Medicus Pension Plan topped its annual benchmark and extended its inflation protection streak to four years in 2025
Forty dollars in surplus assets backs every $100 of pension promised at Canada's only physician-exclusive defined benefit plan.
The Medicus Pension Plan reported a going-concern funded status of 140 percent as of January 1, and a one-year investment return of 13.7 percent for 2025, according to its 2026 annual report.
The plan also held a solvency funded status of 115 percent, the report said.
The 13.7 percent return surpasses the plan's benchmark of 5.8 percent per year and builds on a 9.1 percent return in 2024.
For the fourth consecutive year, the plan delivered full inflation protection.
Active members received a 4.7 percent increase applied to all pension benefits earned up to December 31, 2025, while retired members received a 2.0 percent increase to monthly payments effective January 1.
Effective October 1, 2025, the plan expanded its portfolio to include private assets, comprising private equities, private credit, and private real estate.
The target asset mix is 70 percent growth assets and 30 percent fixed income.
Plan assets are held in trust by State Street Trust Company Canada and invested by 1832 Asset Management LP, a subsidiary of Scotiabank, in accordance with the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures.
Members who completed a buyback in 2025 secured an average of $20,000 more in annual pension starting at age 65, the report noted.
The plan's buyback program allows members to transfer savings from RRSPs and other investments to increase their lifetime annual pension.
Christian Finley, vice-chair of the Administrative Board, said the plan offers physicians "meaningful retirement income, plan stability, and continued growth."
Predictability and long-term orientation, he added, matter most when physicians are planning their financial security.
The plan welcomed Robert Tremblay to its Administrative Board in 2025, which holds 50 percent physician representation.
Plan assets are overseen by an Administrative Board and a Plan Sponsor Committee, guided by professionals in actuarial, investment, legal, communication, and pension operations.
New Brunswick recently passed legislation enabling Medicus to operate in the province, the report stated, with the plan expecting to welcome physicians there once the final regulatory step is completed later in 2026.
The plan currently operates in six provinces and the Territories.
Established in 2022, Medicus is a defined benefit multi-employer pension plan registered under the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) and the Income Tax Act (Canada), open to incorporated physicians through their professional corporations and eligible employed physicians.
