With more than 400,000 active, deferred vested, and retired members living in Alberta, LAPP, ATRF, PSPP, and SFPP, the plans and their members contributed over $4.8 billion to provincial GDP in 2021. This is equivalent to 1.5% of Alberta’s economy. The economic activity supported over 43,700 jobs and $2.2 billion in wages for Albertans.

Retirees who are members of a public pension plan in the study are 34% more likely to report higher satisfaction with life than retired Albertans with no pension. The financial equivalent to the increased satisfaction of life evaluated using the well-being valuation approach is $1.2 billion in 2021, or when added to a retiree’s regular pension payments, a 56% increase in the value of their pension payments relative to no pension plan.

This research seeks to understand the social value generated by pension plans that provide a secure and stable source of income in retirement, such as OMERS, by examining reported satisfaction with life among OMERS and non-OMERS populations. The reasons for any differences are investigated, including the roles of financial security, health, stress, and community engagement.

OMERS contributed over $11.8 billion to provincial GDP in 2020 through its activities in Ontario. This supported over 118,300 jobs and $5.8 billion in wages for Ontarians, as well as nearly $3.3 billion in combined federal and provincial government revenue through corporate, income and consumption taxes.

CANCEA applies its systems approach and big data modeling platform to housing affordability to quantitatively determine the major drivers of decreasing affordability in Ontario and the GTHA.