The Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) is required by legislation to produce regular actuarial reports assessing the sustainability of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The Chief Actuary is solely responsible for the content of the report and for the assumptions used.

The OCA follows a well-documented and clear assumptions development process.

• The OCA organizes an inter-disciplinary seminar at the beginning of a valuation cycle.  Independent experts provide their views on near and long term demographic, economic and investment perspectives for Canada.  This seminar is attended by the OCA staff as well as by CPP stakeholders (including officials from federal, provincial and territorial governments).
   
• All assumptions are documented.  The documentation contains relevant social context, as well as justifications of the chosen assumptions. Documentation is accessible to Canadians on request.
   
• During the valuation process, the OCA presents assumptions to and seeks inputs of the relevant organizations.
   
• Following the completion of the report, the OCA commissions an external peer review (Good Practice "External Peer Review: a case of the CPP").

The transparency of this process enhances the independence of the Chief Actuary.