Pension peace of mind
The past few years have been exceptionally challenging for Canadians and 2022 was no different. The ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic, rising prices due to inflation and higher interest rates have affected our daily lives in very significant ways.
For investors, last year was especially turbulent, with some of the worst declines on record in both public equities and fixed-income markets. It’s incredibly rare for these markets to move in the same direction, at the same time, in such a dramatic way. HOOPP was not immune to these market challenges. However, I want to reassure you that the Plan remains strong and your pension is secure.
As a responsible pension provider, it is our duty to keep a long-term outlook that manages risk and protects our members. We know that periods of market volatility are inevitable and investment declines do happen. We position ourselves to navigate that volatility and seek out investments that present attractive buying opportunities. This helps keep the Plan strong for all our members, now and in the future.
Despite the challenges that 2022 presented, the ongoing strength of the Plan made it possible for us to improve retirement security for our members. This included a benefit improvement for active members (building on improvements offered in 2018 and 2021), and a cost-of-living adjustment for retired and deferred members, while also keeping member contribution rates at the same level they have been since 2004. To my knowledge, HOOPP is the only pension plan in Canada that provided this much additional support for their members during these volatile times. We also remain firmly committed to our sustainable investing strategy, including our pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in our portfolio by 2050. You’ll be hearing more about our climate strategy and our 2022 performance in the coming weeks.
Looking ahead, we expect there will continue to be a high degree of financial and economic uncertainty. But rest assured, through it all, HOOPP will continue to stay focused on our single mission: delivering on our pension promise to you and more than 430,000 other Plan members.
On behalf of HOOPP, I want to thank you for continuing to serve our communities. We are honoured to provide Ontario’s healthcare workers with pension peace of mind.
Jeff Wendling
President & Chief Executive Officer