The system's governance model has not been reviewed in over 10 years
The Ontario government has appointed former Toronto Port Authority chair Robert Poirier as a third-party advisor to conduct a governance review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System.
OMERS is among the biggest defined pension plans in Canada; the review aims to ensure that the current governance model is serving plan members fairly and equitably while maintaining long-term financial sustainability. The system has not been reviewed since 2012.
“We are committed to strengthening OMERS governance to ensure that it works in the best interests of its members. This review will ensure important decisions that impact members continue to be made in a transparent way,” Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra said in a statement.
Poirier, a former Metrolinx board member, will lead the investigation into aspects like board representation and the effectiveness of mandate delivery in the OMERS Sponsors Corporation and the OMERS Administration Corporation. The review will look into the management of plan assets and the decision-making process of the Administration Corporation.
The review will also present pension governance best practices for potential implementation by OMERS. However, it will not look into financial details or decisions about contribution rates, the fairness of plan benefits, or the supplemental plan, according to the government.
Once the review is concluded, Poirier will then present recommendations to Calandra on how the OMERS system can be improved, based on the results.
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act, 2006 shifted sponsor responsibilities like amending the OMERS pension plan from the Province of Ontario to the OMERS Sponsors Corporation. The previous 2012 review examined the OMERS governance model’s compliance with the OMERS Review Act, 2006.
OMERS participants include over 1,000 employers and over 600,000 active, deferred, and retired employees of municipalities, local agencies, public utilities, firefighters, police, paramedic, and non-teaching school board staff throughout Ontario.
