FSRA’s 2024 Report on the DB Funding of Defined Benefit Pension Plans in Ontario shows the same directional drift we’ve seen for a while. Single‑Employer Pension Plans (SEPPs) continue to decline by count, Multi‑Employer Pension Plans (MEPPs) are steady, and Jointly Sponsored Pension Plans (JSPPs) remain few by count but dominant by footprint. 

2023 was an equity‑led rebound and that shows up in plan‑type averages:

Returns and fees at a glance

	SEPP	MEPP	JSPP
% of total headcount	21%	31%	48%
% of total asset	23%	6%	71%
Average return (gross)	10.56%	9.58%	8.13%
Investment fees	0.36%	0.46%	0.53%
Administrative fees	0.74%	0.52%	0.25%
Total fees	1.09%	0.99%	0.79%

SEPPs and MEPPs carried more public equity, so they benefitted more in an equity year; JSPPs’ heavier alternatives allocation lagged on a one‑year view.

For context, 2022’s bond selloff flipped the leaderboard—SEPPs underperformed that year given their higher fixed‑income exposure—reminding us that policy mix, not plan type or size, explains most year‑to‑year differences.

A closer look at SEPP fees

The big insight is simple: size matters. FSRA’s averages show that very small SEPPs pay around 2.2% in total fees, while plans over $1B pay closer to 0.5%. Most of that gap comes from administration costs that don’t scale down well for smaller plans. Even modest reductions in either investment or admin lines compound meaningfully over time.

Asset‑mix differences that actually explain results

As shown in the table below, SEPPs tend to hold more fixed income, mid‑range public equity, and relatively modest alternatives. MEPPs lean into public equity, with lower fixed income and modest alternatives. JSPPs run materially higher alternatives, lower public equity, and a medium amount of fixed‑income/cash.

Asset Class	SEPP	MEPP	JSPP
Cash	3%	3%	8%
Fixed Income	45%	27%	31%
Public Equity	29%	41%	11%
Real Estate	13%	20%	9%
Alternatives	10%	9%	41%
Total	100%	100%	100%

The JSPPs’ mix appears designed for long‑horizon, liability‑aligned outcomes—so it can trail in equity‑led years and appear better when private assets smooth volatility or when rates move in their favour.  Whether this reduced volatility truly decreases risk is a separate issue.

The SEPP count, visualized—and two playful projections

Here’s the actual SEPP count from 2010 through 2024, plus two simple projections that I’ve prepared (not FSRA):
• A straight line (ordinary least squares on the full history)
• An exponential‑decay curve (fit to the recent regime, 2018–2024)

Both produce a “demise date.”  A simple straight‑line sketch puts the ‘zero‑SEPP’ date in the late‑2040s; a decaying curve points to an even longer tail.  Treat this as tongue‑in‑cheek; conversions and consolidations will bend the curve in real life, and I certainly expect that some SEPPs will be around forever.

Closing thought

The Ontario DB landscape is still strong, but the gravitational pull toward scale and joint sponsorship isn’t going away. For SEPP sponsors, the question isn’t “will DB survive?”—it’s “what form will it take, and how do we manage cost and governance along the way?”