The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased in May as stable growth in equities offset the impact of declining bond yields, according to Aon Hewitt’s latest pension play solvency survey.
The survey, which tracks the performance of 449 Aon Hewitt-administered defined benefit pension plans, found that, as of June 1, 2016, median solvency stood at 87.1 per cent, an increase of one percentage point from May 1, 2016.
Read: Defined benefit pension solvency rises in April: survey
Of the plans surveyed, 10.7 per cent were more than fully funded as of month-end, up from 9.6 per cent a month previously.
And pension asset returns continued in positive territory, especially U.S. (+6.3 per cent) and global (+5.0 per cent) equities, as well as global real estate (+4.5 per cent) and infrastructure (+3.8 per cent), helping to offset lacklustre Canadian equity (+1.0 per cent) and emerging market (+0.5 per cent) returns.
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