OMERS lifts funded status to 99% as 2025 return hits 6%
OMERS delivered a 6 percent investment return in 2025, earning $8.2bn net of expenses and pushing its smoothed funded status to 99 percent, up from 98 percent in 2024, on a real discount rate of 3.70 percent.
Net assets rose to $145.2bn at December 31, 2025, from $138.2bn a year earlier.
Over the past decade, the plan has averaged a 7.1 percent annual net return, adding $73.9bn and materially strengthening its funding profile.
Blake Hutcheson, OMERS president and CEO, said the plan’s 2025 performance “demonstrates the resilience of our plan amidst a turbulent market” and noted it has generated an average annual net return of 7.7 percent over the past five years.
He linked those results to the “2030 Strategy,” saying OMERS expects to have $200bn in net assets by 2030 and to be more than 100 percent funded.
Diversification across asset classes and geographies remained central to the portfolio construction. OMERS noted that different asset classes perform differently depending on market and economic conditions, and that this broad base helps insulate the plan through each market cycle.
Jonathan Simmons, OMERS chief financial and strategy officer, said the portfolio generated steady returns in 2025 despite political and economic uncertainty, with six of seven asset classes posting gains, led by a third consecutive year of double-digit public equity returns and another strong year for private credit.
He said the fund continues to face a challenging private equity market.
Real estate and currency management also influenced results.
Hutcheson said, “We are pleased to see a recovery in our real estate portfolio, with good performance in office and retail, as the industry emerges from several difficult years.”
He said volatile currency markets create challenges for investors who invest abroad, “particularly as it relates to the US dollar.”
He added that active currency hedging “protected 70 basis points of our return for the year” and limited the foreign exchange impact to negative 1.3 percent, mainly due to the decline in the US dollar.
Funding resilience and longevity risk featured prominently.
Simmons said OMERS improved its smoothed funded status to 99 percent while also increasing provisions to pay pensions by $2.2bn to reflect longer life expectancies.
He noted that “Canadians—including our members—are living longer” and said the plan is prepared to meet members’ retirement needs.
The plan reported progress on climate objectives and green capital allocation.
OMERS is “reporting a 65 percent reduction in its portfolio carbon emissions intensity relative to the 2019 baseline,” and has increased its green investments, as defined in the OMERS Climate Action Plan, to $26bn.
OMERS also highlighted its role in the broader economy.
A study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis found that OMERS’ 2025 activities in Ontario generated $15.3bn in provincial GDP, supported more than 135,000 jobs, and positively affected 1 in 11 households.
Across its investments, pensions, and corporate teams, OMERS said employees continue to seek ways “to innovate and deliver on our pension promise with excellence.”
Looking ahead, the plan signalled appetite to deploy more capital domestically, subject to its return thresholds.
OMERS is “well-positioned to invest across geographies of focus, including in Canada where we expect new opportunities to emerge.”
Hutcheson called this “a pivotal time in Canada” and described OMERS as “a proudly Canadian pension plan with a deep history of investing in our home market.”
He said any transactions must meet its standards for managing the plan on behalf of members and that the fund is looking for near-term opportunities in Canada.
Hutcheson also underscored the plan’s long-term orientation to members.
He said OMERS’ role is to provide a stable source of retirement income for members in an increasingly complex environment.
He added that the plan is built to withstand market cycles and long periods of change, and that OMERS has paid pensions as promised for almost 65 years.
OMERS remains highly rated by independent credit rating agencies, holding ‘AAA’ ratings from S&P, Fitch, and DBRS.
