As the population ages and more people retire, it is more important than ever to look at making pensions more efficient. Broader public‐sector employers have been working towards the conversion of their single‐employer pension plans to jointly sponsored pension plans (JSPPs). There are several mergers into JSPPs currently under way to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, including a number in the hospital, municipal and university sectors. Several universities are working to merge their individual plans into a single JSPP which will be available to the university sector.

The government is committed to improving the pension system for the university sector. A new JSPP is a means of obtaining efficiencies of scale, improved investment opportunities and savings in plan administration. The new JSPP would allow universities to focus on their core mandate of providing high‐quality education for students rather than diverting resources to managing their single‐employer pension plans.

Based on the shared risk structure between plan members and employers, it is expected that this newly established plan would be treated similarly to other broader public‐sector, solvency‐exempt JSPPs following a successful conversion and a request from the newly established university plan.