Employer pension plans (trusteed pension funds), second quarter 2023
Released: 2023-12-13
2,190,720
Second quarter 2023
5.1% 
(year-over-year change)
2,190,720
Second quarter 2023
-0.2% 
(quarterly change)
The second quarter saw the market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds continue to hover around the $2.2 trillion mark. It fell by $4.8 billion, or 0.2%, from the previous quarter. Year over year, the market value of assets was up by 5.1%, or $106.9 billion.
Of the five largest asset categories, which together accounted for 92.0% of the total market value of assets, four increased in value in the second quarter from the previous quarter. The largest asset category—equities—posted the largest dollar increase, up by just over $5.0 billion (+0.6%), followed by infrastructure (+$4.7 billion; +2.2%), bonds (+$54 million; less than +0.1%) and other assets (+$40 million; also less than +0.1%). Real estate fell by just over $2.3 billion, or 0.9%.
Overall, domestic assets fell in the second quarter by $9.6 billion (-1.1%) but were up by $4.4 billion (+0.5%) from one year earlier. Foreign assets rose by $6.7 billion (+0.6%) in the second quarter and by $96.8 billion (+10.1%) year over year.
Net income positive in the second quarter
Canadian trusteed pension funds posted a net income of $22.9 billion in the second quarter, up from $13.2 billion in the previous quarter. By comparison, the net income in the second quarter of 2022 was -$1.7 billion.
In the second quarter of 2023, total revenue was up 27.2%, or $10.3 billion, to $48.2 billion. Year over year, total revenue was up 87.1% from $25.8 billion.
In the second quarter, expenditures were up slightly (+2.3%; +$0.6 billion) to $25.3 billion; year over year, they were down 7.9%, or $2.2 billion, from $27.5 billion.
Domestic assets fall, while foreign assets rise
The total market value of domestic holdings decreased by $9.6 billion (-1.1%) to $884.1 billion in the second quarter. Year over year, the value increased by 0.5%, or $4.4 billion, from $879.7 billion.
In the second quarter, most domestic asset categories decreased in value. Short-term investments posted the largest quarterly decrease, down by $9.7 billion (-10.7%), followed by bonds, down by $0.8 billion (-0.2%), and equities, down by $0.4 billion (-0.2%). Real estate was unchanged, and infrastructure was up by $1.2 billion (+2.7%).
A majority of the foreign asset categories rose in the second quarter, led by equities, with a $5.4 billion (+0.8%) gain, followed by infrastructure (+$3.4 billion; +2.1%). Bonds rose by $0.8 billion (+0.9%). Real estate decreased by $2.4 billion (-1.6%), and foreign short-term assets fell by $0.6 billion (-5.9%).
Year over year, foreign assets were up by $96.8 billion, or 10.1%, to just under $1.1 trillion in the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the value of assets of nationality unknown, at $248.2 billion, fell to 11.3% of total assets from 11.4% in the previous quarter. This category represented 11.6% of all assets in the second quarter of 2022.
Public sector assets decrease, while private sector assets grow
The value of assets held by public sector plans fell by $6.8 billion (-0.4%) in the second quarter of 2023 and continued to hover around the $1.7 trillion mark. Private sector assets increased by $2.0 billion (+0.4%) to $453.3 billion. Year over year, public sector funds were up by $72.5 billion (+4.4%), while private sector plans rose by $34.3 billion (+8.2%).
The proportion of total assets of trusteed pension funds represented by the public sector fell from 79.4% in the first quarter and from 79.9% in the second quarter of 2022 to 79.3% in the second quarter of 2023.
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Note to readers
Starting in the first quarter of 2021, the survey was redesigned to collect additional variables and increase the number of pension funds covered quarterly.
Previously, the quarterly survey included approximately the 150 largest trusteed pension funds, and the remainder of the pension amounts was imputed based on the results of the biennial Census of Trusteed Pension Funds. The new design no longer utilizes the data from the biennial Census, which was discontinued in 2016. Instead, the quarterly survey's sample has been augmented to include the top 250 trusteed pension plans, equating to approximately 90% of the total value of all trusteed pension assets, resulting in reduced respondent burden. Therefore, the values reported in this release refer to the 250 largest pension plans and no longer include imputation for the remainder of the trusteed pension plan universe.
The new design eases data collection for respondents and data interpretability for users by reflecting the format of financial statements more closely. It also allows for higher accuracy in certain variables, such as the share of assets invested abroad. Additional detail in the reporting categories also reduces the share of assets classified in the "other assets" category.
Tables 11-10-0084-01, 11-10-0085-01 and 11-10-0086-01 have replaced tables 11-10-0076-01, 11-10-0077-01 and 11-10-0079-01, which are now terminated and have been archived.
For the purposes of this survey, trusteed pension funds include the assets of one or more registered pension plans: those held under a trust agreement, those held by a pension corporation or pension fund society, those administered under legislation by the Government of Canada or the government of a province of Canada, and those held by an insurance company for investment management only.
Data on revenues and expenditures for pension funds routinely exhibit seasonal characteristics. Readers should, therefore, view quarterly changes with some caution.
Pension funds held in total under an annuity insurance contract are excluded from the survey.
The data are subject to revisions for a period of 18 months from initial release.
Products
The Income, pensions, spending and wealth portal, which is accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, provides users with a single point of access to a wide variety of information related to revenue, pensions, spending and wealth.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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