The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan’s funded status dipped from 82.5 per cent to 75.1 per cent on a going-concern basis in 2022, according to its annual report.
The decrease in the funded ratio year over year was due to the asset losses in 2022 and to the fact the plan’s discount rate was maintained at 5.7 per cent. The plan’s assets value fell by 4.05 per cent, from $5.856 billion to $5.48 billion, during the year. It missed its performance benchmark by 0.36 per cent.
In terms of net contributions, the N.S. Teachers’ received $296 million from plan members as well as a $62 million special payment from the province. It paid out $426 million in benefits.
Read: N.S. Teachers’ Pension Plan returns 9.63%, though solvency ratio remains below 85%
“The TPP’s diversified asset mix is built to weather tough times and did so effectively in 2022,” said John Rogers, chair of the N.S. Teachers’ board, according to a press release. “We are pleased by the way the plan held up in 2022 and with its performance compared to most plans.”
The plan’s solvency ratio hasn’t surpassed 82.5 per cent in the past decade. In 2020, the plan’s sponsors — the provincial government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union — announced an independent panel would review the plan’s ongoing challenges.
The non-binding report was completed in August, though it hasn’t been made available to the public. In a letter included in the annual report, Rogers said the board urged plan sponsors “to act decisively and effect changes that will improve the plan’s long-term financial sustainability.
“[The board] is hopeful that the TPP Panel’s report and recommendations will catalyze meaningful steps by the province and Nova Scotia Teachers’,” he added.
Read: Nova Scotia Teachers’ underperforms benchmark in 2020, facing independent review