OMERS, officially the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is a pension fund created by statute in 1962 to handle the retirement benefits of local government employees in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has become one of the largest institutional investors in Canada.1 About 70% of the plan is funded by investments, and 30% by pension contributions. As of 2008, OMERS has about 52 billion Canadian dollars worth of net investment assets.2 The system now includes firefighters, police, emergency services staff, Children's Aid Society workers, school staff other than teachers, and transit and hydro workers.1
OMERS is regulated by the "Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Act, 2006" (S.O. 2006, chapter 2), an Ontario provincial law which superseded the older "Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act".
Under the 2006 law, OMERS is actually composed of two corporations:
The Administration Corporation, which used to be known as the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board, is responsible for day-to-day operation, including management of pensions and investments.3
The Sponsors Corporation, which is represents the plan's members, is responsible for overall plan design and sets the rules for appointment and compensation of its own board and the Administration Corporation board.3
OMERS and Apax Partners (a fund OMERS invests in) jointly own Cengage Learning, a large education resource company formerly known as Thomson Learning before OMERS and Apax Partners bought it on May 11, 2007. Some parts of Thomson Learning had been sold off to other groups before this sale. Among Cengage's major brands are Gale (formerly Thomson Gale) and Nelson Education (Nelson Canada, not Nelson USA Education).