A Glimpse of the PPEMO 2022

A return of 13.9% for the PPEMO fund in 2021

The Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers (PPEMO)'s fund generated a 13.9% return in 2021. The fund is invested with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), in various portfolios, such as the Public equity portfolio, the Real Estate portfolio, the Infrastructure portfolio, the fixed income assets and the Private equity portfolio. The weight of each of these portfolios is indicated in the PPEMO investment policy, which is established jointly by the PPEMO pension committee and the CDPQ.

In 2021, growth assets generated high returns. The Private equity portfolio, the Public equity portfolio, the Real estate portfolio and the Infrastructure portfolio generated returns of 39.2%, 16.2%, 14.5% and 12.4%, respectively. Returns on fixed-income investments were negative, that is -0.2%, due to the rise in interest rates.

Over the past ten years, the PPEMO fund has increased by over $197M, from $159M as at 31 December 2011 to $356M as at 31 December 2021. During this ten-year period, the average annual return of the PPEMO fund was 9.8%, whereas it was 9.0% over the past five years.

Although returns in recent years have been relatively high, in the interest of good governance and prudence, the pension committee worked to improve the risk/return profile of the PPEMO fund, in collaboration with the CDPQ. Following this work, adjustments were made to the distribution of assets provided for in the investment policy. They consist of slightly increasing the weight of fixed-income investments and the infrastructures, and decreasing the weight on the stock market. The adjustments have been gradually implemented since 1 January 2022.

The return generated by the PPEMO's fund in 2021 will be taken into account in the next actuarial valuation of the Plan as at 31 December 2021. The valuation report will be presented to the pension committee in 2023.

Table 1

Returns for the PPEMO fund from 2012 to 2021
(percentage)

Table 2

Evolution of the value of the PPEMO fund as at 31 December
(billions of dollars)

Your amounts, your documents, following up on your requests and more in My Account

By logging into My Account, your digital workspace with Retraite Québec, you will find everything at the same place, no matter the time and place. You will find information, documents and services to make the steps to take easier regarding your membership or your benefits under the Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers (PPEMO) or under other public-sector pension plans, as well as those regarding the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) and Family Allowance.

Are you still participating in your pension plan?

You can consult and download your 2020 Statement of Participation in My Account at all times. Produced each year, the Statement is an essential reference for knowing your rights and benefits related to your contributions and to help you financially plan your retirement.

There you will find:

• your number of years of service as well as the amount of your contributions and accrued interest;
• an estimate of your retirement pension.

Your Statement of Participation is sent to you based on the communication preferences entered in your file, that is:

• entirely digitally, with notifications informing you that a document was uploaded to My Account;
• by mail, with or without notifications informing you that a document was uploaded to My Account.

The 2020 Statement of Participation was uploaded last fall. The 2021 Statement of Participation will be available in My Account by the end of the fall of 2022.

The latest information

In addition to accessing your Statement of Participation, your income tax slips (if you are the beneficiary of a pension) and many other documents sent by Retraite Québec, you can now follow the progress of your application for a retirement pension under the PPEMO or your application for a pension estimate. Furthermore, thanks to notifications, you will receive an email or a text message informing you of the different processing steps for your application or when a document is uploaded to your file.

At Retraite Québec, the 100% digital option exists! You must log in to My Account and choose to only receive your documents digitally in My Account instead of by mail and to sign up for notifications.

Log in to My Account

Do you know the provisions of your pension plan?

Created in 1989, the Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers (PPEMO) covers the members of certain municipal councils, certain supramunicipal bodies and certain mandatary bodies of a municipality.
Retraite Québec is the agency that administers the PPEMO. However, it is the Minister of the Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation who is responsible for applying the Act respecting the Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers.
Retraite Québec offers two main information tools regarding your pension plan on its website:

• Le RREM publication (French only)
• Le Régime de retraite des élus municipaux  (The Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers animated video clip, French only)

Le RREM(French only)

This web publication presents the main provisions of the plan, including participation, the member's or the municipality's contribution rate, the calculation and indexation of the pension, the buy-back of service, etc.

The Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers animated video clip (French only)

To fully understand the particularities of your pension plan, Ms. Stéphanie Dubé, Director of the Services des prestations distinctes at Retraite Québec presents the provisions of the PPEMO. You will find out what your plan consists of, how employers are subject to it, how you will automatically and mandatorily be a member of the plan, what the pensionable salary is as well as the maximum pensionable salary, what the contribution rate of the pensionable salary is and more, all in a 30‑minute presentation. Do not miss it!

The video clip is available on YouTube.

Members of the PPEMO pension committee