2010 highlights

• The Board of Trustees conducted a comprehensive review of governance at OPTrust to enhance our internal governance practices.
• The Board undertook a search for OPTrust’s first CEO, hiring Stephen J. Griggs in June 2011.
• The Board established the position of corporate secretary to help foster and support best practices in governance at OPTrust.

OPTrust was founded on the principle that sound governance is critical to any organization’s ability to deliver on its mission and meet its obligations to its stakeholders. Our governance model seeks to ensure effective and accountable decision-making through joint sponsorship and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the Plan’s sponsors, its Board and OPTrust management.

OPTrust's governance structure

OPTrust was established to give members a say in their pension plan by recognizing the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the Government of Ontario as equal sponsors of the Plan. In this role, OPSEU and the government each appoint five Trustees to OPTrust's 10-member Board. The sponsors are also responsible for all decisions regarding changes to the Plan's design, the benefits it provides and the contribution rates paid by members and employers.

Joint sponsorship also means that OPTrust's membership and the Province share in the Plan's financial risks and rewards. Any surplus identified in a funding valuation filed with the provincial regulator is divided equally between the government and OPSEU, acting on behalf of the Plan's membership. Each sponsor may use its share of the surplus to enhance benefits, reduce contributions or pay down any previous deficit. The sponsors may also set aside their share of any surplus in separate reserve funds to stabilize member and employer contribution rates in the event of future losses. Conversely, if the Plan experiences a funding deficit, the difference must be made up through an increase in member and employer contribution rates or the use of existing stabilization reserves.

As a result, joint sponsorship provides the basis for an effective pension partnership between the sponsors and the Plan's membership and reinforces prudent decision-making in the best long-term interests of the Plan and its members and retirees.