On the
Horizon

OPB’s new online destination for members, giving you a look at the past year’s accomplishments.

Message from OPB’s CEO

A key achievement in 2025 was the development of OPB’s new Strategic Plan, ‘Client Focused. Future Ready. Our Path to 2035,’ which sets a clear course for our future. Our Strategic Plan was shaped with the help of member feedback and will help us provide you with more efficient and accessible services, innovative technological developments and long‑term Plan sustainability.”

Darwin Bozek, President and Chief Executive Officer
Darwin Bozek

Welcome to the launch of On the Horizon, an annual update for our Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) members to learn how we are working to protect the pension promise for you. We know you’re curious to learn more about how the PSPP performed, how we have improved services for you, and what we are working on to ensure the future sustainability of the Plan. We know that these topics are really important to you, so in On the Horizon, we’ll answer them – and more.

A key achievement in 2025 was the development of OPB’s new Strategic Plan, “Client Focused. Future Ready. Our Path to 2035,” which sets a clear course for our future. Our Strategic Plan was shaped with the help of member feedback and will help us provide you with more efficient and accessible services, innovative technological developments and long‑term Plan sustainability.

Our focus on Plan sustainability remained central to every decision, and I am pleased to report that the Plan’s funded status improved.

Throughout the year, we made progress on our pension modernization efforts, including the successful selection of Aon as our pension administration system (PAS) vendor, which was an important milestone for us as an organization. Aon will help us to deliver a modern and seamless pension experience. This modernization is designed to enhance our digital services for members and mitigate the future risk posed by our legacy systems as they near end-of-life. Notably, we launched our Retirement Planner, a tool designed to provide members with clearer insights and more personalized projections as they plan for the future. We also explored how emerging tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enable our staff to be more efficient in providing services to members, while protecting the sensitive information they have entrusted to us.

You can keep an eye on our progress in the next edition of On the Horizon to see what we’ve done and where we’re going.

I look forward to telling you more about the progress of your Plan.

Sincerely,

Darwin Bozek Signature

Darwin Bozek,
President and Chief Executive Officer


Who We Are

1920
Public Service Pension Plan founded
1990
Ontario Pension Board created to administer PSPP
105,000+
members
40+
participating employers
$36B+
in assets

Client Focused.
Future Ready.

Our Path to 2035.

 

Our Strategic Plan sets OPB’s path forward, focused on growth, innovation and long-term Plan sustainability for members, employers, stakeholders and employees.

The Strategic Plan lays out how OPB is building for the future with our members in mind. It’s designed to deliver strong outcomes, dependable service and clear accountability as OPB continues to evolve within a changing pension landscape.

To make the Strategic Plan easier to understand and follow, it’s organized into three horizons, each spanning three years. On the Horizon will be updated to share our progress with our members as we move through each phase.

Horizon 1
2026 to 2028
Horizon 2
2029 to 2031
Horizon 3
2032 to 2034

Strategic Objectives

 

OPB’s Strategic Plan identifies seven strategic objectives – including four priorities for growth and three key strengths. Together, they help position OPB as a pension built to serve clients better and as a trusted partner of choice for members, plans considering consolidation, employees and investment partners.

The top four objectives are our priorities for growth to achieve our vision and position us as a pension organization of choice:

 

As we implement our strategies, we will continue to build on our key strengths in the following three areas:

Download OPB’s
Strategic Plan

Download
Cover of OPB Strategic Plan report.

Client Focused

PSPP members, your voice matters. We’re here to listen, answer your questions and ensure your priorities are top of mind.

#1
ranking
in our Canadian peer group for client service*
8.7/10
overall
client satisfaction rating
9.1/10
client satisfaction score
for Advisory Services

*Ranking provided by CEM Benchmarking, which also ranked OPB fourth globally out of 45 international participating pension systems.

OPB exists to ensure pension benefits for members of the PSPP and, under our Advise and Protect mission, to provide guidance and services that will help them enjoy financial security in retirement. We’re also here to deliver the pension education, personalized advisory support and decision‑making guidance members need to feel confident at every stage of their retirement journey. We lead the industry in being the only defined benefit (DB) pension plan that employs in-house experts with the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP) designation. Our CFPs help inform decision making and provide retirement planning advice to members.

How is the new Strategic Plan different from OPB’s earlier approach?

Our goals haven’t changed. For members, that means a continued focus on a sustainable Plan, reliable service and making decisions with your long-term interests in mind. What has changed is how we get there. In developing our Strategic Plan, our team took a thoughtful, strategic and best-in-class approach that emphasized collaboration, meaningful engagement and an informed forward-thinking analysis. By leveraging internal expertise, external insights and client and stakeholder perspectives, we developed a plan that will position OPB for long-term success. It’s designed to be more proactive, helping us respond faster, make clearer decisions and focus our actions on what matters most to members.

How is OPB’s culture improving outcomes for members through the Strategic Plan?

Our people play a critical role in delivering for members, which makes culture an important part of the Strategic Plan. By focusing on innovation and empowerment, we’re strengthening how we work, not changing who we are. By refreshing our approach, we can better support members and deliver results.

How will the Strategic Plan direct the use of technology to provide enhanced client service to our members?

The Strategic Plan guides how we use technology to better support our members. By phasing out legacy systems by mid-2029 and moving to improved, cloud-based services, we’re building a stronger foundation for data-driven decision making. This evolution will allow us to deliver faster, more intuitive self-service options, streamline operations and work more efficiently. Together, these advancements will enable us to better serve our members through a variety of channels.

I’m extremely impressed by the new Retirement Planner. I commend and compliment OPB for making this powerful planning software available to its members. It will definitely improve financial literacy.”

Peter, Retired Member

Planning for the future is something many of us intend to do ‘someday,’ and the guidance during our recent Retire education session helped highlight how important it is to start now – and how many opportunities exist within the PSPP to support our long‑term financial well‑being.”

Megan, Member, Ministry of the Solicitor General

As an employee just beginning my career, the Retirement Planner encourages me to think about my future and take an active role in planning for my financial security!”

Emily, Member

The OPB Client Care Centre Associate supporting my buyback was extremely helpful throughout the process, taking the time to clearly explain my options and support me every step of the way.”

Eric, Member, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)

I want to commend how helpful Nishchay (OPB Client Care Centre Associate) has been as I transition into retirement. I found him to be well informed and knowledgeable but more importantly, patient and understanding. I appreciate all of the work that was done and the supportive, considerate manner in which it was accomplished. I feel fortunate to have had Nishchay in my corner!”

Carrie, Retired Member

Future Ready

2025 Performance

7.0%
Net Investment Return
versus 8.1% in 2024
87%
Funded Status
versus 86% in 2024
$36.6B
Net Assets
versus $34.1B in 2024

 

How is OPB protecting the pension promise?

OPB protects the pension promise by securing benefits for both current and future members. This means members can have confidence their retirement benefits are safeguarded.

Rates of Return

OPB’s compounded rates of net investment return for the one-year, five-year, 10-year and since-inception periods ending December 31, 2025 are as follows:

Return 1-year 5-year 10-year Since Inception
Total Fund return 7.0% 3.8% 5.5% 7.5%
Benchmark return 8.8% 4.7% 6.1% 7.4%

Note: Returns are net of all Plan administration and investment management expenses.

How will progress toward this goal be measured?

Our progress will be measured by improvements in investment performance and the steps we’ve made toward a fully funded Plan. By the end of Horizon 1, we will track results through our Funding Response Plan and our investment manager’s oversight, ensuring members can see tangible progress in securing their retirement benefits.

What are the key tools for achieving a fully funded Plan?

Achieving a fully funded Plan begins with strengthening long‑term investment performance and working closely with IMCO, to keep a sharp eye on strategic investment opportunities, and ensuring every dollar works harder and more efficiently than the last. At the same time, expanding our active membership and welcoming new employers, paired with the steady discipline of implementing and monitoring our Funding Response Plan, builds the momentum and resilience needed to secure the Plan’s long‑term health and future promise.

Sustainable Investing

 

We’re committed to responsible, sustainable investing. It’s a priority for us and for our members.

We see sustainability as a lens to better understand and address risks and opportunities that can affect our operations and investments. By making sustainability considerations an important part of how we make investment decisions, we aim to contribute to financially secure retirements for our members. To learn more about our sustainability commitments, visit our website.

The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), our investment manager, shares our belief that incorporating sustainability through integrating environmental, social and governance considerations, including climate change, into their investment approach can help them better manage potential investment risks and identify opportunities to create long-term value.

Below are highlights of IMCO’s sustainability and climate-related achievements in 2025:

51%
reduction
in portfolio financed emissions intensity from 2019 baseline,1 towards an interim target of a 50% reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions portfolio by 2050.
Learn More
Scored
96%
in the Global Sovereign Wealth Fund 2025 Governance, Sustainability and Resilience (GSR) Scorecard. As a result, IMCO was recognized as a top 10 public pension fund globally. The GSR Scorecard is an independent annual assessment that evaluates sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds on governance, sustainability practices and long‑term resilience.

1 Portfolio financed emissions referred to in this report are the Scope 3 Category 15 emissions associated with the investments managed by IMCO for our clients, excluding sovereign debt emissions. If emissions figures include sovereign debt contributions this will be stated explicitly. Due to timing of availability of emissions data, portfolio financed emissions are reported on a one-year lag. The calculation of IMCO’s portfolio financed emissions for December 31, 2024, was carried out in 2025, concluding on September 30, 2025. All references to emissions in this report refer to 2024 emissions data, unless otherwise specified.

2 Climate solutions are investments in companies that contribute positively to climate change mitigation or provide adaptation services that limit the impacts of climate change. IMCO’s Climate Solutions Taxonomy is aligned with the categories of activities defined by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) in their Green Bond Principles and with eligible assets under each category taken from ICMA, as well as the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) taxonomy.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Intensity

IMCO: Scope 1 and 2 Portfolio Emissions

(as of December 31, 2024)
Emissions Intensity 2019 2024 2019 vs. 2024
Financed emissions intensity,
excluding sovereign debt (tCO2e/$ million)3
75 37 -51%

3 For 2019 to 2023, emissions intensity is calculated by considering the portion of in-scope AUM for which we are able to measure financed emissions. The measurable portion is a subset of the total in-scope AUM for these years; thus, intensity cannot be derived from the simple division of the financed emissions and in-scope AUM in the table above for these years.

 

IMCO: Scope 3 Portfolio Emissions

(as of December 31, 2024)
Emissions Intensity 2024
Financed emissions intensity (tCO2e/$ million) 97

Understanding GHG Emissions

Not a day goes by without GHGs making the news. Reducing them is critical to slowing climate change, but you may wonder how they are measured.

Scope 1: “Burn”
Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by
an organization (e.g., fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces and vehicles).
Scope 2: “Buy”
Indirect GHG emissions from electricity, heat, steam or cooling purchased by an organization.
Scope 3: “Beyond”
Indirect GHG emissions associated with an organization’s activities from sources not owned or controlled by the organization (e.g., employee business travel, supply chain, use of products and financed emissions).
Financed Emissions
The combined Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of the investments included in a portfolio (these are part of the Scope 3 emissions of a pension fund).
Case Study
Proxy Voting in a Changing Landscape: IMCO’s 2025 Approach

IMCO uses proxy voting to oversee public holdings and ensure they focus on long-term value creation. The 2025 proxy season reflected regulatory changes, evolving market sentiment and updates to proxy advisor guidance.

IMCO
supported
82%
of say-on-pay proposals4
IMCO
supported
89%
of climate disclosure-related shareholder proposals
IMCO
supported
44%
of governance-related shareholder proposals

4 Say on Pay is a non-binding resolution proposed by a company's management allowing shareholders to vote on executive remuneration.

Inclusion and Belonging

We believe that our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) makes our workplace stronger, more agile, and helps us to drive employee engagement as we deliver better service to our diverse membership.

In 2025, OPB expanded Plan membership to six new employers, including some operating in First Nations communities, and their members.

We used this as an opportunity to reflect on the importance of strengthening internal awareness and education on reconciliation and the long and historic role of First Nations, Indigenous and Inuit people in Canada. OPB partnered with an expert with extensive experience in executive leadership, strategic policy development, community engagement and communications to deliver Indigenous Cultural Competency training, which was offered to all employees and OPB’s Board of Directors. This is one of a number of initiatives we are undertaking to ensure our staff are equipped with the necessary context, understanding and education to both respectfully and appropriately provide service to this important audience.

In 2025, we expanded the gender and title options available in our systems as part of OPB’s commitment to inclusiveness in our interactions with members and stakeholders.

These changes are a way for OPB to ensure our communication system and practices are respectful of a range of gender identities and titles.

We also launched a #SayMyName campaign, inviting employees to include phonetic pronunciation in their email signatures to support respectful and accurate name use.

By promoting this small but impactful practice, we are fostering stronger relationships and a more welcoming culture across the organization. This practice also strengthens the member experience by reinforcing respectful, accurate name use across all interactions.

Looking Ahead

As we look ahead, we remain committed to deepening our inclusion efforts and strengthening the cultural awareness that supports our diverse membership. We will continue building on this momentum to ensure OPB evolves in step with the needs, voices and experiences of the communities we serve.

Member Resources

Members

Just starting out or ready to make the most of your retirement?

Here’s what you need to know about everything from joining the PSPP to reaching retirement.

Educational Support

Information at your fingertips

Get access to in-person and virtual education sessions to learn more about your pension.

Retirement planner

Create a personalized retirement snapshot and plan for your future with OPB’s Retirement Planner!

This comprehensive tool helps you build a clear, personalized retirement snapshot that reflects your financial picture, available to members through our e-services portal.