An external peer panel commissioned to review a report on the Canada Pension Plan has found that the conclusion that the CPP is financially stable is “well-supported.”

The Office of the Chief Actuary, which provides actuarial services for various key government plans and programs, said Monday the panel found the work done by the OCA on the 21st Actuarial Report on the CPP “was competently prepared, the assumptions used in the Actuarial Report are reasonable and as a result, the conclusions of the Chief Actuary that the CPP is financially stable are well supported.”

To further the independence of the process, an external party was chosen to oversee the entire peer review. Britain’s respected Government Actuary’s Department selected the peer review panel and will be providing an opinion on the work done by the panel, the OCA said in a release.

“The results of the peer review confirm that the processes we have used in the 21st Actuarial Report on the CPP were both effective and credible,” said Canada’s Chief Actuary Jean-Claude Menard. “Independence, accuracy, and credibility are absolutely essential to effective actuarial work and I am extremely pleased to see the peer review document reflect those elements in our reporting.”

The review also resulted in 12 recommendations dealing with various aspects of the 21st Actuarial Report including data, methodology, communication of results, and other actuarial issues. The recommendations ask the Chief Actuary to maintain the tradition of continual improvements to the actuarial methods used by his office, and to develop more consistent sensitivity tests for key assumptions.

Produced every three years, the actuarial report on the CPP is considered by the federal and provincial finance ministers when reviewing and making recommendations to the CPP. The external peer review process of the CPP was first introduced in January 1999.

CPP Actuarial Reports and independent reviews are available at: www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=499