Information and Resources on Your ATRF Pension

As an organization, ARTA is non-partisan and encourages active involvement and participation in the political process. As part of that encouragement, we have an organisational priority of informing our membership of the positions of interest and importance to seniors and retirees. The transfer of the management of your pension from ATRF to AIMCo continues to be a primary concern for you, and for ARTA.

ATRF has worked diligently to provide facts and resources for pension plan members.

• ATRF’s response to media reports regarding losses at AIMCo
• Their investment strategy for the current volatile markets
• A comparison of ATRF investment returns with simulated AIMCo returns over a seven-year period, in a letter from ATRF to ATA
• The ATA’s response and review of the ATRF investment simulation

Of particular note is the comparison of ATRF investment returns with simulated AIMCo returns over the seven-year period. The simulation used actual returns earned by various asset classes within the Local Authorities Pension Plan, AIMCo’s largest and most comparable client. Those return rates were applied to ATRF’s actual asset mix and data was compared with a common December 31 year-end.

The simulation shows that ATRF would have outperformed AIMCo in each of those years, resulting in a fund approximately $1.3 billion greater than if the assets had been under AIMCo management.

Based on this, the ATRF board of directors announced that it “does not believe [Bill 22] is in the best interests of the ATRF plans and its members.” The ATRF board uses a shared-governance model, which means half of the board is appointed by the ATA and the other half is appointed by the government.

We encourage you to contact your MLA on how your pension is managed, and hope these resources provide you with the tools you need to voice your opinion.

• Find your MLA using Alberta Elections information
• The ATA form letter has been updated at handsoffmypension.ca

ARTA continues to collect and share pertinent information on this issue on our website for all our members to view. As further details become available, we will continue to share any relevant information with you at the link below.