Valuation
CAAT Plan remains resilient through a tumultuous year
Looking forward with CAAT’s valuation
According to our actuarial valuation as of January 1, 2025, the Plan is 124% funded on a going-concern basis. In other words, the Plan has set aside $1.24 for every dollar promised in pensions. A valuation evaluates the financial health of a Plan by comparing its assets to liabilities.
As a result, we have extended our conditional inflation protection enhancements to 2028.
Your pension is well-funded and secure
CAAT’s Governors take the Plan’s funding health into consideration as they make decisions related to long-term benefit security. Our Funding Policy helps shape their decisions. We are currently at Level 5 of our Funding Policy. There are six levels, each with specific guidelines for managing our reserves and conditional benefits. Over the years, we have been building reserves to protect the Plan from economic shocks and to account for inflation. As of January 1, 2025, CAAT has set aside approximately $6 billion for such purposes.
Creating more value for members and employers
Thanks to great investment performance and the success of growing Plan membership, the Plan’s continued financial strength has also allowed CAAT to implement enhancements that benefit members and employers. As previously announced, effective January 1, 2025, participating members and employers under DBprime saw a decrease in contribution rates, while DBplus members saw an increase in the annual pension factor on their contributions. As a result, DBprime members build the same valuable pension with lower contribution rates, and DBplus members grow their pension faster while contribution rates remain the same.
CAAT continues to develop practical solutions for the evolving retirement needs of its members and employers. For instance, in 2024 it introduced the GROWTHplus Investment Account enabling members to grow their tax-sheltered savings, together with the secure lifetime pension they have with CAAT. This optional savings account provides members with access to CAAT’s asset mix, which includes assets not typically available to individual investors. In recognition of GROWTHplus, CAAT was named a finalist in the Excellence and Innovation Awards by the Pensions & Investments WorldPensionSummit.
As always, our aim is to provide the lifetime retirement income Canadians want to feel financially secure in the future, with the stable and predictable costs that employers need to minimize risk and create real value for their organizations and people. As our actuarial valuation highlights, CAAT remains in strong financial shape to do both.
Read past valuation reports
Funding
Built on fundamental principles: paying both promised and conditional benefits
CAAT's Funding Policy
The Funding Policy defines six levels of Plan financial health and sets guidelines for the Plan governors to use reserves and conditional benefits to manage through periods of volatility, to keep the Plan sustainable over the long term to secure benefits while balancing fairness across the membership.
Annually, CAAT performs an actuarial valuation of the Plan. The valuation determines the Plan’s funded status and accordingly where the Plan sits within the levels of the Funding Policy.
The Funding Policy highlights the Plan’s long-term focus of protecting promised benefits and minimizing contribution rate volatility, while recognizing the desire to achieve intergenerational equity. To deliver on these longer-term goals while managing through short term volatility a blend of stability contributions, conditional benefits, and reserves are used.
There are six funding levels that help the Plan maintain a long-term focus and achieve its key strategic goals of benefit security, contribution stability and intergenerational and inter-design equity.
Read the Funding Policy
Revised effective June 1, 2018
DBprime
If the Plan has a deficit after using all reserves and the 3% DBprime stability contributions being paid by active members, Ontario pension law would require DBprime stability contributions to be further increased temporarily and/or that benefits members build in future be reduced to eliminate a deficit. Conditional inflation protection would not be paid to retired and deferred members.
DBplus
If the Plan has a deficit after using all reserves and contributions being paid by active members, the Plan would not pay post-retirement conditional inflation protection to retired and deferred members and will not pay pre-retirement benefit increases to active members. The Plan will also temporarily remove any early retirement subsidies. The Plan may consider reductions to future benefits by reducing the lifetime annual pension factor below 8.5%.
DBprime
With the 3% in DBprime stability contributions being paid by active members and the Plan’s funding reserves being fully used, the Plan has a small surplus. The Plan will provide the current period of conditional inflation protection increases to retired and deferred members. Surplus funds will also be allocated to funding reserves to withstand up to a 1% reduction in the discount rate.
DBplus
With the contributions being paid by active members and the Plan’s funding reserves being fully used, the Plan has a small surplus. The Plan will provide the current year of conditional inflation protection increases to retired and deferred members and would restore the annual pension factor to 8.5% for future benefits while considering restoring any prior pension factor reductions in previous years (if any). The subsidized early retirement reduction rate will be set at 5%. Pre-retirement benefit increases for active members will not be made. Surplus funds will also be allocated to funding reserves to withstand up to a 1% reduction in the discount rate.
DBprime
DBprime stability contributions of 3% are required from active members. The Plan will provide current period conditional inflation protection increases for retired and deferred members plus make additional increases for past years of conditional inflation rate increases missed (if any). Surplus funds will also be allocated to funding reserves to withstand up to a 1.5% reduction in the discount rate.
DBplus
The Plan will apply conditional inflation protection increases for retired and deferred members for the current period plus make additional increases for past years of inflation rate increases missed (if any). Pre-retirement benefit increases for active members will be applied. The subsidized early retirement reduction rate will be 5% and the lifetime annual pension factor will be 8.5%. Surplus funds will also be allocated to funding reserves to withstand up to a 1.5% reduction in the discount rate.
DBprime
DBprime stability contributions of 1%, 2%, or 3% are required from active members. All periods of conditional inflation protection increases for retired and deferred members have been made. Surplus funds will be allocated into reserves to withstand up to a 2% reduction in the discount rate and build reserves to fund future conditional inflation increases for retired and deferred members.
DBplus
The Plan will pay current period pre-retirement benefit increases to active members and consider providing increases for past years of pre-retirement benefit increases that were missed (if any). The lifetime annual pension factor will be 8.5%. In addition, the Plan will consider early retirement reduction factors of 3%, 4%, or 5%. Post-retirement conditional inflation protection will be applied and surplus funds will be allocated to reserves to withstand up to a 2% reduction in the discount rate and build reserves to fund future conditional inflation increases.
DBprime
Active members will be contributing DBprime stability contributions of 0% or 1%. The Plan has fully funded the reserves required to fund future conditional inflation protection increases and withstand a 2% reduction in the discount rate. Additional funding reserves are being built to withstand up to a 7.5% increase in liabilities as an additional cushion for securing promised benefits.
DBplus
Pre-retirement benefit increases for active members and post-retirement conditional inflation protection for retired and deferred members will be applied, while the early retirement reduction factor will be 3%. The Plan will consider lifetime annual pension factors of 8.5% or 9.5%. The Plan has the reserves required to fund future conditional inflation protection increases and can withstand a 2% reduction in the discount rate. Additional funding reserves are being built to withstand up to a 7.5% increase in liabilities as an additional cushion for securing promised benefits.
DBprime
Full funding reserves have been built. DBprime stability contribution rate is 0%. Conditional inflation protection for retired and deferred members will be paid. The Plan has sufficient surplus to consider any combination of the following changes:
- Provide ad hoc inflation protection increases on the part of pensions not covered by conditional or guaranteed inflation protection
- Allocate additional funds into reserves – up to the federal Income Tax Act limit
- Reduce DBprime contributions below basic contribution levels
- Improve benefits.
DBplus
Full funding reserves have been built. The lifetime pension factor is at least 9.5%. Conditional inflation protection for retired and deferred members and pre-retirement increases for active members will be made. The Plan has sufficient surplus to consider any combination of the following changes:
- Provide post-retirement inflation protection increases above 75% of CPI
- Increase the lifetime annual pension factor beyond 9.5%
- Improve other benefits on an ad hoc basis.
Annual Report
Strong. Secure. Sustainable.
A Better Pension with CAAT
As a member of CAAT Pension Plan, we’ve got you covered with everything that Canadians desire, including:
- Secure lifetime retirement income
- Peace of mind in a volatile investment market
- More value than other retirement plans
Previous Years in Review
Previous Annual Performance Webinars
Previous Annual Reports
Download PDF versions of previous CAAT Pension Plan Annual Reports
2023 Annual Report (PDF)
2022 Annual Report (PDF)
2021 Annual Report (PDF)
2020 Annual Report (PDF)
2019 Annual Report (PDF)
2018 Annual Report (PDF)
2017 Annual Report (PDF)
2016 Annual Report (PDF)
2015 Annual Report (PDF)