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HOOPP
Members Life Changes Planning for Retirement When Can I Retire

When Can I Retire?

As a HOOPP member, you have options and whether you decide to retire early or later, you can depend on your pension to provide you with a predictable monthly income in retirement. There’s a lot to consider when thinking about your overall retirement plan, but HOOPP makes planning easier for you. Taking the time to understand how the Plan’s features fit with your personal situation will make the decision easier.

We’re here to guide you along the way and help you make the right decisions for your personal circumstances. Here are some key things for you to keep in mind.

Choosing a retirement age

As a HOOPP member, you have the flexibility to start receiving your lifetime pension as early as age 55, as late as age 71, or anywhere in between. The choice is yours.

When choosing a retirement date, be sure to consider:

  • How close are you to reaching an important milestone? 
    Essentially, the closer you retire to age 60 or 30 years of service, whichever happens first, the larger your overall pension will be.

  • Can and should you wait until your next birthday to retire?
    If you’re retiring early, your birthday is an important milestone. Retiring after your next birthday or completed year of eligibility service will increase your pension.

  • With your current health, do you want to collect less sooner, or more later?
    Age, family history and health are important factors when you consider how long you will collect your lifetime pension.

  • Are you financially ready to retire right now, or can you wait a few years?
    Being able to afford your desired retirement lifestyle is a key consideration as you decide when to retire. As a HOOPP member, you can retire as early as 55, but you can also let your pension grow and continue working until you’re ready.

Understanding retirement age milestones

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. Here are three important considerations:

Retire early

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.

In general, the later you retire, or the more years of service you have, the larger your pension will be. By working longer, you get more contributory service, age and potentially higher earnings, which increases your overall pension in retirement. To make the most of your HOOPP pension, consider retiring after your next birthday or year of completed eligibility service.

Take a look at HOOPP’s early retirement table to see how your pension is adjusted based on your age and completed years of eligibility service.

Bridge benefit

If you retire between the ages of 55 and 65, you’ll receive a bridge benefit paid monthly, along with your lifetime 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 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) early.

Want to retire early? Consider attaining at least 15 years of eligibility service
If you are under age 60, reaching 15 years of eligibility service will provide you a better early retirement benefit. You should consider continuing to work until you reach this milestone, if possible, as you’ll receive a larger overall pension in retirement. You can see your eligibility service in HOOPP Connect or in your most recent annual statement.

Patricia's retirement story

Photo of Patricia, HOOPP member Age 55, Registered Nurse
Toronto, ON

For more, read this example to see how much Patricia's pension increases when she decides to work one more year to reach her 15-year milestone.

Read more

Retire at age 60 or with 30 years of service

Once you reach age 60 or 30 years of eligibility service, you can retire without an early retirement adjustment. You will also receive a monthly bridge benefit until age 65.

The choice is yours. Deciding when to retire is a personal decision. If you are close to one of these milestones, waiting until after you have attained either one will provide you with a larger pension.

Wendy's retirement story

Photo of Wendy, HOOPP member Age 58, Registered Practical Nurse
Kitchener, ON

For more, read this example to see how Wendy's pension was impacted when she decided to work for two more years to retire at age 60.

Read more

Retire later

If you want or need to keep working, every additional year that you participate in HOOPP will increase your pension. You can continue growing your HOOPP pension until December 1 of the year that you reach age 71. At that time, you will need to start your pension, even if you continue working.

To reflect the fact that you’ve started your pension later, the portion of your pension that you built before age 65 will be increased. It will go up by 0.5% for every month that you work past age 65.

Planning for retirement if you already left your HOOPP employer

If you left your HOOPP employer and kept your pension with HOOPP, your pension is secure and ready for you whenever you decide to retire. That is called deferring your pension. Plus, if you defer, your pension also continues to grow through annual cost of living adjustments (as approved by HOOPP’s Board of Trustees), before and after you retire. 

Like all HOOPP members, you can start your deferred pension as early as age 55. However, the closer you get to age 60, the better your early retirement benefit will be. Of course, if you already have 30 years of eligibility service, you are not subject to any early retirement adjustment. For many members, starting their deferred pension earlier could be the right decision.

If you left your HOOPP employer, there’s no advantage for you to delay your pension after age 60 as you are not building contributory service and no longer have an early retirement adjustment. Plus, if you retire between age 55 and 65, you will receive a bridge benefit until age 65.

Sanjaya's retirement story

Photo of Sanjaya, HOOPP memberAge 55, Payroll Analyst
Sudbury, ON

For more, read this example to see how Sanjaya’s pension could change based on the age he decides to retire.

Read more

We’re here for you

When making the decision of when to start your retirement, you’ll have HOOPP here to help you every step of the way. We have the experts to help guide you and the resources to help you understand your pension, including:

  • Our Pension Estimator on HOOPP Connect, where you can get detailed projections of what your pension could be at different ages, years of service and earnings increases.
  • Our online retirement feature, which allows members to conveniently select their retirement options entirely online, without the need for paper forms. Watch our video to learn more about this feature.

Contact our Member Services team if you have any questions.

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.