At the beginning of the year, C. Andrews reported that the hourly pension plan had not produced the results seen by the salaried plan, though it had produced a small 1.24 per cent increase in pensions. The fund, being much smaller, and having a somewhat different structure to the salaried plan, still sees small positive gains in a very volatile economic market. Currently, the university is required to contribute at a much higher level of funding at 390 per cent, largely due to the timing of an actuarial report. The higher contributions should result in a better funded plan in the future though technically the plan is currently in good standing and causes no concern to the plan members. The actuarial report which occurs approximately every three years has necessitated this additional funding to meet legislated requirements. In the long term we must hope for improved investment results that will allow the plan to be able to provide added indexing to our pensions. Your pension committee representatives continue to work hard, meeting at least four times per year reviewing the market trends, legislations and conditions under which the plan must abide. - by Cliff Andrews