A group of retirees from Queen’s University are criticizing the University Pension Plan (UPP), saying that its indexing formula is not sufficient to cover the rising costs of living. While the university maintained its returns-based indexing formula when it joined UPP in 2021, changes to the fund’s investment strategy meant that recent returns have been insufficient to provide increases to retirees. In a statement to the Financial Post, a UPP spokesperson explained that while a lack of increases in high inflation environments may be challenging for retirees, the formula used by Queen’s ensures that pension payments do not decrease. The spokesperson also added that the plan is expected to provide “materially higher” returns in low-inflation environments compared to inflation-indexed plans.
