HOOPP signs Past Divestment Transfer Agreement
Following recent changes to provincial pension legislation, HOOPP entered into a pension transfer agreement with OMERS, OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust) and the Ontario Pension Board (OPB).
Under the terms of this new agreement, eligible members of HOOPP, OMERS, the OPSEU Pension Plan and the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) who were part of a divestment that occurred prior to January 1, 2014 were provided with a one-time opportunity to transfer the value of their pension benefits from their former pension plan to their current pension plan so that they can receive one pension when they retire. If eligible members chose not to transfer, their pension benefits will remain separate under both pension plans as they are today.
HOOPP worked with OMERS and OPTrust to prepare the necessary information that was needed to provide eligible members with their transfer options. Eligible members of these plans received their personalized information packages in the mail sometime between August and October 2016.
Packages for eligible members involved in a divestment transfer between HOOPP and the PSPP were mailed later in the year. This is because the OPB entered into the pension transfer divestment agreement after the other pension plan administrators, as government approvals were required before OPB could sign the agreement. The date that the personalized information packages were mailed will not affect the transfer calculations as these will be based on the same date for all eligible members.
To be eligible under the terms of the pension transfer agreement, divested members of HOOPP, OMERS, OPTrust and the PSPP must meet the following minimum criteria:
- They were affected by a public sector divestment in Ontario that occurred before January 1, 2014.
- They are still employed by their current employer (the employer they transferred to as a result of the divestment) and are still an active member of their current pension plan.
- They are currently entitled to pension benefits from both their former pension plan and their current pension plan.
Divested members who terminate employment with their current employer and/or who start to receive a pension from either pension plan before their current pension plan administrator receives their completed election form will no longer be eligible to transfer their benefits. Members who have already terminated employment with their current employer or who have already retired and started receiving a pension from their former or current pension plan are also not eligible to transfer benefits under the terms of the transfer agreement.*
Members of HOOPP who were affected by a divestment who believe they may be eligible to receive transfer options should notify both their current and former pension plans if their mailing address or personal information has changed or will be changing.
*On May 2, 2016, Ontario Pension Board (OPB) signed on to the Second Divestment Pension Transfer Agreement that provides eligible retired members and deferred retired members who were impacted by a past divestment with a one-time opportunity to consolidate their pension benefits with their successor employer’s pension plan. Eligible members of the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) received information about the transfer process in May, 2016. Members who returned a completed application form to HOOPP will be sent a personalized transfer options package later in 2016.