University Pension Plan Ontario

University Pension Plan leaders work to deliver ‘pension promise’: The Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:11:26 +0000

University Pension Plan leaders work to deliver ‘pension promise’: The Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 07/13/2021 - 12:11

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(Photo by Diana Tyszko)

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The University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) officially took over the pension plans of the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and the University of Guelph on July 1, ushering in a new approach towards public sector asset management, the Globe and Mail reports.

Headed by chief executive Barbara Zvan, the new jointly sponsored pension plan oversees $10.5-billion in retirement savings and is looking to sign up more members, with Trent University’s faculty pension plan set to come aboard next year. Zvan told the Globe that the UPP’s primary mission is to deliver on the “pension promise” by forging a united pension plan “with talent that can innovate, along with making use of increased size and scale.”

To that end, Zvan said she’s prioritized culture in putting together the UPP’s 40-strong team, hiring professionals with a track record of creativity and persistence. That includes chief financial officer Henry Kim, who was one of the first employees of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and acting general counsel Christine Chen, former legal and tax consultant at U.K.-based private equity firm Cinven.

Going forward, the UPP plans to hire a chief investment officer by September and lay out its investing and risk management strategies, the Globe reported.

Read the story in the Globe and Mail

Gale Rubenstein, chair of University Pension Plan Ontario, shares her vision with the Globe and Mail

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 17:12:01 +0000

Gale Rubenstein, chair of University Pension Plan Ontario, shares her vision with the Globe and Mail

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 01/07/2020 - 12:12

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Gale Rubenstein, a partner at Goodmans LLP, was recently named the inaugural chair of the University Pension Plan Ontario, which will initially oversee $10 billion on behalf of U of T, Queen's and the University of Guelph (photo courtesy of Goodmans LLP)

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Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

The inaugural chair of the University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) says the new pension fund will work to boost investment performance, improve risk management and safeguard the retirement security of current and former employees at Ontario universities, the Globe and Mail reports.

Gale Rubenstein, a partner at Toronto law firm Goodmans LLP and an expert in corporate restructuring, negotiation and pension matters, was tapped as the first employee of the UPP, which will initially oversee $10 billion on behalf of the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and the University of Guelph.

“I’ve always respected the importance of defined benefit plans, and I welcome the opportunity to help build a new structure that is sustainable,” said Rubenstein, who added she’s working to recruit the rest of Ontario’s universities to join the initiative.

Angela Hildyard, special adviser to the president and provost at U of T and a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, said Rubenstein was entrusted with the responsibility because she “understands how to execute organizational change with a respectful, consensus-building approach.”

Details on the UPP’s board of trustees and sponsor committees can be found on its website.

Read the story in the Globe and Mail

U of T, Guelph and Queen's receive member consent for University Pension Plan Ontario

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 19:00:33 +0000

U of T, Guelph and Queen's receive member consent for University Pension Plan Ontario

geoff.vendeville Thu, 07/04/2019 - 15:00

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The University of Toronto, University of Guelph and Queen's University are one step closer to merging five existing university pension plans into the single, jointly-sponsored University Pension Plan Ontario (photo by Laura Pedersen)

Geoffrey Vendeville

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Each of the three universities – working with their faculty associations, the United Steelworkers union and representatives of non-unionized employees – have achieved the necessary consent from members of their existing pension plans to allow the UPP to proceed.

At U of T, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Unifor and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers unions have also consented to the conversion on behalf of the employees they represent.

“Everyone involved has worked incredibly hard to create what all participants believe will be a strong and sustainable pension plan for university employees when they retire,” said Angela Hildyard, U of T's special adviser to the president and provost.

“The administrations at the three universities are delighted we've received consent from employee groups and strongly support the move to the UPP to preserve a defined benefit pension plan in the university sector for generations to come.”

At a time when many employers are abandoning defined benefit pension plans – which offer members predictable retirement income based on salary and years of service – the jointly-sponsored UPP will preserve the defined benefit model for members and act as an important tool for member universities when it comes to employee retention and recruitment.

Other Ontario universities will be eligible to join the UPP once it is established, with the plan benefitting from a larger pool of money to invest as membership grows. Pension costs and risks will also be spread out over a larger number of members.

The UPP is similar to well-known jointly sponsored pension plans such as the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).

“After the years of planning and consultation that went into designing a sustainable joint sponsored pension plan, I’d like to thank all University of Toronto pension plan participants for taking the time to engage with this process and provide their consent for the UPP,” said Kelly Hannah-Moffat, U of T’s vice-president of human resources and equity.

“Now we begin the hard work needed to transfer our existing pension plans and implement the new UPP.”

The new UPP could be up and running by July 1, 2021 once all legislative compliance activities and disclosures have been completed and the required approvals obtained. At that point, members of the universities’ existing pension plans will join the UPP, and active members will begin accruing benefits based on the UPP's provisions.

There will be no changes to benefit amounts already accrued.

As for next steps, approvals from the universities’ governing boards will be sought this fall and each institution will apply to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario for approval to transfer the assets and liabilities of the existing pension plans to the UPP.

For more information, please visit the UPP website at www.universitypension.ca.