The Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. — which administers the investment assets of the Public Service Superannuation Plan and the Teachers’ Pension Plan — reported an increase in net assets to $13.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of about $670 million, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.
The PSSP saw an investment return of 7.93 per cent, which was attributed to its diversified asset mix. Indeed, the investment return surpassed the actuarial assumed rate of return (5.75 per cent) but was lower than the benchmark (9.96 per cent). The funded status for the PSSP reached 103.8 per cent and it posted a surplus of $287 million.
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Meanwhile, the TPP achieved a net return of 7.38 per cent. It also saw an increase in its funded status (78.1 per cent) compared to the previous year (75.1 per cent) due to asset gains combined with a drop in liabilities from a modest increase in the plan’s discount rate. The investment return was below the 10.14 per cent for its benchmark but well above an assumed rate line of 5.8 per cent.
Both plans faced higher inflation-linked benchmarks for the real asset components of the portfolio, the report said.
Membership for both plans increased by the end of 2023, with the PSSP reporting an increase of 1,254 plan members to reach 43,722, while the TPP’s membership increased to 34,799 due to the addition of 565 members.