Statistics Canada says membership in registered pension plans (RPPs) in Canada rose in 2011, but the pension coverage rate declined.
RPP membership reached 6,114,600 in 2011, up 49,000 (0.8%) from the same date a year earlier.
Membership in public sector pension plans rose by 0.6% to 3,160,000, while the number of members in private sector plans increased 1% to 2,954,700. The public sector accounted for 52% of total membership in RPPs.
The pension coverage rate (i.e., the proportion of all employees covered by an RPP) was 38.4% in 2011, down from 38.8% the year before.
More than 4,477,400 employees were in a DB plan, down 0.1% from 2010. They accounted for nearly three-quarters (73%) of employees with an RPP, compared with 84% a decade earlier.
Membership in DC plans, the other most frequent type, increased by 3.5% or 34,100 to 1,003,300. These plans accounted for 16.4% of all RPP membership and 85% of members in DC plans worked in the private sector.
Other plans continued their upward trend. In 2011, more than 633,800 employees belonged to these plans, up 3.5% from 2010.
The participation of women in RPPs continued its long-term upward trend in 2011. Their membership increased 0.8% to 3,052,800. The number of men participating in these plans saw a similar increase, as membership rose to 3,061,900. In 2011, women represented 62% of membership in the public sector and 37% in the private sector.
Men accounted for 50.1% of total membership in 2011, while the percentage of women was 49.9%. In the early 1970s, men accounted for almost 75% of total membership in RPPs.
In 2011, total employer and employee contributions to RPPs reached a record high of $58.9 billion. Employer contributions for unfunded liabilities accounted for $11.7 billion of the total, up from $10.8 billion in 2010. Employers and employees contributed 62% and 38%, respectively, when payment for unfunded liabilities are excluded.
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