Current OPSEU trustees on the HOOPP board are Sandi Blancher of Local 109 and James Sanders, retired, formerly of Local 101.
For full details on the upcoming improvements, visit the HOOPP website.
Pensions payouts are about to get better for members of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). Effective January 1, 2018, HOOPP is making changes to the way it calculates pension payouts. All of the changes mean more money in the pockets of HOOPP members.
HOOPP is a jointly trusteed pension plan governed by a 16-member Board of Trustees. Eight are employer representatives from the Ontario Hospital Association; eight are union representatives (two each from OPSEU and three other unions). Thanks to careful management, HOOPP holds $1.22 in assets for every $1 it needs for pension payouts.
At a recent meeting, plan trustees approved three improvements:
- The first change increases pension payouts calculated on service prior to January 1, 2018.
- The second one changes the pension calculation to boost pensions for members who retire on or after January 1.
- The third one is a major change to pensions for surviving spouses. Effective January 1, the spouses of members who die within five years of retirement will receive 100 per cent of their late spouse’s HOOPP pension (not including any bridging benefit) until five years after the member retires. This will apply to all members – those who are already retired, and those who have yet to retire – after January 1.
These changes will boost the pension income of retired HOOPP members by hundreds of dollars per year in most cases.
“These pension improvements show, once again, the power of joint trusteeship,” says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “When pension plan members have a say in how their money is managed, good things happen. These are great improvements, and I want to congratulate our OPSEU trustees, past and present, for making them happen.”
Current OPSEU trustees on the HOOPP board are Sandi Blancher of Local 109 and James Sanders, retired, formerly of Local 101.
For full details on the upcoming improvements, visit the HOOPP website.