[Toronto, ON — April 16, 2024] — In an environment of economic uncertainty, WISE Trust has demonstrated its value to members and security of benefits by achieving a 7.9% net return on investments for the fiscal year 2023. This brings the assets of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Employees’ Pension Plan (the Plan) to a total of $4.0 billion. The 2023 return not only underscores the organization’s robust investment strategies but also reaffirms the value of WISE Trust’s partnership with Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), the Plan’s exclusive investment manager.
Despite facing numerous market fluctuations throughout the year, WISE Trust has remained steadfast in its pursuit of delivering sustainable growth and stability to Plan members. The positive performance of the Plan’s fund provides members with the peace of mind they deserve as they plan for retirement.
“We are thrilled to announce a 7.9% return on portfolio investments for 2023,” said Christopher Brown, WISE Trust CEO. “This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and our partners at IMCO, as well as our unwavering commitment to delivering value to our members. Despite the challenges, we have remained agile and focused, ensuring that we continue to meet and exceed the expectations of those who have entrusted us with their financial future. With a track record of consistent growth, and a dedication to putting members first, WISE Trust continues to strive for excellence in providing retirement security to our 10,000+ members.”
Further Mr. Brown added, “At WISE Trust we understand the importance of providing reliable and consistent returns to secure the benefits of our Plan members. As we look ahead, we remain committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency in everything we do, ensuring that our members can retire with confidence and dignity.”
About WISE Trust
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Employees’ Pension Plan (the Plan) is a jointly sponsored defined benefit pension plan co-sponsored by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario) and the Ontario Compensation Employees Union, CUPE Local 1750 (OCEU). The WISE Trust Board of Trustees (made up of individual trustees appointed by the WSIB and OCEU) is the legal administrator of the Plan.
On July 1, 2020, the Plan became the first pension plan in Ontario to convert from a single employer pension plan to a jointly sponsored pension plan.
IMCO is the exclusive investment manager for the Plan, operating to implement the investment policy and strategic asset allocation set by the WISE Trust Board of Trustees.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Monique Patrick
WISE Trust, Communications Specialist
communications@wisetrust.ca
Open Call for Nominations
It’s time to get involved!
This is an exciting opportunity to learn more about your Pension Plan, express members’ views on its administration, promote awareness and understanding of the Pension Plan, and network with actively engaged plan members.
Spring elections will soon be held to select new members of the Pension Advisory Committee (PAC).
Interested Nominees
If you would like to run in the upcoming spring election, complete the nomination form on the WISE Trust website or submit your nomination by email.
Nomination Details for Email Submissions
Nominations will also be accepted via email.
To ensure your nomination is received please include the following information:
- Your name
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Personal statement
Your personal statement should provide voters with background information about you and why you are interested in serving on the PAC. Please limit your message to 200 words.
When your email has been drafted, please email the required nomination information to pac@wisetrust.ca by the deadline listed below.
Nomination Deadline
Nominations open on Monday, April 1, 2024. Candidates must submit or email their completed forms no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Election
Voting in the election will take place via electronic ballots online. You will also have the option to vote by telephone. To ensure that voting remains anonymous WISE Trust has contracted a third-party voting management company to manage the elections. After the nomination period ends, and prior to the start of the voting period, you will receive your ballot and voting instructions from Simply Voting Inc.
Contact Us
For more information about the upcoming election and to view the qualifications for PAC members, review frequently asked questions, and to use the online nomination form, visit the PAC elections page.
If you have questions concerning the PAC election process, please email pac@wisetrust.ca
WISE Trust is pleased to welcome Martha Fell to our Board of Trustees, as appointees by the WSIB as Employer Sponsor, effective October 25, 2023. Martha joins the board bringing over 30 years of experience spanning capital markets, board governance and entrepreneurship. Martha currently serves as an External Advisor to the WSIB Board of Directors Investment Committee. Formerly, Martha was the CEO of Women in Capital Markets, also serving as Executive Director in Debt Capital Markets, formerly in Retail Fixed Income Research, Sales and Trading, at CIBC.
We would like to thank our departing Trustee, Susannah Crabtree. Susannah has served on the Board since the very inception of WISE Trust in 2019, serving two consecutive terms. We are grateful for her expertice and guidance during our transition to a jointly-sponsored pension plan and her tireless efforts to help stand up the organization.
The WISE Trust Board of Trustees is made up of eight members: four appointed by the WSIB and four appointed by the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). As always, the Trustees’ focus is to deliver long-term retirement stability and deliver the defined benefit promise to WISE Trust’s 10,000+ members.
New Trustee Bios
Martha Fell
With over 30 years of experience spanning capital markets, board governance, and entrepreneurship, Martha has a collaborative and consensus building leadership style. Martha's accumulated governance experience most recently led her to chair Blackrock Canada's Independent Review Committee. Martha has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University. In 2012, Martha was recognized as a WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada award winner.
Appointment effective until December 2023
Note: All pensioners received this information in a package mailed to their home address.
WISE Trust will be transitioning to a new pension payment service provider to better serve our members in the long term.
Effective October 1, 2023, CIBC Mellon will process our pensioners’ monthly pension payments from the WSIB Employees’ Pension Plan (your “WISE Trust pension”). There is no action required by WISE Trust pensioners and gross monthly pension payments will not be affected by this change.
Moving forward, questions regarding the CIBC Mellon pay statements or T4A tax slips can be directed to CIBC Mellon at 1-800-565-0479. All other inquiries about your WISE Trust Pension should continue to be directed to our WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre at 1-855-242-1526.
See below for more information on who to contact and when and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding this change.
More Information on Pension Payments
Pension Payments: Beginning October 1, 2023, CIBC Mellon will process WISE Trust monthly pension payments. Prior to this date, pension payments were processed by ADP. All of your pension payment information including direct deposit banking and your personal address of residence information will be automatically transferred from ADP to CIBC Mellon. CIBC Mellon adheres to federal privacy legislation (PIPEDA) requirements in the handling and care of your personal information.
Pension payments are made on the first day of each month. However, if your banking institution does not process payments on weekends or statutory holidays, your monthly pension payment will be deposited on the first business day of each month. Contact your banking institution to confirm timing of direct deposits on non-business days.
Pay Statement: You will receive a CIBC Mellon pay statement delivered by mail for your October 1st pension payment. After this initial pay statement, pay statements will be sent to you only when there is a change to your net payment amount, banking information or address of residence. For future reference, you should keep your October 1, 2023 pay statement on hand.
Who to contact for questions about your WISE Trust pension
Most inquiries can continue to be directed to the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre.
CIBC Mellon will be available to WISE Trust Members to answer specific questions related to your pay statements, tax slips and/or income tax withholding.
The chart below provides a breakdown of who to contact and when:
WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre
Phone
Call toll free: 1-855-242-1526
Outside of North America: 678-932-4144
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST
Mail
130 King Street West
Suite 1500, P.O. Box 424
Toronto, ON M5X 1E3
Online
Access My Pension Resource through the www.wisetrust.ca homepage
For reasons, not limited to:
- Make changes to your personal information, including your mailing and residential addresses
- Direct deposit banking changes
- Pensioner power of attorney and death notifications
- General pension questions and more
CIBC Mellon
Phone
Call toll free: 1-800-565-0479
International: 1-519-873-2218
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
Only for questions regarding:
-
- Pay statements
- Income tax withholding and personal exemptions
- T4A tax slips
Important: When contacting CIBC Mellon, you will need to identify yourself by providing your reference number shown on your pay statement. This security measure helps safeguard your privacy and confidentiality.
FAQs
The new CIBC Mellon system processes tax withholding/deductions using the most up-to-date federal and provincial personal tax exemptions that are based on the tax regulations for your address of residence. This may have resulted in a change in your net pay.
Moving forward, tax updates are based on federal or provincial budget requirements and changes may occur twice per year in February and August. If there is a change to your taxation, a CIBC Mellon pay statement will be mailed to you at that time.
You will receive a pay statement from CIBC Mellon delivered by mail for your October 1, 2023, payment. After this initial pay statement, you will receive a monthly pay statement only if there is a change to your net payment, banking information or address.
Contact CIBC Mellon at 1-800-565-0479
Pension payments are made on the first of the month. However, if your banking institution does not process payments on weekends or statutory holidays, you will receive your monthly pension payment on the first business day of each month. Contact your banking institution to confirm timing of direct deposits on non-business days.
CIBC Mellon mails cheques at least four business days prior to the payment date.
Contact the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre at 1-855-242-1526
Update your direct deposit bank account information online on My Pension Resource or call the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre at 1-855-242-1526. Do not close your old bank account until you receive your pension payment in your new bank account.
Notify us as soon as possible if you are moving or have moved. Call the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre at 1-855-242-1526 or update your personal information online on My Pension Resource.
Complete the appropriate tax form(s) and send it to the WISE Trust Pension Contact Centre at:
130 King Street West
Suite 1500, P.O. Box 424
Toronto, ON M5X 1E3
RESIDENT OF CANADA: complete a TD1 form for federal tax and the appropriate provincial/territorial form. TD1 forms are available at: canada.ca
QUEBEC RESIDENT: Residents of Quebec also need to complete a TP1017 or TP1015, as applicable: www.revenuquebec.ca
These forms are also available from your local tax office.
Going forward, CIBC Mellon will issue tax slips. However, in February 2024, you will receive two separate T4A tax slips for the 2023 tax year – one for the pension payments issued by ADP (for the period January to September 2023) and another for the payments issued by CIBC Mellon (for the period October to December 2023).
If you currently have an ADP Workforce Now account, you will continue to have access to your previous ADP account for three years to access ADP pay statements issued prior to October 2023 and T4A tax slips for the previous three years (2022, 2021, 2020).
A self-service website is under development and will be made available to WISE Trust pensioners as soon as it is up and running.
Contact CIBC Mellon at 1-800-565-0479.
Welcome Grant Walsh and David Minas!
WISE Trust is pleased to welcome two new Trustees to our Board. Grant Walsh, Chair of the WSIB, and David Minas, CFO of the WSIB, have joined the Board of Trustees, as appointees of the WSIB as Employer Sponsor, effective July 1, 2023. Grant Walsh will join the Governance and Human Resources Committee and the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board. David Minas will chair the Audit and Finance Committee and join the Asset and Liability Management Committee
We would like to thank two departing Trustees for their time and service to WISE Trust. Helga Reidel served on the Board of Trustees since 2019 and was a part of the original Board of Trustees that supported the transition to a jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP). Helga was an integral member of the team who helped WISE Trust build a strong foundation during the standing up of our organization. Peter George served on the board since 2022 and we thank him for his entrepreneurial insights and diverse perspectives for during his service to WISE Trust.
The WISE Trust Board of Trustees is made up of eight members: four appointed by the WSIB and four appointed by the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). The new makeup of the Board will sit for the first time as a group in September 2022 and will continue to deliver on commitments made in WISE Trust’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. As always, the Trustees’ focus is to deliver long-term retirement stability and deliver the defined benefit promise to WISE Trust’s 10,000+ members.
New Trustee Bios
Grant B. Walsh, MBA, C.Dir
WSIB is a Province of Ontario Crown Corporation. It holds $405 billion in investment assets; $5 billion in revenue, 330,000 employer members, 5.6 million insured employees, and employs 4,200 people.
Mr. Walsh was formerly the Chairman of Canada Lands Company Limited, a Government of Canada Crown Corporation with real estate properties across Canada and tourism properties including the CN Tower; Downsview Park; the Old Port of Montreal; and the Montreal Science Centre.
Mr. Walsh was President and CEO of St. Peter’s Health System and Vice President of Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON. As Executive Vice President of The ServiceMaster Company, Chicago, IL, Mr. Walsh was accountable for $550 million in revenue (US in 1998), 30,000 employees, and 10,000 facilities in 44 states and across Canada.
Mr. Walsh has a Master of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts from Roberts Wesleyan University in English and Philosophy. He holds a designation as a Chartered Director from McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada.
David Minas
With experience over a breadth of industries which includes Financial Institutions (Banks, Brokerage, Insurance and Trust companies), technology, industrial technology, nuclear engineering, medical device, aviation and automotive, in various stages of development from startups to restructuring to growth and steady state businesses, in Canada, the United States and internationally, David has accumulated extensive experience delivering results for both public and private enterprises, creating exceptional profitability in B2B and B2C.
David has been involved in twenty-three (23) M&A transactions, taken a company public, implemented systems, raised capital in both public and private markets, which included creating the second largest ABL debt facility in Canada involving eleven (11) banks, managed Risk and IT and has entered into strategic partnerships that accelerated growth. While David was the CFO of Nuclear Safety Solutions, he worked with Actuaries and reported on the defined pension plan that was a spin off from Ontario Power Generation.
David also has prior Board experience, as he was a member of the Board of Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada), Toronto Chapter, as well as, a Board member of the Deep Bay Rate Payers’ Association.
David holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and CPA, CA designations from CPA Ontario.
On July 1, 2023, your pension contribution rates will increase by 0.6 per cent of your pensionable earnings.
Effective July 1, 2023, contribution rate A (the per cent of pensionable earnings below the YMPE*), will increase to 7.6 per cent and contribution rate B (the per cent of pensionable earnings above YMPE), will increase to 9.4%.
*Year’s maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) is set by the Government of Canada, which is $66,600 for 2023.
Why is this happening?
Since July 1, 2020, member contribution rates have gradually increased by 0.6 per cent of pensionable earnings per year and will do so until the funding for the Plan reaches a 50/50 employer-member cost-sharing ratio.
When will the new contribution rates be reflected on my pay?
Your contributions are deducted directly from your bi-weekly pay. All members from our six participating employers will see the contribution increase on your July 27th pay date.
Effective July 1, 2023, member pension contribution rates will increase by 0.6% of pensionable earnings. The employer normal cost contribution rate will be 234.5% of member contributions, as of July 1, 2023, determined by the actuarial valuation report as of December 31, 2021, filed in 2022.
Contribution Rate Schedule
The following table summarizes the employee and employer contribution schedule for the periods covered by the actuarial valuation report as of December 31, 2021:
| Member | Employer | ||
| Effective Date | Up to YMPE | Above YMPE | As % employee contributions |
| January 1, 2022 | 6.4 % | 8.2 % | 249.3% |
| July 1, 2022 | 7.0 % | 8.8 % | 222.0% |
| January 1, 2023 | 7.0 % | 8.8 % | 260.8% |
| July 1, 2023 | 7.6 % | 9.4 % | 234.5% |
| July 1, 2024 | 8.2 % | 10.0 % | 211.8% |
| July 1, 2025 | 8.8 % | 10.6 % | 190.2% |
Background
The contribution schedule is established by the actuarial valuation report most recently filed with the regulators. The last actuarial valuation was filed as at December 31, 2021.
The next actuarial valuation must be filed with an effective date no later than December 31, 2024. However, the Board of Trustees may choose to file a report earlier. We will inform our participating employers of any change in the contribution requirements when the next valuation report is filed.
Our 2022 Annual Highlights for Members marks WISE Trust’s third annual report. With two full calendar years under our belt since converting to a Jointly Sponsored Pension Plan (JSPP), we are proud to see our membership grow to over 10,000 active, retired, and deferred members.
2022 was a year of steady progress for WISE Trust as we continued to establish a strong operational foundation for WISE Trust. In 2022, we revisited our strategic asset allocations and investment policies with our investment manager, IMCO, to maximize and stabilize our returns during a year of global economic uncertainty.
While 2022 was a challenging year for markets around the globe, we are pleased by our strong funded status of 95%, on a going concern basis, and $3.8B of net assets at the end of 2022.
Key Highlights from 2022
What is included in the Highlights for Members report?
· Letter from the Co-Chairs of the Board of Trustees
· Letter from our CEO, Chris Brown
· Data on our financial performance and funded status
· Employer vs employee contribution information
- Governance strucutre
· Investment insights and more!
2022 Highlights for Members
The WISE Trust team is pleased to welcome our new Chief Executive Officer, Chris Brown!
Chris brings extensive experience and expertise leading pension and investment strategies, policies, and teams to deliver unprecedented value to members and pensioners. Most recently, Chris served as the President and CEO for Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) Corporation in Alberta where he led LAPP’s transition to become a jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP), the same transition WISE Trust undertook in 2020.
The WISE Trust team is proud to have Chris lead us through WISE Trust’s next chapter as we continue to deliver the defined benefit pension promise to our over 10,000 members.
Read Chris’ full bio:
Chris Brown
Prior to joining WISE Trust, Chris was the President & Chief Executive Officer of LAPP Corporation, the administrator, and trustee of the pension fund, of the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP). The largest pension plan in Alberta, LAPP serves the health, municipal and education sectors in the province.
Previously, Chris was a practicing lawyer for over 20 years and has been a leading pension expert counselling clients and working with regulators and other pension policy makers on pension legislation and governance at the provincial and national levels. Over his legal career, Chris had extensive experience counselling clients on all matters relating to the governance, investment, administration and regulatory compliance of pension plans and other employment benefits and compensation plans. Chris was a founder and managing partner of a firm specializing in human resources-related law and has been a partner in leading national law firms.
Chris served as the President and Chair of the Board of the Association of Canadian Pension Management from September 2010 to September 2013, and is a current member of ACPM's Executive Committee and National Policy Committee. Between October 2007 and November 2008, Chris served as Co-Chair of the Alberta-British Columbia Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards. Chris also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Benefits Canada.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Commerce (University of Alberta), and a Bachelor of Laws (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University).
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 – Effective Monday, September 5, 2022, WISE Trust’s Board of Trustees was joined by two new members. Bruce Smith joins as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees, representing WSIB as Plan Sponsor and will also co-chair the Governance and Human Resources Committee, while serving on the Asset and Liability Management, Audit and Finance, and Plan Administration Committees. Peter George joins as a Trustee and will serve on the Asset and Liability Management, and the Audit and Finance Committees.
Terms have ended for both Wayne Gladstone, our current Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Trustee Peter Jarvis effective September 4th. Both Wayne and Peter have been Trustees for WISE Trust since our inception and played an integral role as we stood up our new jointly sponsored pension plan. We thank Wayne and Peter for their extraordinary commitment and service to WISE Trust over the past three years.
The WISE Trust Board of Trustees is made up of eight members: four appointed by the WSIB and four appointed by the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). The new makeup of the Board will sit for the first time as a group in September 2022 and will continue to deliver on commitments made in WISE Trust’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. As always, the Trustees’ focus is to deliver long-term retirement stability and deliver the defined benefit promise to WISE Trust’s 10,000+ members.
New Trustee Bios
Bruce Smith
Bruce has over 20 years of experience as a Director including the WSIB where he served as Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and member of the Governance and Health & Safety Committees as well as the newly created Service Excellence Advisory Group. Bruce is also a past member of the Board of Directors for St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, Ontario and Fanshawe College where he served as Board Chair for two years as well as Chair of Colleges Ontario – the advocacy organization representing Ontario’s 24 colleges of applied arts and technology.
Bruce had the honour of serving in the Ontario Legislature from 1995-1999 as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Middlesex & Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education & Training. During that time, Bruce served on the Policy Coordination sub-committee of Cabinet and Caucus Advisory Committee to the Minister of Finance.
Bruce earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Western University, an Honour’s Degree in Environmental Studies (minor degree in Political Science) from the University of Waterloo, and a Diploma in Urban Design from Fanshawe College.
Peter George
Peter is the co-founder and past director of LB Energy Inc., one of the largest developers of renewable energy in Ontario. Peter is deeply rooted in his community, having volunteered and fundraised for SickKids, Windsor Regional Hospital, Art Gallery of Windsor and St. Clair College.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor.