This year’s FSR continues this conversation, keeping the focus on our fully funded status.

Paying pensions today, preserving pensions for tomorrow

We are proud of the work we have done for more than 20 years on behalf of our members. However, we are not an organization that ever wants to rest on its laurels. Delivering on our mission for our members requires constant improvement and innovation.

2017 Highlights

Maintaining a well-funded plan is central to how we operate, and we are proud to report that in 2017, the Plan continues to be fully funded.

Fully funded defined benefit pension plan
Over 92,000 members and retirees
Received A+ for strategy
and governance approach
to responsible investing
from the Principles for
Responsible Investment
(PRI) and scored above
the median in a majority
of categories
Received a Member Services satisfaction score of 9/10
Read more
Message from the Chair and Vice-Chair

Message from the Chair and Vice-Chair

2017 was another successful year for OPTrust. The Plan remains fully funded and its members continue to rate its services very highly. For a member-driven organization like OPTrust, there can be no higher accolade.

Read more

Message from the President and CEO

In 2016, we started a conversation with our industry, our sponsors and our members about what we thought mattered most as a pension plan. Our answer hasn’t changed: the Plan’s funded status. It is the foundation on which secure, sustainable retirement futures rest, and when gauging the success of a defined benefit pension plan, it is the measure that matters.

Read more
Hugh O’Reilly, OPTrust President and CEO
Conversation icon

Strategy: Continuing the Conversation

During 2017, we set the stage for both sustaining the Plan and, in fact, growing the Plan. Defined benefit pension plans offer tremendous value as the best way to provide retirement income security. Still, there are a significant number of people who do not have a workplace pension plan or a defined benefit plan, a situation we are trying to address.

  • Pension Citizens
  • An Innovative Organization
  • Culture
  • Prudent Stewardship
  • Focus on Members
  • Climate Change
  • Funding Policy
Read more

Pension Funding

The Plan’s 2017 funding valuation showed it remained fully funded as of December 31, 2017. The funding valuation also confirmed deferred (or “smoothed”) investment gains of $885 million, which will be recognized over the next four years and should further improve the Plan’s funded status in years to come.

Read more
Pension funding

Investment Strategy and Performance

Progress has been made to advance the Member-Driven Investing (MDI) strategy. Our total fund portfolio now has a more balanced risk-factor exposure and is less reliant on equities as the key driver of returns.

Synchronized pick up in real economic activity globally
Central bank coordination
Low volatility and strong equity bull market
Geopolitical risks centred on vulnerable global trade architecture
Read more

Serving Members

Through our very successful member-direct approach, we were ranked among the top-10 defined-benefit pension plans globally, with a service score of 87 out of 100 from CEM Benchmarking Inc.

Our members gave us a solid 9 out of 10 as a measure of their satisfaction with the services we provide; rating us on knowledge, dependability, accuracy, courtesy and timeliness.

Read more
Top 10 CEM global definedbenefit service ranking
9/10 average member satisfaction score
46,604 member requests received and processed
Over $1B total pension benefits paid

Board of Trustees

OPTrust was established in 1995 to give members a voice in key decisions affecting their pensions through a joint sponsorship model that recognizes the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the Government of Ontario as equal sponsors of the Plan. OPSEU and the Government of Ontario each appoint five Trustees to OPTrust’s 10-member Board.

Read more
Board of Trustees

Personal Perspectives

Every interaction with members provides a vivid reminder of whom we serve and why we continue to make a difference in their financial well-being.

In 2017, we met in person with both retirees and active members to understand what we can do to provide the best experiences with us.

Read more

 

2017 OPTrust Funded Status PDF Reports

Download the Funded Status Reports in PDF Format

More information on OPTrust’s strategy and results is available in our full funded status report.