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Members Life Changes Planning for Retirement Choosing a Spousal Option

Survivor benefits: Choosing the right option for your spouse

You can have peace of mind knowing that HOOPP’s survivor benefits, which are a key feature of the Plan, can help provide financial security for your spouse after you pass away.

If you are planning for retirement and have a qualifying spouse, there are a few considerations to keep in mind when thinking about the right spousal benefit option for your personal situation. Then, once you’ve decided to retire, you will have three options for a spousal benefit. By taking some time to read about these options and discussing them with your spouse, you will be more prepared to make an informed election when you retire, and this can also support your estate planning.

Survivor Benefits Guidance ToolPlan for the future with the Survivor Benefits Guidance Tool

The tool offers education and personalized guidance to help you determine which spousal pension option may be the most suitable for your situation.

Use the Survivor Benefits Guidance Tool on HOOPP Connect today.

Don’t have a spouse?

If you don’t have a qualifying spouse at retirement, your beneficiaries or estate will receive HOOPP’s survivor benefits. Survivor benefits can help protect your loved ones whether you pass away before or after retirement. This benefit is provided to you at no additional cost and is available to your eligible survivors. Learn more about planning for your loved ones.

You can also use the Survivor Benefits Guidance Tool to help you understand how survivor benefits work and what your beneficiaries, or your estate, could receive when you pass away in retirement.

Updating your spouse and beneficiary information

It is important to notify HOOPP of any changes to your spousal status by keeping your spouse and beneficiary information up to date on HOOPP Connect.

If you made a will after you designated your beneficiaries for HOOPP, your will may override or revoke the beneficiaries we have on record. We recommend that you update your beneficiaries or find out if your will has impacted your HOOPP beneficiary designation.

If you pass away in retirement

If you pass away in retirement, your spouse at the time of your retirement is entitled to receive 66 2/3% of your monthly pension, not including the bridge benefit, for the rest of their life. At retirement, you have the option to increase this benefit to 80% or 100% of your monthly pension, which may provide additional protection to your spouse depending on your personal circumstances.

It is important to note that the person who is your qualifying spouse when you retire is, by law, entitled to receive survivor benefits when you pass away, even if you later separate or start a new spousal relationship. There is an exception if you and your spouse have validly waived the spousal pension entitlement prior to retiring or upon the breakdown of the spousal relationship.

Five-year guarantee

If you pass away within five years of your retirement date, your surviving spouse will receive the same monthly benefit as you (not including the bridge benefit) for the rest of the five-year period. When the five-year period ends, your spouse will receive 66 2/3%, 80% or 100% of your monthly benefit, depending on your choice at retirement. If both you and your spouse pass away before the end of the five-year period, the remaining payment will go to your beneficiaries or, if there are none, to your estate.

Important things to consider

There are important factors you should consider when choosing a spousal benefit option so you can have peace of mind in the event you pass away first.

When choosing a spousal option, be sure to consider:

  • Do you expect your spouse will live longer than you?  
    Age, family history and health are factors when you consider how long you and your spouse will collect your pension. In some cases, the 66 2/3% option may be sufficient. However, you may want to consider increasing your spousal benefit to 80% or 100%.
  • Does your spouse have their own pension or other sources of retirement income?
    If they will be relying on your pension as their main source of income, you should consider the 80% or 100% options.
  • If you pass away first, will your spouse have sufficient income or savings to manage their current and future living expenses?
    Your HOOPP pension, your spouse’s pension, any CPP and OAS pensions and personal savings contributes to your household income in retirement. When you pass away, your government pensions will stop, and your spouse may have less to live on. HOOPP’s survivor benefits provide secure and reliable income that may become even more important to your spouse at that time. You can increase your spouse’s lifetime pension by electing the 80% or 100% options. 

Whether you choose the 66 2/3% option or decide to increase your spousal benefit to 80% or 100%, the benefit your spouse will receive can help provide peace of mind if you happen to pass away first. Contact our Member Services team to discuss your situation and they will help you make the right decision for you and your family.

Selecting an increased spousal benefit option will result in a slightly lower monthly pension, but it will provide your spouse with additional financial security in the event you pass away first. If your spouse will be dependent on your pension after you pass away, this can provide them with greater financial security, without significantly impacting your lifetime pension. These options will result in an adjustment to your pension to reflect the additional benefit for your spouse. The adjustment to your pension to pay the higher future pension to your spouse may be relatively small, about the cost of a daily cup of coffee.

Want to see the adjustment to your pension for yourself? Visit HOOPP Connect to use the Pension Estimator or, if you’re in the process of retiring, refer to your retirement options.

Decision guide for selecting a spousal benefit option

For most members, the 66 2/3% spousal benefit option is sufficient, however, there are situations where it may be appropriate to increase the option to 80% or 100%. As you’re planning for retirement, consider how your spouse would manage financially if they were on their own. Remember, our Member Services team is here to help discuss which option is right for your personal situation.

The table below can help you determine if increasing the option to 80 or 100% makes sense for you, based on your and/or your spouse's situation.

You:Your spouse:
  • Expect to pass away first, based on your health and/or family history 
  • Would be comfortable with receiving a slightly lower monthly pension to provide your spouse with a higher spousal benefit, if you pass away first.

  • Is younger than you or is expected to outlive you
  • Does not have sufficient secure retirement income of their own. For example, they:
    • do not have a workplace pension plan, or
    • will have low or no CPP/OAS benefits in retirement

Let’s look at an example to learn more about choosing a spousal benefit option:

Cora's retirement story

HOOPP member Cora Age 60, Nurse
St. Catharines, ON

For more, read this example to see how Cora decides which spousal benefit option to provide her spouse after taking into consideration their total household income in retirement.

Read more

Waiving spousal benefits

If you have a qualifying spouse on the date you retire, they will, by law, have priority to receive all survivor benefits over any beneficiaries you may have on file, such as your children. You and your spouse may choose to waive their spousal benefits in certain cases, such as if you’d prefer someone other than your qualifying spouse to receive any survivor benefits from HOOPP after you pass away.

Waiving this entitlement means your spouse will not receive a monthly spousal benefit if you pass away before them. Instead, HOOPP will pay any survivor benefits to your beneficiaries when you pass away, or if you do not have any beneficiaries on file, your estate. Learn more about waiving spousal benefits. 

Relationship changes after retirement

Whether you separate, marry or start a common-law relationship after you’ve retired, it can impact your pension. Learn more about relationship changes and your pension.

We’re here to guide you

When you make the decision to retire, you’ll be assigned a personal Member Services Specialist to support and guide you towards understanding and choosing the best option for your situation. You can speak to one of our pension experts by contacting our Member Services team.

This document provides a simplified overview of HOOPP's benefits based on the terms of the HOOPP Plan Text at the time of publication. From time to time, HOOPP may amend the HOOPP Plan Text. In cases where the information provided in this document differs from that contained in the HOOPP Plan Text, the HOOPP Plan Text will govern. More details, including the full HOOPP Plan Text and a complete description of the Plan and its benefits, can be found on hoopp.com.