Speaking at the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, Blake Hutcheson, its chief executive officer, discussed the OMERS’ recent annual results, as well as its long-term growth expectations.
“We think that, by 2030, we’ll be worth roughly $200 billion, up from a little more than $125 billion today.”
The live event, which was also broadcast online, was the first in-person annual meeting held by the OMERS since 2019. It also included several other updates from members of the pension fund’s executive team and its two boards of directors.
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In his presentation, Barry Brown, chair of the OMERS’ Sponsor Corp., announced the pension fund is undergoing a two-year review to determine how well-positioned it is to deliver sustainable benefits to its members. “I want to emphasize that the plan has made no decisions. We just want to ensure we’re positioned to make the best decisions.”
Several members of the audience expressed concern that the review would lead to an increase in contribution rates or a reduction in benefit payments. Some, who introduced themselves as members of unions representing OMERS’ members, indicated their groups would take action if this is the case. “I don’t believe this means the sky is falling, but I’m not sure what to tell people,” said one man, noting he’s responsible for keeping his colleagues abreast about their pension funds.
“The sky is not falling,” said Brown. “We recognized, going into this, that if we told the community we were assessing the sustainability of the plan, it would necessarily cause concern. But the other option was to not disclose that and then, perhaps, surprise people.”
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He added the review isn’t expected or designed to provide a justification for any cuts to plan members’ benefits. “All we are doing is our job: to consider the long-term sustainability of the plan. We’re not looking to make cuts.”