CAAT Pension Plan has shared the following statement, which we are in turn sharing with OPSEU/SEFPO members:CAAT Pension Plan confirmed the resignation of three senior executives: Asif Haque, Mike Dawson and Evan Howard, the former Chief Investment Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Pension Officer, respectively. The Plan is grateful for the service, contribution and impact they have had in CAAT’s growing success.CAAT possesses a depth of talent that allows the Plan to continue to deliver its pension promise and build on its momentum under the leadership of the CEO and Plan Manager. Jillian Kennedy remains Chief Strategy Officer, focused on expanding the Plan’s employer and membership base. Kevin Fahey has been promoted to Chief Investment Officer after 17 years in various leadership roles on CAAT’s Investments team. John Baiocco continues to oversee funding and sustainability of the Plan as Vice President of Actuarial Solutions.CAAT also welcomes Scott Blakey as Interim Executive Vice President and Chief People and Culture Officer, bringing extensive experience to the role from the college sector and pension industry. The organization is conducting searches to add to its existing executive bench strength for roles such as the Chief People and Culture Officer in addition to other roles.The Plan is in strong financial shape. CAAT’s most recent independent valuations show the Plan at a 124% funded status. This means for every $1 of pension benefits CAAT has promised to members, the Plan has $1.24 in assets. At year of 2024, the Plan had $23.3 billion in total assets under management. CAAT also reported $6.1 billion in funding reserves as of January 1, 2025. These reserves act as a cushion against market downturns, demographic shifts, and other risks, ensuring long‑term sustainability.Established in 1967, the CAAT Pension Plan is an independent, jointly governed plan that offers highly desirable modern defined benefit pensions. Originally created to support the Ontario college system, the CAAT Plan now proudly serves more than 750 participating employers in 20 industries, including the for-profit, non-profit, and broader public sectors. It currently has more than 120,000 active and retired members. The CAAT Plan is respected for its pension and investment management expertise, with an ongoing focus on stability and benefit security for our members.
CAAT Pension Plan: What’s in it for me?
- Whether you are employed full-time or part-time, the CAAT Pension Plan is designed to provide you with predictable lifetime income in your retirement.
- We provide a steady and predictable stream of retirement income for your life, as well as survivor benefits.
- When the Plan’s has reserves (i.e., surplus funds), you will also receive additional conditional enhancements such as inflation protection. The Plan has a perfect record of granting these increases every year since they were introduced 19 years ago. And the Plan’s has sizable reserves to continue granting these enhancements for many years to come.
Recent Plan Improvements Deliver More Value
- In 2025,
- DBprime members (i.e., regular full-time college employees) experienced a net decrease in their contribution rates by 1%. This means the same valuable benefits are provided at a lower contribution level.
- DBplus members (i.e., all non-college employees plus other than regular full-time college employees) kept their same contribution rates and will see their future benefits increase.
Both groups also will see their minimum survivor benefits increase.
Your CAAT Pension Will Be There For You
- Under pension law, the pension you have earned must be paid in full to you, regardless of the funding level of the Plan.
- The good news is that the CAAT Plan is one of the highest performing and well-funded pension plans in Canada, which has allowed members to see benefit improvements and more value for their contributions.
- A few figures from our January 1, 2025 independent actuarial valuation:
- The Plan also has over $23 billion and assets and over $6 billion in funding reserves to withstand unexpected changes in Plan membership or financial markets.
- These sizable reserves will allow the Plan governors (which include OPSEU representatives) to continue to grant inflation increases indefinitely into the future.
The CAAT Plan is Sustainable
- CAAT’s joint governance model and Funding Policy provides guardrails to ensure the Plan remains focused on long-term sustainability.
- The CAAT Plan is stress tested on a regular basis to ensure it can withstand unexpected changes in membership or financial markets.
- Based on the most recent review, the Plan has over 99% probability of remaining fully funded over the next 20 years. In the highly unlikely event of a deficit (i.e., less than 1% probability), your pension would still be paid in full, as required by pension legislation.
- College layoffs, and broader challenges in the sector and overall economy do not impact the ability of the Plan to pay pensions now or in the future.
Growing Plan Membership Makes the Plan Stronger
- CAAT has been growing its membership, which makes it even stronger and more sustainable.
- The Plan now has over 120,000 members from over 800 employers across Canada from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
- The diversification across 20 different sectors makes the Plan stronger and more resilient.
- Plan membership is approximately 50% from the college sector, and 50% from non-college sectors.
- Expanding membership outside the college system has added over $1.7 billion to Plan reserves.
OPSEU/SEFPO has a Voice in the CAAT Plan
- OPSEU/SEFPO have nine seats of 22 seats in CAAT’s governance structure.
- Our jointly sponsored governance model ensures members and employers’ representatives share responsibility in the decision-making of the Plan.
- This jointly sponsored model is globally renowned for its robust governance and ability to support long-term stability.
To learn more about the CAAT pension plan, visit
www.caatpension.ca 