We had the opportunity to hear directly from Derek Dobson, CEO and Plan Manager of the CAAT Pension Plan at OCRA’s GM in Hamilton in June.  He spoke about the state of our retirement plan and new developments for members. It’s comforting to note that our pension is 124% funded and has gained a 9.6% net return over the past 10 years, despite market disruptions.  Here are some specific details he shared:

• the plan has $23.3 billion in net assets and $6.1 billion in funding reserves, which allows it to manage unexpected volatility well and ensures benefit security.
• the fund’s diversified investment portfolio recorded an annual net rate of return of 15.2%, contributing to a 10-year annualized net rate of return of 9.6%.
• the CAAT Pension Plan monitors global insecurity and takes appropriate measures to counter it; as a result, CAAT is ranked as the highest performing Canadian pension plan in the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe, based on 10-year returns at the end of 2024 for plans with a market value above $1 billion.
• a recent member survey showed that 9 in 10 members trust the plan and were confident that their pension benefits were secure.

Derek also shared updates about the Plan’s growing membership (now 710 employers), what employers find attractive about the CAAT Plan, and its latest offering, GROWTHplus, which we reported on earlier this year.  As usual, Derek very graciously answered questions from the audience. 

For more information about the state of the CAAT Pension Plan, please consult their Annual Performance update 2025: Resource Hub.