Teachers' plan funded status rises to almost 87% from 81%
Nova Scotia's public service pension plan closed its latest fiscal year with a $450m surplus and a funded ratio above 100 percent, while the province's teachers' plan lifted its funded status to 86.8 percent from 81.1 percent a year earlier.
Both figures come from the 2025-2026 annual report released on July 30 by Nova Scotia Pension Services Corporation (NS Pension), which administers the Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP) and the Teachers' Pension Plan (TPP).
The corporation reported combined assets under management of roughly $15.2bn, about $800m higher than a year earlier.
According to the report, the PSSP was 105.5 percent funded as of March 31, 2026, carrying the $450m surplus.
The plan earned a net return of 6.55 percent for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, clearing its 6.25 percent actuarial assumed rate of return but trailing its 8.6 percent benchmark.
NS Pension attributed that shortfall to historically high benchmarks in real estate, infrastructure and private equity.
The TPP, which reports on a calendar-year basis, returned 8.02 percent for 2025, the corporation said.
That result topped the plan's 6.1 percent actuarial assumed rate but fell short of its 10.18 percent benchmark, a gap the report again tied to elevated benchmarks on real assets.
The plan's funded status stood at 86.8 percent as of December 31, 2025.
Membership rose across both plans.
The PSSP counted 46,198 members as of March 31, 2026, up 943 from the prior year, per the report, while the TPP had 35,891 members as of December 31, 2025, an increase of 362.
The corporation said the ratio of active members to pensioners improved in each plan, though it noted that demographic headwinds persist for both.
In the release, board co-chairs John Rogers and Keiren Tompkins said NS Pension "continued to deliver strong results" in administering the Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP) and the Teachers' Pension Plan (TPP).
It also advanced initiatives aimed at the long-term sustainability of both plans, they said.
On strategy, NS Pension said it spent the year expanding secure digital services for members and employers, developing new educational resources and online tools, and recruiting new employers into the PSSP.
The corporation added that it completed asset-liability modelling studies for both plans, substantially finished building out new master trust structures, and ran joint trustee education sessions to strengthen governance.
The report's figures reflect data as of March 31, 2026 for the PSSP and December 31, 2025 for the TPP.
