Item - 2019.GL8.2

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council amend By-law 159-2018, as amended, governing the Metropolitan Toronto Pension Plan, to:

a.  add the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) Plan provision for annual unconditional Consumer Price Index-linked inflation adjustments; and

b.  make such other amendments as may be required to facilitate the merger and transfer of assets.

This report seeks authority to amend the By-law governing the Metropolitan Toronto Pension Plan (Metro Plan) to add the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) provision for annual Consumer Price Index (CPI)-linked inflation adjustments, immediately prior to the merger of the Metro Plan with the OMERS Plan under the Pension Transfer Agreement (PTA) between OMERS and the City of Toronto. The PTA requires that Metro Plan members, following a merger with the OMERS Plan, continue to receive their existing benefits and, in addition, become entitled to the same automatic CPI-linked annual adjustment as is provided to all OMERS Plan pensioners. The Metro Plan does not currently contain an indexing provision per se. All historical increases have been ad hoc amendments to the By-law under specified conditions.

The City's experience with the transfer of The Corporation of the City of York Employee Pension Plan (York Plan) indicates that the consent of the Superintendent of Financial Services (the Superintendent) will be conditional upon enacting this indexing amendment to the Metro Plan.