Census of Trusteed Pension Funds 2012 Notes / Instructions to Respondents

  • Return of questionnaire
  • Please return the completed questionnaire to Statistics Canada within 30 days of receipt by mail using the enclosed envelope, or you can send it by fax at 1-888-883-7999.
  • Lost the return envelope or need help?
  • Call us at 1-800-678-7910 or mail to:
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Definitions

Trusteed Pension Fund:

For purposes of this survey, trusteed pension funds include the assets of one or more registered pension plans;

  • held under a trust agreement.
  • held by a pension corporation or pension fund society.
  • administered under legislation of the Government of Canada, or government of a province of Canada.
  • held by an insurance company for investment management only.

Excluded from the survey are pension funds held in total under an annuity insurance contract.

Pension funds with a portion of the assets held by an insurance company for investment management only must complete the survey and report the insurance holdings in Section's A: and C: of the questionnaire.

More Than One Pension Fund in Operation:

If your organization operates more than one trusteed pension fund, please complete a separate report for each.

However, consolidated or master trust funds are treated as single funds for this survey. A master trust fund is a consolidated pension fund where the assets of two or more registered pension plans are managed as a single fund. The contributions of these plans are deposited into this fund and the assets for each plan are in the form of units of the master trust fund.

Terminated Plans - Residual Assets:

The residual assets remaining in a trusteed fund after a registered pension plan has been terminated and to which no further contributions
are payable, are to be reported in this survey until all assets have been liquidated, distributed and the fund has been completely closed out.
Respondents: Respondents completing all or part of the Census of Trusteed Pension funds questionnaire may include employers, pension plan sponsors, custodians or third party service providers, including incorporated companies, unions, financial institutions, pension fund administrators, actuaries, consultants and federal and provincial pension investment boards.

If it is necessary to obtain administrative data (Section A:) or financial data (Sections B: or C:) from another organization, please report what information you can and forward the questionnaire to the plan sponsor, pension service provider or agency to complete and return to Statistics Canada.

Section A: Administrative Data

Insurance company holdings (Question 4):

Insurance company holdings (Question 4): For the plan registration numbers reported in question 8, if any of the assets are invested with or
managed by an insurance company and included in amounts reported in Section C: answer yes and report the total insurance investments on this line.

Members covered (Question 5):

  • (a) Number of employed plan members: Report the number of members (at December 31 or plan year end) for whom contributions are being made, or if the person is temporarily not working, for whom contributions will likely be made in the future.
  • (b) Number of additional persons having equity in the fund: Do not include people for whom annuities have been purchased and who no longer have equity in the fund.

Book (Cost) Value of Previous Year's Assets:If Book (cost) value of previous year's assets is unavailable, please report the market value and enter ‘MV' following the amount reported.

Section B: Receipts and Disbursements

Receipts and Net Realized Gains

(Note: Do not include an unrealized gains)

Employee contributions (line 100): Include both required and voluntary contributions.

Employer contributions (line 101): Report the actual dollar amount contributed. Include amounts for special payments for unfunded liability, etc. Deduct any credits or surpluses used to reduce required contributions.

Investment income (line 102): Report total investment income on an accrued basis, if possible. Include interest income from bonds, mortgages, deposits, short-term notes, dividend income from equities, real estate income, income from securities lending and pooled investment income. If possible, report gross investment income on this line and report any investment expenses associated with investment income on line 203.

Net realized profit on sale of securities (line 103): Profit is calculated by deducting the sale price from the purchase price. Subtract losses from gains. If the amount is positive, report on line 103 and if negative, report as a net loss, on line 204. Include gains from settled derivatives transactions, on line 103 and losses from settled derivative transactions on line 204.

Transfers from other pension plans (line 104): These transfers would result from the merger of two or more plans, the transfer of assets of one or more members from another pension plan or change of funding instrument (e.g. from an insurance company contract to a trust arrangement). Specify the origin of these transfers.

For master trusts do not include transfers from one plan held by the master trust into another plan held by the same master trust.

Other receipts and gains (line 105): Currency exchange gains for investments that have not been sold but have been revalued in Canadian dollars should be reported here.

For master trusts do not include receipts that are received from an investment account held by the same master trust.

Disbursements and Net Realized Losses

(Note: Do not include unrealized losses)

Pension payments out of fund to retirees and beneficiaries (line 200): Include, if applicable, the lump sum settlements made in lieu of a pension at retirement. Do not include cash withdrawals for such things as death, termination, etc.; these amounts should be reported as cash withdrawals, line 202.

Cost of pensions purchased (line 201): This is the cost of purchasing annuities, most commonly from an insurance company.

Cash withdrawals (including transfers to other plans) (line 202): Include cash amounts withdrawn due to death, termination of employment, discontinuation of the plan or change of funding instrument (e.g. from a trust arrangement to an insurance company contract). Transfers result from the merger of two or more plans, the transfer of assets of one or more members to another pension plan, etc. The transfer of monies, on behalf of terminating plan members, to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan, a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan or another Registered Pension Plan should also be included here.

Administration costs(line 203): Include any investment expenses not netted from investment income and membership services (i.e., benefit administration and delivery) expenses charged to the fund.

Net realized loss on sale of securities (line 204): See Net realized profit on sale of securities, line 103.

Other disbursements and losses (line 206):Report loss resulting from change in currency exchange here (see Other receipts and gains, line 105).

For master trusts do not include disbursements from the master trust that are received into an investment account held by the same master trust.

Note: The difference between Total receipts and gains (line 110) and Total disbursements and losses (line 210)is referred to as net income. The net income, when added to the book (cost) value of previous year's assets should equal the net assets book (cost) value (Section C, line 400) for the current year.

Section C: Assets

Asset detail – report both book (cost) and market values

For the questionnaire items that request you to "specify" please state the items explicitly.

Foreign investments: Foreign property has the same meaning as defined in Canada's income tax act. Investments in foreign property are to be reported on lines 305, 321, 322, 334 or 362, depending on the asset class in which the money is invested. Foreign property investments can include; investments in units of a foreign pooled fund; investments in publicly traded foreign stocks or private equity investments in foreign corporations; investments in bonds or a debenture issued by a non-Canadian resident and deposits in a bank or similar institution outside Canada. Investments expressed in foreign currency but situated in Canada are not considered foreign.

Pooled, mutual and investment funds (lines 300 to 306): Include investments in funds which pool the monies of several investors and which are sold on a unit basis. This includes insurance industry segregated pooled funds. The category of foreign fund takes precedence over other pooled funds. If, for example, a fund is both foreign and money market it should be reported as a foreign fund. Canadian funds may be partially invested outside Canada. If any assets are listed on line 306, please provide a description of the assets being reported using the specify field.

Equities (lines 320 to 332): Include investments in publicly traded stocks and private equity investments in Canadian (line 320) or foreign (line 321 and 322) corporations.

Bonds / Debentures (lines 330 to 334): Include bonds maturing in less than 12 months. Federal bonds (line 330) include only direct issues by the Canadian federal government. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) mortgage bonds and NHA Mortgage-Backed Securities insured by the CMHC as well as bonds issued by other federal government businesses are to be recorded under other Canadian (corporate) (line 333). Provincial and Municipal bonds (lines 331 and 332) include both direct issues of those levels of government as well as bonds guaranteed by their government business enterprises. In other Canadian (corporate)(line 333) include bonds and debentures issued by Canadian corporations and non-guaranteed issues of government business enterprises. Convertible bonds should also be reported as other Canadian (corporate) and not with equities. In foreign (line 334) include bonds issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American, Caribbean and Asian Development Banks.

Mortgages (lines 340 and 341): These are conventional mortgage loans which are granted to borrowers to finance the purchase of properties with the underlying property secured as collateral for the loan. Report loans granted to borrowers to finance the purchase of residential properties on line 340. Report loans granted to businesses to finance the purchase of commercial properties as non-residential on line 341.

Real estate (line 350): Report investments in real estate, including petroleum and natural gas properties. Investments in real estate funds or REITs are to be reported in line 303.

Cash, deposits, GICs (line 360): Include cash on hand and deposits in chartered banks and trust and mortgage loan companies. Bank term deposits and GICs should also be included on line 360.

Other Canadian short-term paper (line 363): Includes provincial and municipal t-bills, banker's acceptances, discount notes, promissory notes, call loans, interest bearing notes, bearer demand notes and other financial and commercial paper issued by corporations and provincial and municipal governments.

Other assets (line 372): Include fair value of unsettled derivative contracts with a positive position on this line and any other assets not reported elsewhere. Please provide a description of the asset being reported using the specify field.

Debts and payables (line 390): Include the fair value of unsettled derivative contracts with a negative position on this line.

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