Quarterly Estimates of Trusteed Pension Funds

Detailed information for second quarter 2007

The purpose of this survey is to provide data on the assets of these funds and on their revenues and disbursements.

Data release - December 12, 2007

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The assets held by Trusteed pension funds are second in size only to those of the chartered banks; their growth therefore impacts significantly on the accumulation of wealth by Canadians. The purpose of this survey is to provide data on the assets of these funds and on their revenues and disbursements. Federal, provincial and municipal governments rely on these statistics to help monitor the conditions of Trusteed pension funds in Canada and to help shape pension fund policies. Trusteed pension fund statistics are used by Statistics Canada's System of National accounts to assist in the calculation of the GDP: by employers, financial institutions and investment consultants along with other pension fund policy analysts. These statistics are also needed to meet Canada's statistical obligations to supranational organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Because of the rate at which these assets are growing, the quarterly sample survey was implemented in 1970 to provide more current data than is available from the biennial census survey (see Census of Trusteed Pension Funds - record number 2608).

Reference period: Quarter

Collection period: Between two and twelve weeks after the end of each quarter

Subjects

• Business performance and ownership
• Financial statements and performance
• Income, pensions, spending and wealth
• Labour
• Non-wage benefits
• Pension plans and funds and other retirement income programs

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The survey is of Registered Pension Plans which are funded on a trusteed basis. It covers trusteed funds in both the private and public sectors, and both defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements. Only the largest funds are surveyed; the largest funds which make up 85% of the estimated value of the trusteed fund universe. The "estimated value" is the value of the funds assets measured at book value. Currently, this means that only those funds with at least $500,000,000 in book-valued assets are surveyed. The remaining funds which represent 15% of the value of the universe are estimated.

Instrument design

The design and financial variables included in the Quarterly questionnaire reflect the structure and information available in a pension fund financial statement or financial accounting report. The questionnaire has been modified on a regular basis to add or remove items of interest, or for clarification.

A major revision of the questionnaire was implemented for the first quarter of 2005 to collect more detailed financial information and offer respondents an electronic version of the questionnaire. This revised questionnaire underwent testing with respondents and the principal client, the System of National Accounts before implementation. The electronic version of the questionnaire is e-mailed to respondents quarterly.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The frame for the survey consists of all those trusteed pension plans registered with the regulatory bodies, either Federal or provincial, that are responsible for monitoring the activities of trusteed pension plans. The unit of collection and analysis is the plan's fund (its revenues, expenditures, and assets). The survey is a sample, namely those largest funds which when added together add up to 85% of the estimated value of the universe. Currently, this means there are 166 funds surveyed out of a universe of 3,193 active funds.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Data for the large funds are obtained through a direct mail survey.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Once data reported on the questionnaire is captured, either electronically or manually, the data is subject to validity checks to detect inconsistencies. Tolerance level edits are completed for: the receipts and net realized gains and disbursements and net realized losses along with the book and market value of assets. Once an error has been flagged, a follow-up may be completed with the fund to confirm the reported values.

Imputation

Non-respondents are estimated using asset information from the previous quarter and income and expenditure information from the same quarter of the previous year.

Estimation

For those funds not included in the quarterly sample (under cut-off funds), estimates are generated using ratios derived from biennial CTPF survey(record number: 2608) data. Ratios for under-cut-off funds are applied to reported sample data to estimate for the under-cut-off portion of the Trusteed pension fund universe. Values generated for funds not included in the quarterly sample are not adjusted for inflation.

Quality evaluation

Data are compared with other pension statistics including data reported by pension supervisory authorities to the Pension Plans in Canada survey (Record number: 2609); Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) pension plan financial data contained in the CRA Employer Sponsored Pensions plan file and pension fund data published in pension trade magazines. In addition many organizations publish audited financial statements for their pension plans which can be compared to data reported on the Quarterly Trusteed Pension Fund questionnaire.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data are revised once each year, when the third quarter data are released. The revision applies to the previous seven quarters' data. The revision process incorporates the use of late returns and the updating of survey results using the most recent benchmark data from the biennial CTPF survey.

Data accuracy

When compared with the biennial census figures, the quarterly estimates have been consistently accurate to within 1%.