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HOOPP

Working After Retirement

Working After Retirement

Working After Retirement

Members Life Changes Working After Retirement

While retirement opens up a whole new world of possibilities, it doesn't necessarily mean you won't work again. If you find yourself working in retirement with a non-HOOPP employer, your HOOPP pension is unaffected.

Can I take my pension and still work at a HOOPP employer?

If you return to work at a HOOPP employer, you will have two options.

  • Continue to receive your HOOPP pension and build no further benefits in the Plan
  • Re-enrol in the Plan and continue to build your HOOPP pension until you turn 71

How does re-enrolling impact my pension?

If you re-enrol in HOOPP, you will stop receiving your HOOPP pension temporarily as you will be making contributions to the Plan.

When you begin to collect your pension again, it will be adjusted to reflect the additional benefits you have built. You are able to contribute to the Plan until December of the year in which you turn age 71, at which point you will need to begin receiving your pension payments.

Considerations for re-enrolling 

To help you determine whether re-enrolling would make sense for you, you may want to consider the following:

  • Can you afford to forego your HOOPP pension income while you work?
  • Will you accumulate sufficient benefits to make foregoing the HOOPP pension income worthwhile? Not only will you forgo your monthly pension, but you must also resume making contributions to HOOPP which reduces your take-home pay as well.
  • Will resuming contributions allow you to reach an eligibility service milestone, such as 15 or 30 years? The more eligibility service you have, the less your pension is reduced if you retire before age 60. Find out more about milestones.
The following example demonstrates the impact re-enrolling in HOOPP can have on your pension income:

Working after retirement example: Sarah

Image of HOOPP member Sarah

Meet Sarah

Retired at age: 55
Started HOOPP pension: January 1, 2007
Years of service: 14
Average annualized earnings: $50,000



Sarah retired at age 55, commencing her pension on January 1, 2007. She had 14 years of eligibility and contributory service and average annualized earnings of $50,000. In January 2010 at age 58, she decided to go back to work for three years with annualized earnings of $53,000 during her re-enrolment period. Without adjusting for interest or cost of living adjustments, Sarah lost $29,520 in pre-tax pension payments for the three years she wasn’t working. When she resumed her pension on Jan. 1, 2013 at age 61, she was earning an extra $380 per month which she would receive until age 65. Every month thereafter, she would receive an extra $300 per month. It would take Sarah about seven years after resuming her pension to recoup the $29,520 forgone during re-enrolment. However, if she lives to age 75, for example, the extra three years of contributions will have earned Sarah an additional $24,720 in pension payments over and above the payments she had to recoup.

Let’s take a closer look at Sarah’s options on the next tab.

Sarah's options

Sarah's monthly income before resuming contributions and going back to work Sarah's monthly income after working and resuming contributions
Sarah's monthly income after restarting her pension after the additional three years
Basic lifetime monthly pension: $650Monthly pension: $0Basic lifetime monthly pension: $950
Total monthly pension: $820N/A
Bridge benefit (payable to age 65): $250
Annual pension (after age 65)N/ATotal monthly pension: $1,200
Monthly pay from work: N/AMonthly pay from work: $4,417 gross amount, less HOOPP contributions and any other payroll deductionsMonthly pay from work: N/A

  • Meet Sarah

    Working after retirement example: Sarah

    Image of HOOPP member Sarah

    Meet Sarah

    Retired at age: 55
    Started HOOPP pension: January 1, 2007
    Years of service: 14
    Average annualized earnings: $50,000



    Sarah retired at age 55, commencing her pension on January 1, 2007. She had 14 years of eligibility and contributory service and average annualized earnings of $50,000. In January 2010 at age 58, she decided to go back to work for three years with annualized earnings of $53,000 during her re-enrolment period. Without adjusting for interest or cost of living adjustments, Sarah lost $29,520 in pre-tax pension payments for the three years she wasn’t working. When she resumed her pension on Jan. 1, 2013 at age 61, she was earning an extra $380 per month which she would receive until age 65. Every month thereafter, she would receive an extra $300 per month. It would take Sarah about seven years after resuming her pension to recoup the $29,520 forgone during re-enrolment. However, if she lives to age 75, for example, the extra three years of contributions will have earned Sarah an additional $24,720 in pension payments over and above the payments she had to recoup.

    Let’s take a closer look at Sarah’s options on the next tab.

  • Sarah's options

    Sarah's options

    Sarah's monthly income before resuming contributions and going back to work Sarah's monthly income after working and resuming contributions
    		Sarah's monthly income after restarting her pension after the additional three years
    Basic lifetime monthly pension: $650Monthly pension: $0Basic lifetime monthly pension: $950
    Total monthly pension: $820N/A
    		Bridge benefit (payable to age 65): $250
    Annual pension (after age 65)N/ATotal monthly pension: $1,200
    Monthly pay from work: N/AMonthly pay from work: $4,417 gross amount, less HOOPP contributions and any other payroll deductionsMonthly pay from work: N/A

Get a pension estimate

HOOPP offers pension estimates to help you decide whether re-enrolling in HOOPP makes sense for you. Before you decide to accept a new position, contact us to discuss your options. If you’re receiving a HOOPP pension and are — or will be — working for a HOOPP employer, you can get an estimate of what your pension would be if you temporarily stopped receiving it, and began building pension benefits again. Simply complete a Re-enrolment Estimate Request form. HOOPP will provide an estimate that can help you decide whether or not to re-enrol. After reviewing the estimate, if you wish to proceed with the re-enrolment, please contact HOOPP.

We're here to help! Contact our Member Services team for more information.

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.