Pension plans in Canada, as of January 1, 2025
Released: 2026-07-28
7,352,686.0
2025
1.8% 
(annual change)
The number of Canadians who were active members of a registered pension plan (RPP) grew by 132,000 (+1.8%) from 2023 to nearly 7.4 million members in 2024. Employment grew by 394,200 (+2.1%) over the same period, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
From 2023 to 2024, membership increased faster among women (+2.7%) than among men (+0.9%). With 3.8 million members, women accounted for 51.8% of all active members in 2024. Since 2017, women have accounted for a larger share of active members than men.
Membership grew in all provinces and territories in 2024. In absolute terms, the largest increase in the number of RPP members was in Ontario (+37,800), followed by Quebec (+29,500), British Columbia (+21,500) and Manitoba (+11,700).
Share of members covered by defined benefit plans stable in 2024
Types of RPPs include defined benefit (DB) plans, defined contribution (DC) plans and other types of plans (hybrid, composite, target benefit and combination).
DB plans are a type of pension plan in which an employer or sponsor promises a specified pension payment, lump sum or combination of the two upon retirement. The pension amount depends on an employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than on individual investment returns.
DC plans specify the contributions made by the employer, as well as by the employee if the plan is contributory. In a DC plan, the employee's pension benefits are determined by the size of their pension assets at retirement, rather than by a predetermined formula based on their salary and service.
Active membership in DB plans surpassed 5.0 million in 2024, up 1.9% from 2023. Membership in DB plans accounted for 68.1% of the total membership in RPPs in 2024, unchanged from 2023. Women accounted for 56.1% of total DB membership in 2024, up by 0.1 percentage points from 2023.
In 2024, DC plans gained 6,400 active members (+0.5%), reaching nearly 1.35 million. Membership in DC plans accounted for 18.3% of all RPP membership in 2024, down 0.3 percentage points from 2023. Most members of DC plans worked in the private sector (86.0%) in 2024, with women accounting for 40.4% of DC membership.
Just over 994,300 workers, accounting for 13.5% of RPP membership, belonged to plans not classified as DB or DC models (such as hybrid, composite, target benefit or combination plans) in 2024. This number was up 31,100 (+3.2%) from 2023.
Public sector membership grows, while private sector membership shrinks
In 2024, public sector plans added nearly 157,900 participants (+4.0%), for a total of just over 4.0 million members. Private sector membership fell by 25,800 members (-0.8%), dipping below 3.3 million members. Over the same period, employment rose by 3.7% in the public sector and by 1.6% in the private sector, as measured by the LFS.
Women's active public sector membership increased by 100,300 members (+4.0%) to just over 2.6 million in 2024. The number of men who were members in the public sector increased by 57,600 (+4.1%) to reach 1.45 million.
In the private sector, membership in DB pension plans fell by 21,300 members (-1.6%) from 2023 to 2024, while DC plan membership decreased by 4,300 members (-0.4%). Other types of pension plans in the private sector saw little change in their membership over the same period.
In 2024, there were 34 large plans, each with 30,000 or more active members, down from 36 large plans in the previous year. Of these 34 large plans, 22 were public and 12 were private, and 29 had more women than men among their active members.
Percentage of paid workers covered by a registered pension plan, 2006 to 2024
Chart 1
Total coverage rates, Canada
The pension coverage rate, that is, the proportion of all paid workers covered by an RPP, was 37.6% in 2024, down from 37.7% in 2023. The pension coverage rate has experienced a general downward trend since the beginning of the series in 1977, although in 2024, it remained relatively higher than its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 36.9% in 2019.
For women, the pension coverage rate rose 0.5 percentage points from 2023 to reach 41.4% in 2024, while for men it decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 34.3%.
Total registered pension plan contributions increase
Total employer and employee contributions to RPPs increased to $83.6 billion in 2024, up by $4.2 billion (+5.4%) from 2023.
Employee contributions accounted for 42.0% ($35.1 billion) of total contributions in 2024, and net employer contributions for current service accounted for 55.9% ($44.5 billion). Employer contributions for unfunded liabilities represented 4.8% ($4.0 billion) of contributions.
The market value of assets in RPPs increased by $169.5 billion (+7.1%) in 2024 to over $2.5 trillion. The largest 34 plans, each with 30,000 or more active members, held 61.6% of total assets while accounting for 54.6% of total membership.
Note to readers
Registered pension plans (RPPs) are established by employers or unions for employees. These data come from the Pension Plans in Canada program as of January 1, 2025.
Any mention of members, membership and participants refers to active members only.
A defined benefit pension plan defines the benefits to be paid according to the terms and conditions of the plan. The employer's contributions are not predetermined but are a function of the cost of providing the promised pension.
A defined contribution plan specifies the contributions made by the employer, as well as by the employee if the plan is contributory. Pension benefits paid are a function of accumulated contributions and investment returns.
Other plans include hybrid plans, composite plans, plans that combine defined benefits and defined contributions, and other plans.
Membership is defined as active members of the pension plan currently making contributions to the pension plan or for whom contributions are being made.
An unfunded liability generally corresponds to any amount by which the assets of a pension plan are less than its liabilities.
The pension coverage rate is the proportion of all paid workers that are active members of a RPP and is calculated by combining the average worker estimates from the Labour Force Survey during the year and the membership from the Pension Plans in Canada program. There are some adjustments for conceptual differences, and the coverage rates may change with each release because of revisions in the data sources.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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