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Employer pension plans (trusteed pension funds)
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The market value of employer-sponsored pension funds amounted to $943.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2010, up $23.0 billion (+2.5%) from the fourth quarter of 2009.
This was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth in pension fund assets, as they rebounded from significant losses in 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
The first-quarter value of assets was up 17.6% from the low of $801.9 billion reported in the first quarter of 2009. However, it was still 2.8% below the high of $970.8 billion reached in the second quarter of 2008.
At the end of March, stocks and equity funds accounted for 33.7% of total pension fund assets. Bonds accounted for 35.4%, consistent with the values reported in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Pension fund revenues dropped 20.2% to $24.5 billion in the first quarter. The decline in revenue was largely the result of reduced employer contributions, following large special payments in the third and fourth quarters of 2009.
Expenditures declined to $12.4 billion. Net income fell from $16.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $12.2 billion in the first quarter, the first decline in a year.
Just over 6.0 million Canadian workers are members of employer pension plans. Of this group, 4.9 million workers are members of trusteed plans. The remaining 1.1 million members with employer pension plans are managed principally by insurance company contracts. Data in this release refer only to trusteed plans and their pension funds.
Available on CANSIM: tables 280-0002 to 280-0004.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2607.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-888-297-7355; 613-951-7355; fax: 613-951-3012; income@statcan.gc.ca), Income Statistics Division.
Table 1
| First quarter 2009r | Fourth quarter 2009p | First quarter 2010p | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ millions | % of total assets | $ millions | % of total assets | $ millions | % of total assets | |
| Total assets | 801,859 | 100.0 | 920,352 | 100.0 | 943,377 | 100.0 |
| Bonds | 303,783 | 37.9 | 323,579 | 35.2 | 334,047 | 35.4 |
| Stocks | 251,148 | 31.3 | 312,363 | 33.9 | 317,779 | 33.7 |
| Mortgages | 14,647 | 1.8 | 13,733 | 1.5 | 13,828 | 1.5 |
| Real estate | 70,592 | 8.8 | 72,888 | 7.9 | 72,441 | 7.7 |
| Short term | 29,577 | 3.7 | 36,184 | 3.9 | 34,599 | 3.7 |
| Other assets | 127,798 | 15.9 | 156,512 | 17.0 | 165,487 | 17.5 |
| Assets, funds under $10 million | 4,313 | 0.5 | 5,093 | 0.6 | 5,195 | 0.6 |
Table 2
| Fourth quarter 2009p | First quarter 2010p | Fourth quarter 2009 to first quarter 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ millions | % change | ||
| Total revenue | 30,718 | 24,517 | -20.2 |
| Revenue from contributions | 12,320 | 9,588 | -22.2 |
| Investment income | 8,320 | 6,643 | -20.2 |
| Net profit on sale of securities | 8,092 | 7,887 | -2.5 |
| Miscellaneous revenue | 1,605 | 162 | -89.9 |
| Revenue, funds under $10 million | 381 | 237 | -37.8 |
| Total expenditures | 14,745 | 12,357 | -16.2 |
| Pension payments out of funds | 9,868 | 9,727 | -1.4 |
| Cost of pensions purchased | 48 | 44 | -8.3 |
| Cash withdrawals | 1,836 | 804 | -56.2 |
| Administration costs | 846 | 767 | -9.3 |
| Net loss on sale of securities | 1,501 | 427 | -71.6 |
| Other expenditures | 443 | 430 | -2.9 |
| Expenditures, funds under $10 million | 203 | 158 | -22.2 |
