Municipal Employee Pension Plans in Canada: An Overview

This paper provides an overview of municipal employee pension plans in Canada by drawing on Statistics Canada data, municipal employee pension plan publications, and municipalities’ financial statements. It provides information on the organizational structure, governance, and administration of plans; the benefits they provide; contributions to the plans; their funded status; and their impact on municipal finances. Although largely descriptive, the findings suggest that while municipal employee pension plans’ financial situation is satisfactory overall, these plans involve significant financial risks and in some cases have experienced financial difficulties that have caused problems for municipal finances. The paper also identifies a number of data limitations that can be overcome through coordinated action by municipalities and their pension plans.