Who We Help
Pension funds turn working-life contributions into retirement security. That security creates social value - better wellbeing, less anxiety, stronger community participation, greater life satisfaction. Until measured, it stays invisible to boards, regulators, policymakers, and members. SVT quantifies pension fund social value member by member.
Pension funds collectively manage trillions in assets and serve hundreds of millions of members worldwide. Most still do not recognise the full scope of what they already do.
Funds that operate without a social value framework risk:
The ICPM Social Infrastructure Blueprint (June 2026) is explicit: pension funds already function as social infrastructure providers. The question is not whether they create social value - it is whether they can demonstrate it.
We compare pension members with similar people who do not have pension membership, then estimate the difference in wellbeing over time. The result: a clear dollar value for what pension membership contributes to member wellbeing, beyond the payment itself.
Our evidence is structured for fiduciary contexts. It does not ask funds to pursue social goals at the expense of financial returns. It measures the social infrastructure that pension membership already provides - within the existing mandate.
Annual reports that show social as well as financial return. Member communications that articulate value beyond the monthly payment. Board-level dashboards showing social impact alongside investment performance.
When regulators and governments ask what pensions contribute to society, funds with SVT evidence answer with specific numbers - not anecdotes.
Retired OMERS members are 54% more likely to report higher life satisfaction than people with no pension. For 2020, the monetized social benefit from higher life satisfaction was estimated at $2.17 billion; combined with $4.37 billion in retirement income, total benefit was approximately $6.57 billion.
Source: OMERS Social Value Report, CANCEA, 2022 (2020 reference year).
Across any pension, people are 47% more likely to report higher life satisfaction. In Alberta, the social value of public-sector pension membership reached $1.2 billion - about $12,800 per retiree.
Sources: OMERS Social Value Report, CANCEA, 2022; Social Value Benefits of Public Pension Plans in Alberta, CANCEA, 2022.
These findings were produced using ONEMODEL - measuring social value across hundreds of topics together, person by person, in one connected model. They are now cited in the ICPM Social Infrastructure Blueprint, an international framework for pension fund governance developed by a working group of nearly 20 pension fund leaders from Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Chile, Denmark, and Australia.
Pension funds face particular scrutiny. Any social value claim must be:
ONEMODEL is built to do this because the topics are measured together, person by person, in one model. Double-counting and inconsistent definitions are easier to prevent and easier to audit.
When regulators and governments ask what pensions contribute to society, you answer with anecdotes while peers answer with numbers.
Members see only a monthly payment - never the wellbeing, security, and life-satisfaction value membership actually delivers - so loyalty and advocacy weaken.
As social value reporting moves from optional to expected, you adopt standards set by others instead of shaping them.
We assess your fund's context, member data availability, and evidence needs.
We define the measurement framework: population, scenarios, data sources, timeline.
ONEMODEL estimates how each member's wellbeing changes over time, compared with what would likely have happened without membership.
You receive evidence you can defend: headline results, who gains and by how much, sensitivity, and limitations.
Schedule a consultation. We will tell you what evidence is possible.
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