Retirement Countdown

Important steps to starting the retirement process

At Retirement - Your First Pension Payment

Once we've received all the information, HOOPP needs to process your retirement application. You will receive a package from HOOPP outlining the benefit options available to you and you will have 30 days to:

1. Decide the pension you want (60, 80, 100%) if you have a qualifying spouse
2. Gather any proof documents HOOPP requires, such as banking information, proof of your age or your spouse's age, proof of marriage, etc.
3. Decide whether you want to change your "non-spouse" beneficiary (Remember: your "non-spouse" beneficiary can be changed at any time)

Once all the steps listed above have been completed by the requested dates provided by HOOPP, you will receive your first pension payment approximately the first day of the month after your retirement date.

For more information on retirement preparation with HOOPP, please read Getting You Ready: Retirement Planning (PDF).

Retired Life

Retirement opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It doesn't mean you won't work again. Returning to work will not necessarily reduce your HOOPP benefits.

If you return to work with a non-HOOPP employer, your HOOPP pension is unaffected.

Returning to a HOOPP employer

If you find work with an employer that offers HOOPP, you have two choices:

• you can continue to receive your HOOPP pension, or
• you can re-enrol in HOOPP

What does re-enrolling mean?

Re-enrolling means you will stop receiving your HOOPP pension temporarily, and resume making contributions to HOOPP.

When you begin to collect your pension again, it will be adjusted to reflect the additional benefits you have built.

Determining factors

To help you decide whether re-enrolling would make sense for you, consider:

• Can you afford to forego your HOOPP pension income while you work?
• Will you accumulate sufficient benefits to make foregoing the HOOPP pension income worthwhile?
• Will resuming contributions allow you to reach a significant age milestone, such as age 60, or an eligibility service milestone, such as 15 or 30 years?