Ninety-three percent of Ontario plans now sit fully funded on a solvency basis
The median solvency ratio for Ontario defined benefit pension plans reached 127 percent as at June 30, up five percentage points from 122 percent three months earlier.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario reported the figure in its Q2 2026 Solvency Report for Defined Benefit Pension Plans, and it is the highest median the regulator has recorded.
Plans posted an average net investment return of 5.8 percent during the quarter, the primary driver of the improvement.
The share of plans projected to be fully funded on a solvency basis rose to 93 percent as at June 30, 2026, up from 90 percent as at March 31.
Separately, FSRA's 2025 Report on the Funding of Defined Benefit Pension Plans in Ontario found that funding levels improved through 2025 on both a going-concern and a solvency basis, based on plans' most recently filed actuarial valuation reports.
The median going-concern funded ratio was 114 percent, with 87 percent of plans fully funded on that basis, compared with 112 percent and 84 percent in the 2024 Report.
On a solvency basis, the median funded ratio stood at 117 percent, with 87 percent of plans fully funded, versus 112 percent and 80 percent a year earlier.
Both the 2024 and 2025 Reports include estimated financial positions as at December 31 of each respective year to allow for year over year comparisons, according to FSRA.
FSRA said pension plans continue to operate in an environment marked by geopolitical tensions, evolving trade dynamics, inflationary pressures and financial market volatility, and it encouraged plan sponsors and administrators to keep using stress testing, modelling and other analytical tools to assess vulnerabilities and strengthen financial resilience.
