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2025 year-end message
Reflections from Barb Zvan, UPP's President and CEO
Letter from Barb Zvan
UPP President and CEO
A note of gratitude and progress as 2025 ends
As we approach the end of 2025, I want to reflect on a year of purpose and progress for UPP. Our work this year centered on supporting your pension experience today and the long-term security the Plan is designed to provide.
This work took many forms. We continued developing tools and resources for our members, broadened participation across the university sector, stewarding the Plan with care and a long-term perspective. Together, these developments reflect our commitment to a pension experience grounded in stability, clarity, and dependable support.
We continued to support your experience as a UPP member
This year, we continued work on the services and information that support you throughout your pension journey. Our priority was to make it easier to understand your pension, plan for the future, and find the guidance you need when you need it.
Our pension estimator tool has been rolling out through 2025 and is now available to most members through the secure myUPP member portal, giving you another way to explore how different career and retirement choices may affect your pension. Thousands of you have already begun using it, and our team remains available to support those who would like help interpreting their results. As the estimator continues to be introduced in phases, members who do not yet have access can receive a personalized estimate by phone or email.
We also introduced new online tools and refreshed resources alongside the 2024 Annual Statements to make it simpler to navigate your information and find answers to common questions. Throughout the year, we continued evolving myUPP.ca with clearer explainers, step-by-step guides, videos and other resources that help illustrate how your Plan works and how your pension grows, including our latest piece that explains how the pension you earned before joining UPP works alongside the pension you earn with UPP.
Across this work, our aim is simple: a reliable, responsive service experience that reflects what matters most to you. Thank you to everyone who shared questions, comments, or ideas with our team this year. Your input directly informs these improvements, and this will continue in 2026 with even more services and tools under development.
We welcomed new employers into our growing community
Our community continued to grow in 2025. Victoria University and members of the Trent University Staff Plan officially joined UPP, and we are preparing to welcome members from Wilfrid Laurier University on January 1, 2026, following FSRA’s approval of the plan conversion.
Each new employer that joins strengthens the Plan for everyone. Growth supports long-term stability, improves portability across participating employers, and reinforces the collective value of a defined benefit, jointly governed pension plan. It also reflects the shared interest in secure pension arrangements across the university sector.
We continue speaking with university, faculty and union leaders and sector partners across Ontario to understand evolving needs and explore pathways for broader access to stable, jointly governed pension solutions.
We saw progress toward stronger retirement security across the province
This year brought meaningful progress for retirement security across the province.
In November, the Ontario Government announced new measures to support the conversion of defined contribution (DC) plans into jointly sponsored pension plans (JSPPs), such as UPP. This change reflects growing recognition of the value that secure and predictable retirement income can provide.
UPP has supported this direction for some time, working with sector partners to highlight the importance of modernizing the province’s pension framework. The government’s commitment aligns with recommendations we have advanced to help strengthen long-term retirement outcomes for workers across Ontario.
The updated framework gives employers a voluntary and flexible path to offer a defined benefit pension, meaning more people may benefit from the scale and security that plans like UPP provide. It also supports our long-term vision of expanding access to sustainable pension solutions across the university sector.
We invested for your future with a stronger, more resilient portfolio
Your pension is invested with one goal in mind: to provide secure, lifelong pension income. This year, we continued to enhance the resilience of the portfolio through thoughtful diversification and long-term planning.
In public markets, we added strategies that broaden diversification and help the Plan navigate different market environments while capturing opportunities across global markets. In private markets, UPP has now invested or committed nearly $2 billion in long-term assets that provide steady returns and help protect the Plan from inflation. This included a new partnership with WPT Capital Advisors to expand our logistics exposure, providing access to reliable, inflation-protected income.
This year, we also expanded our investment in climate solutions. With our recent commitment to Green Credit Fund II, which backs renewable energy and energy transition projects, UPP has invested or committed $740 million1 to climate solutions2 to date. This brings us closer to the $1.2 billion target outlined in our Climate Action Plan. Learn more about our investment activity and progress on our Climate Action Plan.
We made adjustments to protect your pension against inflation
Inflation protection is an important feature of your UPP pension. When you retire and begin receiving your pension, the part of your pension earned after you joined UPP may receive an increase based on the rise in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI), helping your retirement income keep pace with the cost of living.
For 2026, UPP is pleased to provide the full 75% of the CPI increase. This results in a 1.49% adjustment to the UPP portion of pensions in pay, effective January 1, 2026. Members receiving a pension, including survivors and dependents, will be notified early in the new year.
If you earned pension service before your employer joined UPP, that amount, known as your prior plan or pre-conversion pension, will continue to follow the indexation rules of your prior plan. Any changes to this portion will be communicated separately based on the schedule and provisions of that plan.
Looking forward to the year ahead
As we look ahead to 2026, our focus remains on delivering the service, stability, and long-term value of your pension. Being part of a jointly governed plan means we learn from one another, and your engagement continues to guide our progress. In the year ahead, we look forward to continuing that dialogue and to creating new opportunities to hear directly from you through surveys, focus groups, and other engagement.
As we head into the holiday season and prepare for the new year, I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. It is a privilege to manage this Plan on your behalf, and we remain deeply committed to serving you with the responsibility and care that your retirement deserves.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zvan
President and CEO, University Pension Plan Ontario
1 As of November 2025.
2 Climate solutions include assets or entities that are expected to contribute to climate change mitigation and/or facilitate adaptation to its impacts. Learn more in our Climate Transition Investment Framework.
2025 year-in-review
Learn more about UPP
How UPP and your prior plan work together
Understand what happens to the pension you earned before conversion (your prior plan pension) and the pension you earn after joining UPP (your UPP pension).
An introduction to defined benefit pensions
Learn how a defined benefit (DB) plan provides secure, lifetime retirement income and the advantages of being part of UPP.
Understanding investment exclusions
Learn how UPP applies investment exclusions to actively manage risk and help protect the long-term value of your pension.
How UPP exercises its influence in public markets
See our explainer on pooled versus segregated funds and how our responsible investing principles are applied in different public market investment structures.
Plan for your future with clear pension estimates
Use pension estimates to understand your retirement income and plan confidently for the future.
Getting started with the myUPP Member Portal
Access the tools and information you need to manage your pension and make the most of your myUPP experience.