Nine in 10 plans sit at or above full funding, and only 11% are in deficit
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans stood at 132 percent as of September 30, a new all-time high.
Marsh published the figure from Toronto on October 5, in the third-quarter edition of its Pension Health Pulse, which tracks the median ratio of solvency assets to solvency liabilities across the DB plans in the firm's Canadian pension database.
The median solvency financial position rose 4 percent over the third quarter, following a 5 percent increase in the second quarter.
Those gains offset losses recorded in the first quarter and carried the median past the previous record, set at the start of 2026.
Investment returns were slightly negative over the third quarter, while higher interest rates reduced actuarial liabilities significantly and more than offset the investment declines.
Citing the Bank of Canada, Marsh noted the central bank held its overnight rate steady at 2.25 percent for a third consecutive quarter. Yields on long-term Government of Canada bonds increased steadily over the quarter to levels not seen since 2023.
Of Canadian DB pension plans measured at the end of the third quarter, 69 percent had a solvency ratio of 120 percent or more and 89 percent had a ratio of 100 percent or more, the Pension Health Pulse found.
Marsh estimates 11 percent of plans are in a deficit position.
Canadian defined benefit pension plans continue to hold up despite ongoing market and geopolitical volatility, Brad Duce, a principal at Marsh based in Toronto.
Duce said plan sponsors can use this period to review risk and consider de-risking options that support their funding policies.
Marsh set out several routes open to sponsors in current conditions: adopting additional risk control measures, offloading risk through the purchase of annuities with an insurance company, or adjusting funding policies to regulate the use of surplus assets for plan improvements or contribution holidays.
The firm framed the present financial strength as an opening for sponsors to assess how their plans would perform under potential economic scenarios.
Marsh's 2026 Global Asset Owner Barometer found Canadian asset owners leading the way in reducing allocations to US equities.
In replacing those allocations, 66 percent of Canadian asset owners surveyed planned to invest more in infrastructure, a trend Marsh linked to discussions among Canadian pension investors, including at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto.
Any opportunities should be evaluated against the main objective of pension plans, which is to pay benefits to plan members at a reasonable cost, with fiduciary duties remaining central to decision-making.
The Marsh pension database holds financial, demographic and other information on 435 pension plans across Canada, drawn from the firm's own pension plan clients in every industry across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Each plan's position is projected from its most recent actuarial funding valuation date and updated whenever a new valuation is performed.
Earlier quarterly editions of the Pension Health Pulse were published under the Mercer name, and the release carries a notice that branding is being updated on a phased basis.
