According to the last available Annual Report, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCi) managed public pension assets worth C$153 billion.
BCi gained a five-year annualized return of 8.2% and paid its top five executives a total of $10.1 million in the year ended March 2019.
According to the most recent Annual Report, Washington State Investment Board managed pension assets worth C$171 billion.
The Commingled Trust Fund, WSIB’s largest fund worth more than C$130 billion, gained a five-year annualized return of 9.9%. The organization paid its top five executives a total of $2.6 million in the year ended December 2018.
The charts five years of changes in remuneration earned by each corporations five highest paid staff:
Salaries have risen steadily and generously for years at BCi. Current and future pension beneficiaries are treated as rubes with pockets to be picked. Most victims are unaware.
The amount paid BCi’s CEO increased 430% from 2007 to 2019. Inflations was 22%.
But others have done well too.
The highest paid executive at Washington State Investment Board, an agency that has outperformed BCi over time, was paid one-quarter of the remuneration earned by his BC counterpart, after adjusting US dollars to Canadian.
WSIB’s overhead are in roughly the same proportion.
This situation at BCi continues because oversight is ineffective and political directives to the company are unwelcome. Timid politicians do not want to be accused of messing with pension funds of working people.
If public criticism of BCi builds, corporate insiders will simply hire more spin doctors and conduct a few soothing sessions to reassure Trustees, most of whom are baffled by the complexities of multi-billion dollar pension funds.
One reader says this might be the favourite song played in the BCi executive dining room:
Categories: BC Investment
in-sights.ca 
It’s always the greed and entitlement of the executives and CEO’s that ruin and degrade the system for the people in these cases that do the actual hands on hard work. I notice a trend that has been happening for quite sometime now. People are speaking up and fighting back against this outrageous greed, corruption and entitlement of the upper crust. The upper crust better be listening. Are they reading the writing on the wall. The future of blow back is coming on stronger. Will they heed the warning’s or not.
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I’m always astonished by the attention always given to teachers and never anything about Education Assistants and the gloriously great hard work they do for all those special needs kids. They do unbelievable work. If it weren’t for them in class teachers would be swamped and overcome. This lack of conversation is no one’s fault but it does make me angry. The news media, radio and everywhere never talks about EA’s. I guess it’s because the teachers union and government are always at war, and that makes news and ratings. It pisses me off though.
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I ballparked the average BC teacher’s 2009 annual salary at $65,000 and plunked it into a future salary calculator at http://www.easysurf.cc/fsalary.htm.
I gave it 10 years at 2% increase per year (more than teachers have averaged over the last 10 years.) Yes: the principal actors at BCi have gotten grossly unfair salary increases, compared to the people they “serve.”
I hope the table stays formatted, once I press ‘post comment.’
Year Salary
1 $66,300.00
2 67,626.00
3 68,978.52
4 70,358.09
5 71,765.25
6 73,200.56
7 74,664.57
8 76,157.86
9 77,681.02
10 79,234.64
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Does anyone know if BCI publishes a list of employees that make more than $100k? “The Sunshine List” ? would be interested to see more than just the top brass.
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The 800lb gorilla in the room is the negative interest rates being paid to Pension Plans world wide for “safe” govt Bonds.
Govt bonds are offering -2% and -3 % for the “privilege” of buying their bonds.
You have to PAY the bond issuers to put your billions in pension dollars with them……nice.
Just as the “perfect storm” of ageing retiring govt employee Boomers hitting the wall of fewer and fewer full time govt employees being hired. (unpensioned temps need only apply.)
Yep.
Lets see who screams louder.
BC Govt employees who’s underfunded pensions get clawed back as inflation grows OR
Unpensioned, private sector TAXPAYERS are asked to “give generously” to top up those underfunded, federal, provincial and municipal govt employees pensions……..
As an over taxed taxpayer…. shall I sheepishly show up to Revenue Canada’s office and ask, “Where do I pay for someone else’s underfunded pension?”.
While I continue to scrimp and save for my private pension……
https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/taxpayers-on-hook-for-liabilities-in-federal-employee-pension-plans-report-115114
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Cayo+public+sector+pensions+really+gold+plated/8920023/story.html
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/city-of-vancouver-addicted-to-debt
All just as most economists believe the world is headed into a recession…………
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I note that Jas Johal has been all over the NDP and Jinny Sims in particular challenging them to overrule decisions of the independent Passenger Transportation Board surrounding ride hailing operations.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for him to call out Carole James on decisions of the Board of BCi.
As long as it’s just union oxen being gored, he’s fine with it.
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It is breathtaking how bureaucrats are milking the system for every last penny.
It seems the NDP are too weak or don’t care to stop this grift.
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Damn computer lost my comment!
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If the BCI execs received $2.9m like the Washington execs, then the fund would have another $7.5m for the retirees. $500,000 salaries are more than enough even if they perform well.
As usual, these execs think they are entitled even when they perform poorly. They spend more time figuring how to skim for themselves that looking out for the people’s money.
Only the people can end this by demanding it of the government who has the responsibility of over-site. And replace trustees with ones who will also do the job they get paid for.
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