Members belonging to the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) will be very pleased to know that their pension plan continued to perform extremely well in 2020.
When COVID-19 hit last spring, the markets went into a tailspin but rebounded fairly quickly to give HOOPP a healthy 11.42 per cent return. This compares favourably with the 10-year annualized rate of 11.16 per cent. As such, HOOPP remains one of the best-performing plans in Canada.
HOOPP now boasts $104 billion in net assets. What’s more, it is funded to an astounding 119 per cent.
The fund managers’ foresight cushioned the plan from a sharp drop in interest rates through bond holdings and smart investment strategies. The plan’s strong cash reserves allowed the team to take advantage of buying opportunities when the markets were low, which further helped reap strong returns.
To help support members and employers through COVID, HOOPP made changes to provide them with greater flexibility, including:
- providing service in the plan at no cost to members on a new unpaid provincial emergency leave;
- extending deadlines for service buybacks and disability benefits;
- extending the timeline to make pension contributions following a leave of absence; and
- providing retired and deferred members’ pensions with a 2.25 per cent cost-of-living adjustment.
For more information, View HOOPP’s 2020 annual report.