Employer News: October 2024

This year’s MDC process will run from December 16, 2024, to February 28, 2025. Completing your MDC ensures members will receive their annual statement on time and have access to current and accurate information on HOOPP Connect to help them make informed decisions about their pension.

MDC is an important part of your responsibilities as a participating employer. It allows us to administer benefits to your employees and generate your annual Statement of Account. Completing member updates and reporting all member events in advance of the MDC start date helps make the process run smoothly for you when it comes time to upload your information.

We’re here to help every step of the way.

Get started

By completing these tasks in advance, you’ll save time later. When MDC begins on December 16, 2024, you’ll be ready to go.

1. Review and follow the steps in the MDC Checklist of activities to complete before the MDC process begins. Use this list to track your progress.
2. Run the following reports:
   • Member Participation
   • Member Leaves
   • Member Disability

We’re here to support you

Your organization is part of one of the strongest pension plans in Canada. Together, we provide your employees with the foundation for a financially secure retirement. That’s why we are pleased to share two recent decisions approved by our Board of Trustees that benefit your employees who are HOOPP members.

In June, we announced the following Plan updates:

• HOOPP approved a pension increase for active members. Eligible members active in the Plan on or after July 1, 2024, will now receive a larger lifetime pension for contributory service in 2023. This increase, which builds on previous improvements, comes at no additional cost for members and employers.
• Contribution rates will remain unchanged until at least the end of 2026. At a time when expenses are rising, HOOPP’s contribution rates continue to be among the lowest of Canada’s public sector plans and have not changed since 2004. That’s more than 20 years of stability for members and employers.

Both updates, supported by the overall strength of the Plan, are some of the ways that we deliver value to our members and employers.

Questions?

For more information on these Plan updates, click here. If you have any questions about this benefit improvement, please feel free to reach out to your Regional Manager.

As a participating HOOPP employer, you are part of one of the strongest and most stable pension plans in Canada. With over 460,000 members and 670 participating employers, membership continues to grow as we expand access to retirement security for even more Ontario healthcare organizations like yours.

Last year, we welcomed 35 new employers to the Plan, including hospices, community care and family health teams. Increasing our membership contributes to the ongoing strength of the Plan and membership growth continued in 2023, with the Plan adding approximately 20,000 new members overall.

The value of retirement security

Defined benefit pension plans, like HOOPP, are an efficient and effective way to save for retirement. As employers feel the effects of inflation, volatile markets and labour shortages, many are increasingly focused on improving benefit options for their employees. In fact, according to the 2023 Canadian Employer Pension Survey, a majority (58%) of employers that introduced (or improved) their retirement benefits in the last year reported increased productivity overall. And the vast majority (87%) agree that pensions are a cost-effective way to reduce employee stress.

Helping you recruit, retain and support employees

Offering HOOPP for your employees helps position your organization as an employer of choice and can help you attract and retain top talent. Whether your employees are full-time, part-time, contract or casual, we understand how important they are to your success. That’s why we’ve created resources to support your recruitment, onboarding and education efforts. These materials provide clear and easy-to-understand information about the value of being a HOOPP member. Sharing them with your current or prospective employees highlights your ongoing commitment to the financial wellbeing of your employees.

Ready-to-use recruitment and onboarding materials:

• content for job postings and career sites
• PowerPoint slides for employee recruitment and onboarding presentations
• a printable one-page handout

Educational materials to help encourage enrolment of existing non-full-time employees throughout the year:

• a printable poster
• a reminder email that you can share periodically
• content for posting to your intranet and social media channels
• an engaging animated video

Click here to download these materials individually or as a package. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to your Regional Manager.

The Bulletin Board includes reminders, the latest updates and a sneak peek at what’s to come.

Coming soon

Join the next In the loop with HOOPP webinar

It’s not too late to sign up.

Join us to hear more about the upcoming member data collection (MDC) process, the latest Plan updates including the 2024 pension increase for active members and tools for your recruitment and retention efforts. Plus, get important administrative updates and answers to your questions during the Q&A.

Fall webinars are scheduled for October 15, 17 and 21.

Sign up

Launch spotlight

Introducing the new Survivor Benefits Guidance Tool

At HOOPP, helping your employees who are HOOPP members make informed decisions about their pension is an important part of the service we offer and the value we provide to your organization. We’re always looking for new ways to provide members with the educational resources, online tools and guidance they need to make informed decisions for their personal circumstances.

In September, we launched the new Survivor Benefits Guidance Tool, an interactive, digital tool that can help members plan ahead. Conveniently located on HOOPP Connect, the new feature provides personalized education and guidance to help members learn more about survivor benefits available to their loved ones.

Important housekeeping items

PSPA letters and tax slips 

In June, we announced that eligible members active in the Plan on or after July 1, 2024, will receive a larger lifetime pension for contributory service in 2023. That means these members will receive even more from their pension.

Since member pension benefits have been improved on a past-service basis, a past service pension adjustment (PSPA) will be reported to the CRA using data from your MDC submission. This fall, a letter and tax slip will be sent to all members that informs them about the PSPA. No action is required by members.

This PSPA will reduce eligible members’ RRSP deduction limit for 2025 and, in turn, the amount they will be eligible to contribute to their RRSP.

Reminder: HOOPP Insight mail notifications are live

The HOOPP Insight secure mail notification feature was launched with you in mind. With this feature, every Tuesday and Thursday you will be notified by email when you have new unread secure messages in HOOPP Insight. We are so pleased to hear that the notifications are helping streamline your work.

Your feedback is valuable to us! We encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts so we can keep improving your employer experience.