Active membership in a registered pension plan (RPP) reached 7.2 million in 2023, up 4.2% from 2022, outpacing the 3.8% growth in employment over the same period, according to a Statistics Canada release Tuesday.
The proportion of workers covered by an RPP in 2023 was 37.7%, up slightly from 37.5% in 2022. There were 3.7 million women with an RPP (up 150,700), compared to 3.5 million men (up 142,800). Membership increased in all provinces except Manitoba, which had a net loss of 1,300 members.
Defined benefit plans accounted for 68.1% of all RPPs in 2023, 18.6% were defined contribution plans and 13.3% were other plan types (hybrid, composite and combination).
Public sector plans accounted for 3.9 million members (up 4.5%), while private sector plans added more than 3.3 million members (up 3.9%).
Total contributions to RPPs reached $79.3 billion in 2023, up 3.8% compared to 2022. Employee contributions accounted for 40% of the amount, while employer contributions for current service accounted for 54.8%. Employer contributions for unfunded liabilities represented 5.2% of contributions.
The market value of assets in RPPs increased by $56 billion in 2023 to just under $2.4 trillion. The largest 36 plans, each with 30,000 or more active members, held 61.5% of total assets and accounted for 54.6% of total membership.