Canada’s federal pension plan loses $8.5B

Canada’s federal pension plan for citizens lost $8.5 billion in the last three months of 2008 because of global equity declines, officials said.

In a statement, David Denison, president and chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said the second consecutive quarterly loss means the CPP’s assets are now $18.8-billion less than where they stood on June 30, the Globe and Mail reported.

Sharp declines in global equity markets, especially in October and November, negatively impacted our results for the quarter, Denison wrote.

The statement said the fund now has $108.9 billion in assets, compared with $127.7 billion at the end of June 2008.

The fund’s investment return was down by 6.7 percent in the quarter, the Globe said.

Denison said the plan’s long-term investment strategy will be able to ride out an extended market downturn, the newspaper said.

The CPP is akin to the U.S. Social Security program in providing disability and retirement benefits to those that paid into it.