Representatives from the university and employee bargaining units recently met to receive an update on the (UPP) from Allan Shapira, one of the actuaries working on the province-wide pension initiative.
With many Ontario universities, including Queen’s, facing significant deficits in their pension plans, the UPP is currently examining the feasibility of a new multi-employer, jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP) for the university sector in Ontario. It is being led by the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, with the active participation of individual universities and bargaining units. The project has received funding from the Government of Ontario and a final report to the government is due in the fall.
Mr. Shapira, a senior partner at the actuarial firm Aon Hewitt, gave a presentation on the progress made so far by the UPP and the remaining work that needs to be done. He discussed the set of shared principles for a new JSPP, already agreed to by all parties in the project, and provided an overview of the pension regulatory environment in Ontario. He also spoke to the key issues the project’s participants still need to resolve.
At the meeting, the bargaining units presented the university with a pension cooperation agreement that they recently signed, which is directed at pursuing a coordinated and proactive approach to long-term pension sustainability.