Chief Actuary of Canada seeks external peer review panel for 31st Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan

The Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) is commissioning an external peer review of its next (31st) Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), expected to be released in December 2022. Actuarial reports on the CPP are conducted every three years and are used by the federal and provincial Ministers of Finance when reviewing and making recommendations on the CPP. The federal and provincial finance ministers endorse regular peer reviews of actuarial reports on the CPP.

The external peer review is intended to ensure that the actuarial reports meet high professional standards, and are based on reasonable methods and assumptions. The review will be conducted by individuals who are Fellows of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIAs), as well as possibly one other fully qualified actuary (equivalent to a Fellow of the CIA) who belongs to another actuarial association and complies with the professional standards of the CIA.

The United Kingdom Government Actuary’s Department (GAD), recognized for its expertise in the field of social security, will assist with the selection of the external peer review panel members by ranking them based on their comparative qualifications as independents actuaries, and will provide an independent opinion of the review, once completed. The review will then be made public, as it was done for previous peer review reports.

Application forms and the terms of reference are available and must be submitted before the end of the day on 15 July 2022. Previous CPP actuarial reports and independent peer reviews are also available.

We live in an environment with high levels of uncertainty. External peer reviews of the CPP actuarial reports serve an important purpose, which is not only to improve the quality and credibility of our reports, but also to provide assurance to Canadians that we make all necessary efforts to address future uncertainties. All recommendations provided by such reviews are considered carefully, and many of them have been implemented over the years. We are confident that the upcoming independent review will bring new perspectives on ways to further improve the quality of our work and strengthen the independence of our office.

- Assia Billig, Chief Actuary of the Government of Canada.