Oct 3 (Reuters) - Moody's
* Moody's says higher leverage due to low interest rate environment raises risk for Canadian pension funds
* Moody's says in absence of strong returns, higher contributions or reduced benefits,lower active-to-retired ratio reduces pension plan's funding ratio & ups liquidity requirements
* Moody's says exceptional credit quality of Canadian pension funds is based on highly-rated sponsors,high stability & predictability of future cash flows
* Moody's says Canadian defined benefit pension plans are facing adverse demographic shifts thanks in part to an aging baby boomer population
* Moody's says net contributions for most Canadian pension managers have shrunk in the past few years as the relative proportion of retirees increase