Employer pension plans (trusteed pension funds), third quarter 2023

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 uses 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11-10-0086-01 have replaced tables 11-10-0076-01, 11-10-0077-01 and 11-10-0079-01, which are now terminated and have been archived.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.