Steady returns and tight funding discipline keep OPTrust’s $27 billion plan on solid footing
Seventeen years of full funding and three decades in operation put OPTrust in a small club of Canadian defined benefit plans that have delivered on their promises through multiple market cycles.
OPTrust’s 2025 Funded Status Report, Service & Security – Since 1995, confirms the OPSEU Pension Plan remained fully funded for the 17th consecutive year. On a funding basis at 31 December 2025, the Plan reported an actuarial value of assets of $27.9bn against liabilities of $27.7bn, for a surplus of $199m.
Financial‑statement figures show net assets available for benefits of $27.2bn, pension obligations of $22.5bn and an accounting surplus of $4.7bn.
The funding valuation uses a 2.80 percent real discount rate (4.80 percent nominal), down from 2.90 percent (4.90 percent nominal) in 2024. That change alone added about $562m to liabilities, but OPTrust still held its fully funded position.
The valuation also identified $708m in deferred investment losses to be recognised over four years, using asset smoothing to support stability in future valuations.
On the asset side, OPTrust posted a 4.2 percent net Total Portfolio return in 2025.
The five‑year average net return stands at 6.3 percent, the 10‑year at 6.7 percent, and the since‑inception average at 7.8 percent. Investment returns now account for more than 70 percent of the benefits OPTrust pays to members when they retire.
Peter Lindley, president and chief executive officer of OPTrust, said that “in a year shaped by economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions,” the Plan’s results reflected its diversified investment approach.
He said their role as a long‑term investor allows them to “look beyond short‑term uncertainty” and focus on keeping the Plan sustainable over the decades ahead.
The asset mix pairs a large illiquid allocation with a sizeable liquid book. Illiquid assets – private equity, infrastructure, real estate and an incubation portfolio – represented 54.2 percent of the portfolio and returned ‑0.8 percent in 2025, but 10.4 percent over five years and 12.3 percent over 10 years.
Within that, private equity (18.7 percent of assets) returned 4.6 percent, infrastructure (17.9 percent) 1.9 percent and real estate (16.9 percent) ‑8.5 percent.
Liquid assets accounted for 61.2 percent of the portfolio and returned 10.5 percent. Government bonds (27.3 percent) returned 0.8 percent. Public equity (16.6 percent) delivered 18.2 percent, credit (3.2 percent) 5.7 percent, Absolute Return Strategies (8.0 percent) 9.7 percent and commodities (6.1 percent) 45.0 percent, reflecting strong gold performance.
The Funding Portfolio, which manages liquidity and uses moderate leverage, showed a weight of ‑15.4 percent, indicating balance sheet leverage at the total‑fund level.
2025 also marked the first full year of a structural shift in public markets. OPTrust combined eight separate programmes into a single Liquid Completion Portfolio under its Member‑Driven Investing strategy, its version of a Total Portfolio Approach.
The new portfolio, managed centrally by the Total Portfolio Management group, returned 20.3 percent and generated $1.6bn in profits in its first year.
On the liability side, the report shows 117,895 members and retirees at year‑end: 55,510 active members, 17,962 former members with entitlements and 44,423 pensioners.
Active members had an average age of 43.4 and average salary of $78,563. Retirees had an average age of 74.5 and received an average annual pension of $25,636.
In 2025, OPTrust paid $1,417m in benefits and received $716m in contributions.
The 2025 cost‑of‑living adjustment was 2.0 percent for both the primary schedule and OPTrust Select.
Under the primary schedule, pensions in pay and deferred pensions automatically receive inflation adjustments.
Under OPTrust Select, the Board may grant inflation‑related increases on a discretionary basis.
According to the report, a retiree who started a $20,000 pension in January 1995 would receive $38,059 starting January 2026, a 90 percent increase over 31 years.
Service metrics remained strong. Members rated OPTrust’s service 8.6 out of 10 in 2025, and CEM Benchmarking ranked the organisation among the top 10 pension plans globally for service.
The Member Experience and Pension Operations team handled about 48,000 phone calls and supported roughly 73,500 life events, while recalculating benefits for about 61,000 members and former members who received retroactive salary increases dating back to 2022.
Responsible investing and climate remain embedded in the strategy.
OPTrust reports that it met all 2025 targets under its climate change strategy, now four years into a net‑zero‑aligned program launched in 2022.
Between 2023 and 2024, the Plan achieved a 23 percent reduction in its carbon footprint through decarbonisation in several carbon‑intensive assets and changes in portfolio composition.
In 2025, OPTrust voted at 700 company meetings in 30 countries, engaged 104 companies in 28 countries on ESG issues, and completed the fourth year of its COMPAS ESG data program to support investment monitoring and stewardship.
Lindley said OPTrust was set up 30 years ago “to pay pensions today and preserve pensions for tomorrow.” He said the plan has been fully funded for 17 consecutive years and serves 118,000 members in retirement.
