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HOOPP

Early Retirement Benefits

Early Retirement Benefits

Early Retirement Benefits

Members Plan Features Early Retirement Benefits

With a HOOPP pension, you have the option to retire as early as age 55.

If you retire before you reach either age 60 or 30 years of eligibility service (whichever comes first), you will receive an adjusted pension to reflect the fact that you will probably receive it for a longer period. If you retire before age 65, you will receive a monthly bridge benefit in addition to your retirement pension. Your bridge benefit will continue to be paid until age 65 or you pass away – whichever happens first – and does not stop if you take your CPP early.

The date you choose to retire can impact your overall HOOPP pension amount, with factors like your age, eligibility service and other considerations playing a role. Learn more about what you should consider when you are deciding when to retire.

HOOPP bridge benefit

Here’s an example that shows how the bridge benefit can factor into early retirement planning.


Bridge benefit example - Joan

EarlyRetirement-Joan-example
Meet Joan, HOOPP member

Joan decides to retire at age 60 and has 30 years of contributory service. Her average annualized earnings are $60,000. When Joan retires, she would receive a pension of $31,767 per year and an additional $4,223 per year in bridge benefits from HOOPP until age 65. 

Diagram of HOOPP's bridge benefit

 

We can see from this example that Joan’s monthly pension plus her bridge benefit equals about 2% of her average annualized earnings for each year of contributory service. 

This example does not reflect the recent benefit improvements adjustments noted below.



  • Joan's bridge benefit

    Bridge benefit example - Joan

    EarlyRetirement-Joan-example
    Meet Joan, HOOPP member

    Joan decides to retire at age 60 and has 30 years of contributory service. Her average annualized earnings are $60,000. When Joan retires, she would receive a pension of $31,767 per year and an additional $4,223 per year in bridge benefits from HOOPP until age 65. 

    Diagram of HOOPP's bridge benefit

     

    We can see from this example that Joan’s monthly pension plus her bridge benefit equals about 2% of her average annualized earnings for each year of contributory service. 

    This example does not reflect the recent benefit improvements adjustments noted below.



Remember, if you do not have 30 years of eligibility service and you retire before age 60, your bridge benefit and your lifetime pension are adjusted, as shown in the Early Retirement table.

The bridge benefit is payable until you reach age 65 or pass away, whichever occurs first. It is not payable if you are receiving a HOOPP disability pension.

Previous benefit improvements and your bridge benefit

Supported by the overall strength of the Plan, HOOPP’s Board approved past service benefit improvements for eligible members effective in 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2024. Since these members will receive a larger lifetime pension as a result of these improvements, the bridge benefit will be adjusted. This means that when the bridge benefit ends at age 65, members will see less of a change in their overall pension from HOOPP. Learn more about the recent benefit improvements.

Find out what your pension could look like

With the Pension Estimator on HOOPP Connect, you can get a personalized estimate of what your future pension could look like at key milestone dates, and how it can change based on different factors and possibilities, such as:

  • retiring early or later
  • changing your future work schedule (e.g. from full time to part time or vice versa)
  • any future salary increases.

Plus, you can save and compare different retirement ages and scenarios to come back to later.

Visit HOOPP Connect

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.