Independent peer reviews
To ensure we provide sound actuarial advice to Parliament and Canadians, we commission independent peer reviews of our actuarial reports on the Canada Pension Plan. Reviewers are Fellows of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, or are members of other, equivalent actuarial associations.
These peer reviews verify that we’re meeting high professional standards with our reports, and that they’re based on reasonable assumptions.
| Title | Publication date |
|---|---|
| Review of the 31st Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan | 2023-06-29 |
| Opinion of the United Kingdom Government Actuary's Department (GAD) on 31st CPP Report Peer Review | 2023-06-29 |
Summary of the review process
The United Kingdom (UK) Government Actuary’s Department helps us verify our independent peer reviews of our actuarial report on the Canada Pension Plan. The UK Government Actuary’s Department:
- ranks peer review applicants based on their qualifications to help us select reviewers
- provides an opinion on the reviewers’ work once they’ve completed the review
The peer reviewers have 3 months to perform the review once the actuarial report is tabled in the House of Commons. This means that the work generally takes place from January to March. Once they’ve completed their review, the UK Government Actuary’s Department has 1 month to provide an opinion on the reviewers’ work.
Following the completion of the review and the opinion of the UK Government Actuary’s Department, we publish the review publicly.
Terms of reference for the review process
In their reports, the reviewers should include opinions on these questions and provide recommendations:
- Is the professional experience of the Chief Actuary and the staff who worked on the report adequate for carrying out the work required?
- Did the Chief Actuary complete the work in compliance with the relevant professional standards of practice and statutory requirements?
- Did the Chief Actuary have access to the information required to perform the valuation? Were relevant tests and analysis on the data completed as might be expected?
- Were the actuarial methods and assumptions used in completing the report reasonable?
- Does the actuarial report communicate the results of the work performed by the Chief Actuary and their staff?
Be a part of the next independent peer review
If you are a fully qualified actuary interested in being part of the panel, you can submit a Peer Reviewer Application by July 18, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
This application form, along with a short bio and resume/curriculum vitae (CV), will allow the UK Government Actuary’s Department to compare your qualifications against those of other applicants. The candidate who has the best qualifications and/or the proposal that contains the lowest price will not necessarily be selected. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, including valid proposals, without stating the reasons. In addition, the OCA reserves the right to exclude from any resulting contract, any of the identified activities or deliverables. Please note that the OCA will take the overall cost of the review into consideration.
Submit your completed form with a short bio and a resume/CV that includes:
- Education:
- professional qualifications
- continuing professional development compliance status with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) or with another actuarial association that is both a Full Member of the International Actuarial Association and that requires the actuary to comply with the relevant professional requirements when performing work in another country (for Canada, the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Standards of Practice of the CIA)
- enrolment status with the CIA
- academic degrees
- discipline
- institutional name(s), city, province/state/region, and country
- Volunteer service with the CIA or another actuarial association
- Employment history (employer name, city, province/state/region, country, position, dates held, main job responsibilities and/or accomplishments)
- Social security actuarial-related professional experience (presentations, publications, committee service, and so on)
- Relevant pension, investment, and risk management experience
- Estimate of the hourly rate that will be charged as well as the anticipated number of hours based on the current Terms of Reference and previous peer reviews of the CPP Actuarial Reports