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SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME

Strategic Outcome 1

To regulate and supervise to contribute to public confidence in Canada’s financial system and safeguard from undue loss.

A properly functioning financial system, in which consumers and other stakeholders (inside and outside Canada) have a high degree of confidence, makes a material contribution to Canada’s economic performance. OSFI is the primary regulator and supervisor of all federally registered financial institutions, numbering 431 at March 31, 2010. The achievement of OSFI’s strategic outcomes, which are shared by partners within government and the private sector, provides an essential foundation for a productive and competitive economy. 

OSFI safeguards depositors, policyholders and private pension plan members by enhancing the safety and soundness of federally regulated financial institutions and private pension plans. Three program activities support this strategic outcome: 

  1. Regulation and Supervision of Federally Regulated Financial Institutions (FRFIs)
  2. Regulation and Supervision of Federally Regulated Private Pension Plans
  3. International Assistance

The performance indicator for Strategic Outcome 1, last measured in 2008-2009, indicates a strong majority of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of FRFIs believe OSFI performs well in contributing to public confidence in Canada’s financial services industry. In 2009-2010, OSFI continued: to improve its ability to identify, monitor and report on emerging risks; to participate in international discussions of key issues arising from global market turmoil; to work on current Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) and the Minimum Capital Test (MCT) to develop improved risk-sensitive capital frameworks for life and property and casualty insurers; monitoring post-implementation phase of Basel II Capital Accord; and to invest in the human resources and infrastructure needed to successfully deliver on its mandate.

1.1 Program Activity: Regulation and Supervision of Federally Regulated Financial Institutions

This program is central to OSFI achieving its mandate.  It is the largest program activity within OSFI, utilizing the bulk of its financial and human resources.  Costs for this program are recovered through assessments, service charges and user fees paid by federally regulated financial institutions.  Costs are also recovered via Memoranda of Understanding, as “cost-recovered services” between OSFI and some provinces for which OSFI provides supervision of their institutions on contract.

Sub-Activity 2009-2010 Financial Resources ($ millions) 2009-2010 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Planned Actual Difference
Risk Assessment and Intervention $34.5 $34.5 $35.7 195 228 33
Rule Making $9.4 $9.4 $12.1 63 61 (2)
Approvals $4.7 $4.7 $5.0 31 27 (4)
Total $48.6 $48.6 $52.8 289 316 27

The related expected results, performance indicators, targets, status and summary of performance for the three interrelated activities in this program activity are identified in the summary below.

Program Activity 1.1: Regulation and Supervision of Federally Regulated Financial Institutions
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Protect depositors and policyholders while recognizing that all failures cannot be prevented Percentage of estimated recoveries on failed institutions 4 (amount recovered per dollar of claim) Source: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, Agents, Liquidators 90% Exceeded Total weighted average recoveries were 92% at 2009-2010 year end.
Sub-Activity 1.1.1: Risk Assessment and Intervention
Accurate risk assessments. Percentage of knowledgeable observers who agree that their institution's Composite Risk Rating is appropriate. Source: Report on Financial Institutions Survey 2008 70% Exceeded Last measured in 2008-2009: 87% of financial institution CEOs believe that their institution’s Composite Risk Rating is appropriate.
Timely and effective intervention and feedback. Time to issue Supervisory Letter (within prescribed target days) Source: Internal 80% (of letters are issued within 45 days) Mostly Met 76% of supervisory letters were issued within the 45-day standard in 2009-2010, a slight improvement over the previous year at 73%.
Sub-Activity 1.1.2: Rule Making
Regulations, guidelines and other rules that balance prudential considerations and the need for institutions to compete. Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate OSFI as good or very good at developing regulations, guidelines and other rules that strike an appropriate balance between prudential considerations and the need for institutions to compete. Source: Report on Financial Institutions Survey 2008 50% 5 Exceeded Last measured in 2008-2009: 63% of financial institution CEOs rate OSFI as good or very good at developing regulations and guidance that strike an appropriate balance between prudential considerations and the need for institutions to compete.
Regulations, guidelines and other rules which are clear and scrutinized by industry.

Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate OSFI as good or very good at developing regulations, guidelines and other rules for industry that are clear and easy to understand.
AND/OR

75%
Mostly Met

Both last measured in 2008-2009: 61% of financial institution CEOs rate OSFI as good or very good at developing regulations and guidelines that are clear and easy to understand.


Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate OSFI as good or very good at consulting with industry on the development of regulations, guidelines and other rules. Source for both: Report on Financial Institutions Survey 2008 60% Exceeded 77% of financial institution CEOs rate OSFI as good or very good at consulting with the financial services industry when developing regulations and guidelines.
Sub-Activity 1.1.3: Approvals
Regulatory approvals result in prudentially sound decisions that are transparent. Percentage of knowledgeable observers who understand somewhat or very well the basis upon which OSFI makes its decisions as part of the approval process. Source: Report on Financial Institutions Survey 2008 85% Mostly Met Last measured in 2008-2009: 82% of financial institution CEOs understand somewhat or very well the basis upon which OSFI makes decisions.
Regulatory approvals which are timely. Percentage of completed applications for regulatory approvals that are processed within established performance standards. Source: Internal 90% Exceeded 97% of approvals subject to the deeming provision were processed prior to the date on which they would have been deemed approved. All other performance standards established under the User Fee Act and the Policy on Service Standards for External Fees were met or exceeded in the year under review.

4 This measure is a proxy for whether OSFI intervened early enough to prevent undue loss to depositors and/or policyholders. Estimated recovery is the amount on the dollar per claim each policyholder or depositor would receive upon the completion of the liquidation. Expectation > $0.90.

5 The objective is to achieve a balanced opinion (50% target) of Knowledgeable Observers. A 0% result could indicate OSFI is too harsh on financial institutions in its development of regulations, guidelines and other rules, and 100% could indicate OSFI is too lenient.

Benefits for Canadians

OSFI’s risk assessment and intervention activity helps safeguard depositors and policyholders. OSFI also supports the government’s priority for a safe and secure world by contributing to the fight against terrorism financing and money laundering.  OSFI’s focus relates to guidance and, on behalf of Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the supervisory review of the operation of financial institution programs to comply with anti-money laundering / anti-terrorism financing requirements.

Throughout 2009-2010, OSFI continued the heightened level of monitoring and scrutiny of financial institutions and markets exercised in the prior year, while taking into account clear evidence of economic recovery and a decline in volatility and uncertainty in financial markets. We performed enhanced risk identification activities, strengthened the design and application of supervisory processes, targeted cross-sector reviews in areas identified as high risk, and introduced organizational changes along industry lines to focus OSFI’s resources better.

OSFI continued to promote sound risk management practices through its rule-making activities. As the International Monetary Fund noted in its March 2009 assessment of member countries, Canada’s strong regulatory and supervisory framework was one of the factors responsible for the resilience of the Canadian banking system compared to global competitors during the financial turmoil of the past few years.

OSFI’s approvals activities are designed to ensure FRFIs receive required approvals in a timely manner, so as to minimize interruption of their business activities. However, OSFI carefully considers each transaction to ensure that they are prudentially sound. During 2009-2010, the financial crisis continued to have an effect on OSFI's approval process. The state of the global economy, the 2011 implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards, impending changes to international capital requirements and the requirement for internal capital adequacy assessments have increased the processing time and complexity of many approvals. Despite these challenges, in 2009-2010, OSFI made every effort so that applicants were not impeded from following viable business strategies, and that requests for regulatory approvals were processed on a consistent and timely basis.

Performance Analysis

Risk Assessment and Intervention

OSFI saw positive results from its intervention activities with a greater number of institutions no longer requiring corrective measures than institutions that were newly staged in 2009-2010. 

OSFI also:

  • improved its ability to identify emerging risks through the development of economic, market and credit risk indicators.  The Emerging Risk Committee met regularly to review these indicators and identify any additional supervisory work needed to assess the risks and impacts to financial institutions;
  • improved effectiveness and focus on common risks by re-organizing along industry lines;
  • focussed on the capital position of foreign-owned institutions operating in Canada through close monitoring of the parent’s financial position, meetings with home regulators, and further identification of institutions with reliance on the parent for capital support;
  • operationalized a robust Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Program (ICAAP) review process and related risk measurement techniques to strengthen OSFI’s ability to assess capital adequacy at deposit-taking institutions;
  • worked closely with banks to monitor the implications of revised standards for banks and for their respective capital and liquidity management programs;
  • encouraged insurance companies to review regularly their risk management practices with an eye to emerging risks and the impact these may have on their solvency. In 2009-2010, OSFI asked a selected number of insurers and reinsurers that represent a significant portion of the Life and P&C insurance business for each industry to complete a stress test based on a standardized scenario. OSFI is using the results to determine whether there are any significant changes in the risk profile of each insurer;
  • expanded risk management seminars to the Life and P&C insurance sectors. The goal is to communicate OSFI’s expectations related to key risk management areas, to provide updates on relevant regulatory policies/issues and to share information on issues being discussed internationally by regulators;
  • continued the practice of organizing Colleges of Supervisors. In 2009-2010 OSFI hosted separate colleges for two of the big five Canadian banks, in line with FSB recommendations, which brought executives from each bank together with supervisors from several jurisdictions where they do business;
  • worked with various domestic partners on the Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee (the Department of Finance, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Bank of Canada, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada) to review lessons learned, and to discuss and coordinate issues related to the oversight of the financial sector;
  • considered where OSFI can improve its supervisory regime and is actively taking steps to do so.  For example, in this past year, we created a specialized group to address corporate governance and compensation across the institutions; and
  • continued active participation in international forums to develop and implement better practices. These include the BCBS, the Financial Stability Board, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the Joint Forum and the Senior Supervisors Group. Notably, the BCBS published consultative proposals to strengthen global capital and liquidity regulations in December 2009 with the goal of promoting a more resilient banking sector.

Rule Making

OSFI:

  • issued a Stress Testing Guideline applicable to all federally regulated entities. The guideline reflects developing international standards that emphasize the importance of stress testing for senior management in making business strategy, risk management and capital management decisions;
  • undertook its annual update of the Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) guideline and continued discussions with the life insurance industry on how to update the existing approach to measuring life insurance regulatory capital requirements. This work included a Quantitative Impact Study to evaluate the impact of proposed modifications to the MCCSR’s standard approach;
  • continued to work with the Minimum Capital Test (MCT) Advisory Committee, which developed and proposed a set of high level key principles to guide the development of a new capital framework for property and casualty insurers. OSFI endorsed the key principles, which were issued in final form in January 2010;
  • following a January 2009 submission from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, OSFI began development of a new capital framework for its standardized MCT approach with the objective of improving the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the MCT/BAAT;
  • with respect to the move to International Financial Reporting Standards, OSFI addressed policy and reporting implications by holding numerous discussions early in the year with industry, auditors, standard setters and other stakeholders. The result was an Advisory on the Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by Federally Regulated Entities, which was issued in final form in March 2010;
  • following a comprehensive consultation process, OSFI issued a paper in March 2010, Reforming OSFI’s Regulatory and Supervisory Regime for Reinsurance that finalizes its approach to reinsurance issues;
  • continued to participate in the development of sound rules at the international level.  As an example, OSFI played an active role in the development of BCBS proposals to develop and issue new rules for sound risk management and capital regulation. Areas addressed included, for example, liquidity risk, stress testing and guiding principles for the revision of accounting standards for financial instruments;
  • participated in the Basel Committee comment letters to, and discussions with, the IASB and IAASB on key accounting and auditing standard setting initiatives;
  • continued to actively participate in the work of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). OSFI contributed to the development of IAIS standards and/or guidance papers relating to:
    • valuation of assets and liabilities for solvency purposes
    • treatment of non-regulated entities in group-wide supervision
    • cross-border cooperation on crisis management
    • structure of capital resources for solvency purposes
    • use of Supervisory Colleges
  • participated in the preparation of a paper on systemic risk in the insurance sector (IAIS position paper on key financial stability issues), which responded to requests from the G-20 and the Financial Stability Board; and
  • continued its active membership in the Joint Forum, which works to achieve consistency of supervisory approaches on issues of common interest across financial sectors and national borders.  Work over the past year included participation in two work streams: 1) the differentiated nature and scope of regulation and 2) risk aggregation.

Approvals

OSFI:

  • spent a considerable amount of time dealing with technical issues related to the insuring in Canada of risks by foreign insurance companies under the “Foreign Companies” part of the Insurance Companies Act. In May 2009, OSFI released a revision to the Insurance in Canada of Risks advisory, in an effort to provide greater certainty on circumstances where OSFI will consider that a foreign entity has insured in Canada risks;
  • in keeping with OSFI’s and the Government of Canada’s commitment to enhance accountability and transparency relating to services provided, OSFI has performance standards establishing time frames for processing applications for regulatory approval and for other services. In 2009-2010, OSFI met or exceeded all of these standards; and
  • hosted its eighth annual Legislation and Approvals Seminar in October 2009, attended by approximately 130 representatives of financial institutions and professional advisors.

Lessons Learned

Risk Assessment and Intervention

The continued stress in the global financial markets has highlighted the ongoing importance of OSFI’s supervisory work, and various factors which facilitate this work.  The importance of having a clear mandate in times of uncertainty, which has allowed OSFI to maintain focus on its statutory responsibilities and this mandate, has been confirmed.  Similarly, the need to have a flexible, learning culture that can adjust to shifting risks has also been confirmed.   

Areas where there have been lessons learned include:  OSFI’s supervisory methodology (the Supervisory Framework), levels of human resources, and communication with the institutions it supervises.  Enhancements are currently being made to the Supervisory Framework in light of developments internationally, and OSFI is also taking steps to mitigate the challenges it now faces to maintain adequate staffing levels.  The consistency between verbal messages given to institutions during supervisory work, and subsequent written reports, is under review.

Rule Making

Recent events have demonstrated that regulatory policies encouraging prudent practices by financial institutions, along with robust supervision leads to positive outcomes – the Canadian financial sector has faired relatively well as compared to that in many other jurisdictions. However, OSFI has also observed the need for a fine balance between policies that may be unduly restrictive, thereby limiting innovation and competitiveness, and those that may be insufficient to discourage overly risky behaviour.  While finding the right balance is difficult, OSFI has attempted to achieve such balance through ongoing consultations with the institutions it regulates, along with continued participation in various international forums to put forward positions that recognize the need for financial institutions to thrive in a competitive environment, while not taking risks that cannot be reasonably mitigated.

Approvals

In these challenging times, OSFI strives to keep applicants informed of developments that could affect their approval request, as soon as possible after such development occurs and on an on-going basis. OSFI was able to keep up with on-going demand for approvals despite significant personnel changes within the Approvals Group.  The challenge of planning for succession, filling vacancies and training new staff is considerable. To ensure that we continue to process applications efficiently and meet OSFI’s established performance standards, OSFI continues to evaluate the effectiveness of the case management system to further streamline the process. 

1.2 Program Activity: Regulation and Supervision of Federally Regulated Private Pension Plans

This program activity incorporates risk assessment and intervention, rule-making and approvals related to federally regulated private pension plans under the Pension Benefits Standards Act. The costs for this program are recovered from pension plan fees based on the number of members in each federally regulated pension plan.

2009-2010 Financial Resources
($ millions)
2009-2010 Human Resources
(FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Planned Actual Difference
$4.8 $4.8 $4.3 27 30 3

OSFI’s actual spending in this program was $0.5 million lower than plan due to fewer requirements for Professional Services to address problem pension plans, lower usage of information management/information technology consulting resources and fewer on-site examinations than planned. 

The related expected results, performance indicators, targets, status and summary of performance for this program activity are identified in the summary below.

Program Activity 1.2: Regulation and supervision of federally regulated private pension plans
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Protect the financial interests of federally regulated private pension plan members and beneficiaries. Percentage of estimated recoveries on pension plans that have terminated under-funded. Source: Internal Data 85% Exceeded One pension plan terminated under-funded in 2009-2010.  The recovery rate for this plan was 100%.
Regulations, guidelines and other rules which are clear and balanced.

Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate OSFI as being good or very good at developing regulations, guidelines and other rules that are clear and easy to understand.
AND/OR

75% Mostly Met Both last measured in 2008-2009: 60% of plan administrators rate OSFI as being good or better.
Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate OSFI as being good or very good at developing regulations, guidelines and other rules that strike an appropriate balance between interests of plan sponsors and plan members. Source for both: Pension Plans Survey 2009 6 50% 7 Exceeded 61% of plan administrators rate OSFI as good or better.
Regulatory approvals which are timely and transparent.

Percentage of knowledgeable observers who rate the transparency, that is, the rationale for OSFI’s recommendations and decisions of the Pensions Approvals process, as good or very good. Source: Pension Plans Survey 2009
AND/OR

60% Exceeded Last measured in 2008-2009: 61% of plan administrators rate OSFI as being good or better.
Percentage of completed applications for regulatory approvals that are processed within established benchmarks. Source: Internal
90% Data not available as benchmarks were being established in 2009/2010 Not applicable – indicator will be measured in 2010/2011

6 OSFI provided TNS Canadian Facts/The Antima Group, an independent research firm, with a list of administrators and professionals of the federally regulated private pension plans it regulates. The research firm invited the administrators and professionals to participate in either an online or a telephone survey-247 pension plan administrators and 30 professionals participated resulting in a response rate of 34.7%. OSFI does not know which administrators or professionals participated. The report is available at OSFI’s Consultations and Surveys.

7 The objective is to achieve a balanced opinion (50% target) of Knowledgeable Observers. A 0% result could indicate OSFI is too harsh in its development of regulations, guidelines and other rules, and 100% could indicate OSFI is too lenient.

Benefits for Canadians

OSFI supports the government’s priority for income security for Canadians.OSFI supervises some 1,379 federally regulated private pension plans in Canada, which cover 612,000 active members as at March 31, 2009.  OSFI works to promote responsible pension plan governance and actuarial practices.  OSFI’s actions and decisions affect plan members as well as the sponsors and administrators of the plans.

Performance Analysis

Risk Assessment, Supervision and Intervention

OSFI:

  • continued to monitor carefully the condition of private pension plans and, to the extent possible, that of their sponsors, and intervened when necessary to protect promised benefits;
  • intervened with respect to high-risk pension plans, including taking measures to enforce minimum funding requirements and ensure timely remittance of contributions;
  • continued initiatives during 2009-2010 to modernize the tools it uses to monitor and supervise pension plans. In particular, the initiative to upgrade the pension supervisory systems that support OSFI’s risk assessment framework is well underway and will be implemented over the next few years; and
  • surveyed selected pension plans regarding their use of stress testing. Over 67% of plans surveyed perform some kind of stress testing.

Rules and Guidance

OSFI:

  • the Government of Canada tabled legislative changes to the PBSA in late March 2010.  OSFI supported the efforts to bring some of the regulatory changes into effect in time for the filing of year-end 2009 regulatory returns;
  • in keeping with the objectives of promoting transparency and improving stakeholders’ understanding of OSFI’s expectations, OSFI issued an instruction guide and standardized approval request form setting out its expectations for filing and reporting requirements where a defined benefit pension plan has terminated;
  • continued to promote responsible pension plan governance and actuarial practices by working closely with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA);
  • continued to review and update previously published policy advisories, and post them to a new area of the pensions page of the OSFI Web site under Regulated Entities/Pensions Plans/Pension Policy Advisories; and
  • held its first pension industry forum in Toronto in February 2010. Over 120 plan administrators and other pension professionals attended. Participant evaluation of this forum was very positive.

Approvals

OSFI:

  • implemented new automated systems to support the pension approvals function and published additional approval instruction guides to the pension industry; and
  • continued to refine processes to improve timeliness while ensuring complex transactions are carefully considered.  As a result, OSFI has cut the number of outstanding requests for approval by 34% and eliminated the backlog.

Lessons Learned

  • Pension plans continued to face financial challenges in the past year, despite significant market improvements. Recent experience demonstrates the importance of robust risk management, and OSFI will continue to encourage administrators to adopt sound practices, including disclosing issues to plan members, using regular scenario testing as a risk management tool, and developing possible responses that are consistent with their risk tolerance.
  • Working with the Government on the implementation of regulatory reforms has highlighted the importance of balancing the interests of plan sponsors, beneficiaries and all affected parties in the development and implementation of pension policy.

1.3 Program Activity: International Assistance

This program activity incorporates activities related to providing help to other countries that are building their supervisory and regulatory capacity. This technical assistance is provided by the International Advisory Group (IAG). The costs for this program are recovered via Memoranda of Understanding between OSFI and organizations such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

2009-2010 Financial Resources
($ millions)
2009-2010 Human Resources
(FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Planned Actual Difference
$1.7 $1.7 $1.7 5 5 0

The related expected results, performance indicators, targets, status and summary of performance for this program activity are identified in the summary below.

Program Activity: 1.3 International Assistance
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Emerging market economies are more informed about current approaches to regulatory and supervisory systems, and deploy them to the extent possible Percentage of respondents that rate the assistance / presentations provided as relevant to their work. Source: Survey of International Advisory Group (IAG) program participants 8 80% Exceeded 88% of respondents rated the assistance / presentations as relevant to their work.
Technical assistance (e.g., workshops, advice, on-site needs assessments) Percentage of respondents who rate OSFI trainers as competent or highly competent.
90% Exceeded 99% of respondents rated OSFI trainers as competent or highly competent.


8 Surveys are provided to workshop participants when IAG staff are the primary presenters. IAG delivered 30 such workshops in 2009-2010, with 923 participants. A total of 776 surveys were completed, for a response rate of 84%.

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity supports the government of Canada’s priority for a safe and secure world through international cooperation. Canada and other G-7 governments recognize that upgrading the supervisory capacity of emerging market supervisory authorities can enhance the stability of the global financial system. Canada played an important role in this regard during 2009-2010, in part through OSFI’s technical assistance program, which helps selected emerging market economies to improve the supervisory systems for their financial institutions in line with international banking and insurance supervisory standards. This assistance also benefits Canadian financial institutions, as it strengthens supervisory regimes and increases confidence in jurisdictions in which some of Canada’s financial institutions operate. In 2009-2010, IAG delivered or participated in 47 programs that provided technical assistance to over 1,500 participants.

Performance Analysis

IAG delivered bilateral or multilateral programs, sometimes in partnership with other technical assistance providers, in 30 different jurisdictions. In some cases the training was provided directly to qualifying regulatory agencies. In other instances, IAG delivered regional training programs in partnership with other organizations, such as: the Financial Stability Institute; the International Association of Insurance Supervisors; the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre; the South East Asian Central Banks Research and Training Centre; the Toronto Leadership Centre for Financial Sector Supervision and the Association of Supervisors of Banks of the Americas.

Lessons Learned

The programs provided by the International Assistance Group must continually evolve and keep pace with domestic and international developments, and new guidance from international organizations and the governments of participating countries.

Strategic Outcome 2

To contribute to public confidence in Canada's public retirement income system.

This strategic outcome is supported by the OCA. The OCA is continuously involved in preparing various experience studies and research covering a wide range of social security, demographic and economic issues that may affect the financial status of pension or benefits plans. Some of these studies also serve to support policy makers in developing and analysing various policy options in the context of plan reforms. The information presented in these studies could benefit private sector organizations that evaluate social security or private pension plan schemes.

In 2009-2010, the OCA maintained the tradition of continual improvements to actuarial methods by applying more extensive and sophisticated stochastic analysis, as recommended by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Peer Review Panel.

The most recent external peer review was completed in March 2008, and the next CPP actuarial report will be published in 2010, with the independent peer review scheduled for 2010-2011. The external peer review panel’s findings received in March 2008 reports that work on the 23rd Actuarial Report (CPP) fairly communicated the results of the work performed by the Chief Actuary and his staff.  The achievement of OSFI’s second strategic outcome provides an essential contribution to income security for Canadians.

2.1 Program Activity: Office of the Chief Actuary

This program provides a range of actuarial services, under legislation, to the CPP and some federal government departments. It conducts statutory actuarial valuations of the CPP, Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Student Loans programs, and pension and benefits plans covering the Federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), federally appointed judges, and Members of Parliament. The OCA is funded by fees charged for its actuarial valuation and advisory services and by an annual parliamentary appropriation.

2009-2010 Financial Resources
($ millions)
2009-2010 Human Resources
(FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Planned Actual Difference
$4.3 $4.3 $4.2 31 29 (2)

Program Activity 2.1 is supported by three distinct Sub-Activities: Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, Public Pension Plans, and Canada Student Loans.  The related expected results, performance indicators, targets, status and summary of performance are identified in the summary table below.

Program Activity 2.1: Office of the Chief Actuary
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Stewards of Canada’s public retirement income system are provided with professional actuarial services and advice in regard to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) 9 and federally legislated public pension and benefit plans. Adequacy of professional experience of the Chief Actuary and his staff.
AND/OR
Unanimous agreement

2009-2010 - N/A

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All


The external peer review panel’s findings received in March 2008 reports that work on the 23rd Actuarial Report (CPP) complies with all relevant professional standards and that the Chief Actuary and his staff have adequate professional experience.
Compliance with Canadian and international professional standards. Unanimous agreement

2009-2010 – N/A

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All

Sub-Activity 2.1.1: Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security
High quality actuarial valuations inform CPP and OAS stakeholders and Canadians of the current and projected financial status of the CPP and OAS.

Reviews are comprehensive (methods, assumptions, analysis).
AND/OR

Unanimous agreement

2009-2010 – N/A

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All


The external peer review received in March 2008 found the reviews are comprehensive 9.
Percentage of the recommendations within the scope and influence of the OCA that are implemented before the next peer review. 80%

2009-2010 – N/A

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All

The OCA has begun implementing recommendations and plans to complete 80% by the next independent peer review scheduled for 2010-2011.
CPP and OAS Triennial Actuarial Reports Timeliness of tabling in Parliament of Reports on Canada Pension Plans & Old Age Security.  100% by the deadline

CPP:

2009-2010 – N/A

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All


The last CPP triennial review was tabled October 29, 2007 prior to the deadline of December 31, 2007.


OAS:
2009-2010 – N/A

2008-2009 – Met All

2007-2008 – N/A
The OAS report as at 31 December 2006 was tabled in Parliament on June 17, 2008 prior to the deadline of June 30, 2008.
Sub-Activity 2.1.2: Public Pension Plans
Accurate and high quality actuarial valuations of Public Pension and Insurance Plans provided to departments to inform design, funding and administration of plans.

Reviews are comprehensive (methods, assumptions, analysis).
AND/OR

Unanimous agreement

2009-2010 – Met All

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All


The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report received February 2010 found that the reviews are comprehensive.

Actuarial opinion is appropriate.

Unanimous agreement

2009-2010 – Met All

2008-2009 – N/A

2007-2008 – Met All

Public Sector Triennial Actuarial Reports Timeliness of tabling in Parliament of Reports on Public Pension Plans. 100% by the deadline

2009-2010 – Met All

2008-2009 – Met All

2007-2008 – Met All


The following triennial actuarial reports as at 31 March 2008 were tabled in Parliament on time:

  • Canadian Forces (Regular Forces) was tabled 19 November 2009
  • RCMP was tabled 23 October 2009
  • Public Service was tabled 19 November 2009
  • Public Service Death Benefit Account was tabled 6 November 2009
  • Regular Force Death Benefit Account was tabled 19 November 2009
The Actuarial report on the pension plan for the Canadian Forces – Reserve Force was sent to the Minister late but was tabled on time on 25 November 2009.
Sub-Activity 2.1.3: Canada Student Loans
Independent valuation of the Canada Student Loans Program informs the Departments of Finance and HRSDC of the future costs and provision rates of the program. The OCA is the service provider of choice to HRSDC. Annual renewal of the MOU with HRSDC

2009-2010 – Met All

2008-2009 – Met All

2007-2008 – Met All


The MOU with HRSDC was renewed in 2009-10.  The Bill C‑10 (Budget Implementation Act, 2009) assented to March 12, 2009 makes the CSLP annual report statutory thus OCA remains the mandatory service provider for actuarial valuations of the program as per section 19.1 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.
Actuarial Report on the Canada Student Loans Program Timeliness of the Report on the Canada Student Loans Program provided to HRSDC. 100% by the deadline set by HRSDC

2009-2010 – Met All

2008-2009 – Met All

2007-2008 – Met All

The 1st statutory Actuarial Report on the CSLP was sent to the Minister 5 June 2009.

9 The OCA is required by law to produce an actuarial report on the CPP every three years, and the CPP Peer Review is also conducted triennially.  The most recent review was completed March 2008, and the next CPP actuarial report will be published in 2010, with the independent peer review scheduled for 2010-2011.

Benefits for Canadians

Canada has set in place a public pensions system that is expected to be sustainable and affordable well into the future in the face of changing demographic conditions.  While OSFI does not supervise public pensions, the OCA does do statutory actuarial reports on various public pension programs, to come to conclusions about sustainability under certain assumptions. In this way, the OCA provides appropriate checks and balances on the future costs of the different pension plans and social programs that fall under its responsibilities.

Performance Analysis

24th Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

The OCA supported the federal-provincial CPP committee’s triennial financial review, which was completed in May 2009. Bill C-51 – Economic Recovery Act was introduced before the House of Commons in the fall of 2009 following the completion of the review. Part 2 of this bill contained changes to the CPP recommended by the federal and provincial ministers of finance.

As required by the legislation, the Chief Actuary prepared the 24th Actuarial Report on the CPP, as a supplement to the 23rd Actuarial report on the CPP as at 31 December 2006, to show the effects of Part 2 of Bill C-51 on the long-term financial status of the CPP.

Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) Actuarial Review

The first statutory Actuarial Report on the Canada Student Loans Program as at 31 July 2008 was tabled before Parliament on June 8, 2009 in accordance with the Budget Implementation Act,2009, which deems the annual CSLP reports as statutory. The previous CSLP reports were provided to ministers and released to the public.

Public Sector Insurance and Pension Plans

The OCA completed and provided to the President of the Treasury Board for tabling before Parliament six actuarial reports in 2009-2010 with respect to the public sector insurance and pension plans. To better monitor and understand emerging risks with respect to Public Sector Pension Plans, the OCA is integrating Asset Liability Modelling (ALM) into various actuarial projects.

Other

The OCA maintained the tradition of continual improvements to actuarial methods by applying more extensive research and sophisticated methods toward developing actuarial assumptions, as recommended by the CPP Peer Review Panel and the Office of the Auditor General’s review.

Lessons Learned

The OCA conducts statutory actuarial valuations of the CPP, Old Age Security program, Canada Student Loans Program, and federal public sector employee pension and insurance plans, to inform Parliamentarians, decision-makers and members of these pension plans of the future projected costs and sustainability of the programs.  The large amount of data received from service providers such as the Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Department of National Defence, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada creates data reliability and completeness challenges for the OCA.  To help reduce the misinterpretation of the information and improve the quality of the data pertinent to OCA’s work, but not necessarily to the administration of these pension plans, the OCA is constantly communicating with and challenging the data providers. The OCA must maintain the tradition of continual improvements to its actuarial reports.  As such, the rigorous validation and correction of data processes currently in place must be reviewed yearly to ensure that the data substantiating the content of the actuarial valuations is sufficient and reliable.

Internal Services

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Public Affairs/Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Facilities/Asset Management Services; Supply Chain Management Services; Evaluation Services; Internal Audit Services; and Other Support Delivery Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

2009-2010 Financial Resources
($ millions)
2009-2010 Human Resources
(FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Planned Actual Difference
$40.7 $40.7 $37.9 139 151 12

Internal Services FTEs were 12 higher than planned due to the enhancement of the Corporate Services Sector, primarily in the Finance and Information Management /Information Technology Divisions, to support the significant growth in OSFI’s staff complement in the past few years. Overall costs are lower due to the deferral to 2010-2011 of certain information technology projects pending the completion and approval of OSFI’s Information Management and Information Technology Strategy during 2009-2010.

Performance Analysis

During 2009-2010, OSFI continued to focus on enhancing its Human Resources planning processes through improved long-range and integrated planning which will ensure it has the human resources available with the right skills to fulfil its mandate. OSFI also focused on developing long-term strategies for Information Management and Information Technology necessary to support OSFI’s evolving supervisory and regulatory activities.