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For Plan Rules, please visit the Admin Manual: Link

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Table of Contents


Panel

Data Submission Options & Guidelines

There will be 2 primary ways in which data can be provided to HOOPP ranging from manual entry to almost complete automation. 

They include:

    • Manual data entry via an on-line tool within our Employer Portal
    •  File uploads
      • Using a pre-programmed file (created by your IT department or payroll provider)
      • Using HOOPP’s ‘file builder’:  a pre-formatted .csv / excel-compatible template to update

        information directly into a spreadsheet. 

Information submitted to HOOPP can be done using any combination of the above options as summarized below:

Member Data TypeFrequencyOptions Supported
Member Data Collection (MDC)AnnualFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Contributory LeavesAnnualFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Leaves of AbsenceIn-year

File Upload, File Builder, Manual

EnrolmentsIn-yearFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Final Data: Retirements / TerminationsIn-yearFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Member Information UpdatesIn-yearFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Previous Year Adjustments (via Remittance process)In-yearFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Retro Contributions (via Remittance process)In-yearFile Upload, File Builder, Manual
Lump Sum Contributions (via Remittance process)In-yearManual Only
Retirement NoticeIn-yearManual Only
Final Data: DeathIn-yearManual Only

Important: For in-year transactions, we recommend you report this information to HOOPP at least monthly in order to streamline your annual MDC reporting processes.

Additionally, for member events such as Enrolments, Terminations, Retirements, Pre-Retirement Death, information should be reported on a regular basis so that we do not delay providing benefit information to our Members. 

In order to help determine which data submission options makes most sense for your organization, we have provided some recommendations and high level guidelines for how best to submit information to HOOPP.

  1. In general for Employers with more than 40 HOOPP members, we recommend file uploads be used for the following:
    • Member Data Collection (MDC)
    • Contributory Leaves o Leaves of Absence*
    • Retro Contributions


2. As a second priority, and depending on transactional volumes and member count, we recommend you also develop files for:

    • Final Data – Retirements / Terminations*
    • Enrolments*
    • Member Basic Information (for full-time / part-time status changes)*


*This information is provided to HOOPP throughout the year.  If file uploads are used you can simplify your reporting processes by uploading these files on a periodic basis such as each pay period or each month. 

3. Manual data entry is recommended for low volume transactions that normally include:

    • Member Basic Information (for Name, SIN, Contributory Status changes)
    • Previous year adjustments (submitted via the Remittance process)

...

The purpose of the Member Data File Requirements Document is to provide requirements for implementing the file upload changes associated with the new file formats that will be available to Employers for upload through the Employer Portal.
This document will include: 

    • General file requirements requirements 
    • File specifications for each file type type 
    • List of valid code values – e.g. leave types, full-time/part-time indicator, province, language, etc.  
    • Sample CSV files for each file type

...

The following are the general file format requirements that applies across all files.

Req IDRequirement Description
G1Files must be encoded in ANSI format.
G2Files must have a “.csv” extension.
G3Data is delimited by a comma.
G4

Files must contain a header record in the first row of the data field and delimited by a comma.  All headers are mandatory, and each file must contain all specified headers even if no data is being reported under that header.  

The header names are listed in the “Field Name” of the specific file layouts in the sections that follow.

G5All fields must follow the order as specified in the file layouts in the sections that follow.
G6

Each field must follow the supported data types as indicated in the file layouts.  Data formats supported include:

    • Date format will be MMDDYYYY
    • Alphanumeric fields supported values range from A to Z and 0 to 9
    • Character fields supported values range from A to Z and 0 to 9 and include all special characters
    • Codes must be provided according to the “Interface Codes” section 

      Note: Each file layout has it’s specific set of applicable interface codes 
    • Integers are to be provided without thousands separator symbol
    • There are no left padded zeros for numeric values
    • Decimal symbols is the period (.) symbol
G7

The following file types must NOT contain multiple lines for the same SIN.

   Enrolments 

   

    • Enrolments 
    • Member Basic
Info  
    • Info  
MDC 
    • MDC 
    • Final Data (Termination & Retirement)
G8

The following file types may contain multiple lines for the same SIN.

    • Non-contributory
leaves 
    • leaves 
    • Contributory
leaves 
    • leaves 
    • Retro
contributions 
    • contributions 
    • Previous year adjustments

For example, if one member has a retro payment that impacts multiple years, the member record will be repeated for each year of retro data.

G9SIN, Last Name and First Name are mandatory fields in all files. 

 

The SIN will be used as the “key identifier” in each file to match reported data to the associated member record that HOOPP has on file.  

 

If the SIN, Last Name and/or First Name values are different from what HOOPP has on file, the reported values will not be used to update the members information that HOOPP has on file.  

 

SIN, Last Name, Middle Initial, and First Name can be updated as part of the Member Basic Info file only.  SIN and name changes reported via the Member Basic Info data process (either through file upload or via manual entry) will update the Member’s information that HOOPP has on file.  
G10

You must only report net new data changes for the following in-year data files:

    • Member Basic
Info 
    • Info 
    • Events (Termination & Retirement)
    •  
Enrolments 
    • Enrolments 
    • Retro
Contributions 
    • Contributions 
    • Previous Year Adjustments

Employee information should not be duplicated file over file.  For example, an employee’s termination information must only be provided once in a single file.  


MDC Data - File Requirements

...

Information provided in this file will update all active member’s employment record with HOOPP related to contributory service, required contribution amounts, pension adjustment and changes in their full-time/parttime status.  It also allows you to provide Annualized Earnings for your employees that waived the right to contribute (prior to January 1, 2014) as a result of an employment status change from Full-time to Part-time. 

Information provided must only include members who are active (i.e. currently employed) within the MDC year. If the member terminated employment within the year they must be excluded from this file since the data has already been reported to HOOPP. 

...

The following is a summary of requirements for reporting total weeks and contributions: 

...

Note: if you reported a Retirement Notice for a member where the employment end date is after the MDC year and final data has not been reported to HOOPP, you must include the MDC information for these members.

The following is a summary of requirements for reporting total weeks and contributions: 

  • Weeks and contributions reported should reflect both regular and overtime hours up to the full-time equivalency with contributions deducted on the straight-time portion of all pensionable earnings that are paid in the calendar year.   
  • Total weeks and contributions reported must not exceed 52 weeks for a given calendar year. For example, if the position is based on full-time of 1950 hours for a full calendar year, then contributions are deducted on all pensionable earnings up to 1950 hours. Contributions should not be deducted for hours the member works above the FTE for their position in any year.  



  • Exception: In a 27 pay period year weeks must also not exceed 52 weeks, however you must report contributions from pensionable earnings for the extra pay period, even if the member has already reached the FTE for their position on or before the 26th pay period. Contributions should be deducted on all pensionable earnings up to the FTE for the member’s position plus the regular hours associated with the additional pay period.  
  • For example, if the position is based on full-time of 1950 hours (37.5 hours per week) then contributions would be made to a maximum of 2025 full-time hours. 



  • Reported weeks and contributions are based on the maximum full-time standard hours that are available
  • . This means that, if a member is full-time for the entire year, the member’s weeks and contributions should be based on 52 weeks. If less than 52 weeks of service is reported: 
  • and expected to be worked by that employee to maintain their full-time status. If service reported is less than a defined threshold where it is unlikely the member is full-time:


    • A valid reason must be provided, such as reporting a leave of absence to account for the service shortfall via the Leaves of Absence file, or update the member status to part-time if they have changed their employment type. Or, 
    • If a member has less than 52 weeks but more than or equal to 51 weeks, weeks can be adjusted to 52 without adjusting contributions. This is meant to accommodate minor deviations (up to -1 week) from contributing at the full FTE for the period that may result from payroll scheduling and/or instances in which
  • member
    • members trade shifts in one calendar year for shifts that fall in the subsequent year.  



  • If the member enrols or terminates part way through the year, contributions should be deducted from pensionable earnings on fewer than the full-time equivalent (FTE) hours in a year for their position. Determine the maximum hours on which contributions can be deducted by prorating the FTE hours (for the full calendar year) to reflect the portion of the year actually worked. This will give you the FTEmaximum possible hours for the period (the partial year). Deducting contributions on pensionable earnings up to athe maximum of the possible hours in the FTE for the period ensures that the possible weeks of contributory service in the period will not be exceeded.  

...

Field NameDescriptionMandatory FieldMax Field LengthData TypeExample
SINSocial Insurance Number No hyphens or spacesYes9Integer123456789
LastNameLast name of memberYes40CharacterSmith
FirstNameFirst name of memberYes40CharacterJohn
WeeksTotal contributory weeks for the MDC yearYes4Decimal51.05
LowContributionsTotal low contributions for the MDC yearYes9Decimal523.64
HighContributionsTotal high contributions for the MDC yearNo9Decimal321.23
AnnualizedEarningsAnnualized earnings for the MDC year. This field will normally be blank. Only provide if the member has waived contributions with HOOPP before January 2014.No8Integer52000
PAPension Adjustment for the MDC yearYes5Integer12594
EmploymentTypeMost recent employment status of full-time or part-time.YesNO2CodeFT
EmploymentType EffectiveDateEffective date of the most recent employment statusYesNO8Date10302015
AnnualizedEarningsAnnualized earnings for the MDC year. This field will normally be blank. Only provide if the member has waived contributions with HOOPP before January 2014.No8Integer52000

Contributory Leaves - File Requirements

This file is provided annually as part of the MDC (Member Data Collection) process. 

...

Contributory Leaves - File Requirements

        This file is provided annually as part of the MDC (Member Data Collection) process or via Final Events for any leaves of absence if the member was part-time at any

...

point during the

...

year.

...

        Information provided will update the member’s leave of absence from non contributory to contributory (i.e.

...

Paid). This information is important since it is used to determine the member’s Early Retirement Reduction factor which plays a role in determining the member’s earliest unreduced retirement date and monthly pension.  This information is              also required by the Income Tax Act to track the prescribed compensation.   

         You report the total weeks paid for which the member made contributions during the leave, and the percent of normal earnings. To determine percent of normal earnings, you: 

  • Total the hours worked during the 10 week period

...

  • prior to the leave commencement and divide by 10, then
  • Divide by the weekly Standard Full-Time hours, then
  • Multiply by 100

Formula:  (Total hours member worked during 10 weeks /10) / (weekly standard full-time hours

...

) x 100

Example

...

: Member

...

worked total of 150 hours during the 10

...

weeks prior to the leave.  

Percent of Normal Earnings = (Total

...

hours member worked during 10 weeks /10) / (

...

weekly standard full-time

...

Example 2: Member is Full-Time and worked 20 hours per week during the 10 week period prior to leave.

    • Percent of Normal Earnings = (Total “actual” hrs worked) / (Total “full-time equivalent” hrs worked) 
    • Percent of Normal Earnings = [(20 x 10) / (37.5 x 10)] x 100 = [(200) / (375)] x 100 = 53.33

...

hours) x 100

  • (150/10) / 37.5 x 100 = 40% 


Important to note that 100% of Normal Earning’s does not mean the entire leave is changed to Contributory, unless the Part Time member worked full time equivalent hours prior to the leave.

When you submit the data, HOOPP updates the member’s leave of absence to Contributory by taking the Total weeks Paid divided it by the Percent of Normal Earnings. This will determine what portion of the leave will be updated to Contributory.  The member will be able to view all updated contributory leave information based on your submission.


Example: Member’s leave of absence is Jan 1 2018 to Sept 30 2018 and you report the contributory leave as:

  • Total Weeks Paid = 13
  • Percent Of Normal Earnings = 40%

HOOPP will update the member’s leave of absence to Contributory from Jan 1 2018 to August 14 2018 (13 ÷ 40% = 32.5 weeks of the leave will be updated to contributory)

August 15 2018 to Sept 30 2018 will remain as a non-contributory leave of absence. The member will be able to pay for the remainder of leave within 6 months of returning to work (through Remittance Lump Sum Contributions) or they can purchase this service later though a Buyback.


If the member was full-time for the entire MDC year, they should be excluded from this file. The weeks and contributions made for the leave period are included in the total weeks provided in the MDC data file – i.e. the MDC data file includes total weeks and contributions for both regular time and for periods of paid leaves for the MDC year.  The Leaves of Absence and MDC data files are all that are required to report this information to HOOPP for full-time members. 
 
Note: If the leave was not previously reported to HOOPP via the Leaves of Absence process, you can report net new contributory leaves for part-time members within this file. If the leave was previously reported to HOOPP but corrections are required, you must report these corrections through the Leaves of Absence file.

Field NameDescriptionMandatory FieldMax Field LengthData TypeExample
SINSocial Insurance Number No hyphens or spacesYes9Integer123456789
LastNameLast name of memberYes40CharacterSmith
FirstNameFirst name of memberYes40CharacterJohn
LeaveTypeReason code for the contributory leave typeYes2Code03
LeaveStartDateStart date of the leave (non-contributory leave)Yes8Date10302015
LeaveEndDate

End date of the leave (non-contributory leave)

If leave has not ended and the end date is unknown, input December 31 of the applicable MDC year.

Yes8Date10302015
TotalWeeksPaidTotal contributory weeks for the specified leave period

 

Note: If weeks for the same MDC year has already been reported through lump sum contributions via the Remittance process, they must be excluded from this total.
Yes4Decimal51.05
PctofNormalEarningsPercent of normal earnings (i.e. part-time service ratio) prior to leave commencement. If full-time prior to leave then report 100.Yes5Decimal50.3

Leaves of Absence - File Requirements

This file is provided in-year as part of the Leaves of Absence - Data Collection process. Information provided will update the member’s employment record with any leaves the member has taken through the year, the type of leave and start and/or end dates for the leave.  In addition, this file is used to report approved work schedule reductions (formerly referred to as a temporary period of reduced earnings).

Note: Approved non-statutory leaves (code 07) cannot be less than 31 days as contributions are mandatory. All other leave types can be less than 31 days.

Leaves should be reported to HOOPP throughout the year.  This file could be provided to HOOPP on a scheduled basis, such as monthly, to report new leaves, update previously reported leave information (e.g. first file reports leave start date, subsequent file provides leave end date) or provide corrections to previously reported leaves.

You can choose to send net data changes only or accumulated employee data within the reporting file. For example, the first, second and third file reports an employee’s leave start date only and a fourth file provides both leave start and end date.  The employee can be provided in the file each month, however, this is only possible within the payroll year. You cannot provide accumulated data for more than one payroll year – i.e. the same employee / same leave cannot be included for 2 years in a row.  At the start of each payroll year, you would need to “reset” and provide net changes for the new payroll year.

Header Name/Field NameDescriptionMandatory FieldMax Field LengthData TypeExample
SIN Social Insurance Number

Social Insurance Number
No hyphens or spaces 
Yes9Integer123456789

LastName

Last name of memberYes40CharacterSmith
FirstNameFirst name of member Yes40CharacterJohn
LeaveTypeReason code for the non-contributory leave type YesCode 03 
LeaveStartDateStart date of the leave YesDate 012302015 
LeaveEndDate 

End date of leave 

If leave has not ended or the end date is unknown, this date can be left blank.

 No Date 06302015 

Retro Contributions - File Requirements

This file is provided in-year as part of the remittance Monthly Contribution Reporting (MCR) process.

Within the MCR process, the total retro payment along with the corresponding member data associated with the payment is remitted to HOOPP.  This file provides the member data in respect of the retro contributions, applicable year and year paid to the member.  If a member has a retro payment that affects multiple years, a row should be provided for each Retro Year impacted.

Retro contributions provided, is in respect of prior years’ only and not the current calendar year, or a year for which MDC data has not yet been reported. This means that any payment received in the current year, for prior years, is considered to be retro (i.e. a settlement paid in 2016 pertaining to 2015 and 2014). Any payment received in the current year, for the current or MDC year should be reported through the annual MDC process.

Field NameDescriptionMandatory Field Max Field LengthData TypeExample
SINSocial Insurance Number
No hyphens or spaces
Yes9Integer123456789
LastNameLast name of memberYes40CharacterSmith
FirstNameFirst Name of memberYes40CharacterJohn
YearRetroPeriodYear retro paid to memberYes4Date(Year Only)2016

RetroYear

Year retro contribution is applicable to memberYes4Date(Year Only)205
RetroLowContributionsContributions in respect of retro earnings paidYes – if no Retro 9Decimal523.64
RetroHighContributionsContributions in respect of retro earnings paidYes – if no Retro High9Decimal 321.23

Member Basic Info - File Requirements

This file is provided in-year as part of the Basic Member Data - Data Collection process.

This file is used to update basic information about members that are currently enrolled in the pension plan (but may or may not be currently contributing to the plan).   

Any changes to the member’s basic information should be reported throughout the year whenever a member’s basic information such as First Name, Last Name, SIN, Employment Type, Contribution Status, etc have changed or needs to be corrected. 

A change to contributory status only applies when a member who was previously contributing to the Plan waives his/her right to continue making contributions, or was previously waived and is returning to a contributory status. This status is not used as a general indicator of contributing vs. not contributing.  There are very specific rules regarding when a member can make this election (please refer to the HOOPP Employer Administration Manual for more information). 

Note: Changes to a member’s SIN, name and contributory status are typically lower volume updates. However, part-time to full-time status changes are more common.  As an option, this file can be programmed to support only a sub-set of data changes such as employment type changes only, or employment type and name changes. 

Field NameDescription Mandatory FieldMax Field LengthData Type Example 
Current SIN Current Social Insurance Number that is to be replaced.
No hyphens or spaces.
Yes9Integer123456789
NewSINNew Social Insurance Number that is replacing the current SIN on file.
No hyphens or spaces.
No9Integer987654321
TitleTitle of memberNo4CodeMr. 
LastNameLast name of memberYes40Character Smith
MiddleInitialMiddle initial of memberNo2Character
Smith
AC
FirstNameFirst name of memberYes40CharacterJohn
LeaveTypeReason code for the contributory leave typeYes2Code03LeaveStartDateStart date of the leaveYes8Date10302015LeaveEndDate

End date of the leave.

If leave has not ended and the end date is unknown, input December 31 of the applicable MDC year.

Yes8Date10302015TotalWeeksPaidTotal contributory weeks for the specified leave period
 
Note: If weeks for the same MDC year has already been reported through lump sum contributions via the Remittance process, they must be excluded from this total.Yes4Decimal51.05PctofNormalEarningsPercent of normal earnings (i.e. part-time service ratio) prior to leave commencement. If full-time prior to leave then report 100.Yes5Decimal50.3
DateOfBirthBirth date of memberNo8Date10302015
GenderGender of memberNo1CodeF
EmploymentTypeCode that indicates member’s type of employmentYes, if Employment status Effective Date is provided2CodePT
EmployementTypeEffectiveDateEffective date of the employment typeYes, if Employment status Effective Date is provided8Date10302015
ContributoryStatusCode that indicates member’s contributory statusYes, if Employment status Effective Date is provided2CodeCN
ContributoryStatusEffectiveDateEffective date of the contributory statusYes, if Employment status Effective Date is provided8Date10302015

Events (Termination & Retirement) - File Requirements

...

Exception: In a 27 pay period year weeks must also not exceed 52 weeks, however you must report contributions from pensionable earnings for the extra pay period, even if the member has already reached the FTE for their position on or before the 26th pay period. Contributions should be deducted on all pensionable earnings up to the FTE for the member’s position plus the regular hours associated with the additional pay period.   For example, if the position is based on full-time of 1950 hours (37.3 hours per week) then contributions would be made to a maximum of 2025 full-time hours. 

     Reported
  • Reported weeks and contributions are based on the maximum full-time standard hours that are available
  • . This means that, if a member is full-time for the entire year, the member’s weeks and contributions should be based on 52 weeks. If less than 52 weeks of service is reported: 
  • and expected to be worked by that employee to maintain their full-time status. If service reported is less than a defined threshold where it is unlikely the member is full-time:
  • A valid reason must be provided, such as reporting a leave of absence to account for the service shortfall via the Leaves of Absence file, or 
  • If a member has less than 52 weeks but more than or equal to 51 weeks, weeks can be adjusted to 52 without adjusting contributions. This is meant to accommodate minor deviations (up to -1 week) from contributing at the full FTE for the period that may result from payroll scheduling and/or instances in which member trade shifts in one calendar year for shifts that fall in the subsequent year.  

...

Field NameDescriptionMandatory FieldMax Field LengthData TypeExample
SINSocial Insurance Number No hyphens or spacesYes9Integer123456789
TitleTitle of employeeNo4CodeMr.
LastNameLast name of employeeYes40CharacterSmith
MiddleInitialMiddle initial of employeeNo2CharacterAC
FirstNameFirst name of employeeYes40CharacterJohn
DateOfBirthBirth date of employeeYes8Date10302015
GenderGender of employeeYes1CodeM
LanguagePreferencePreferred language of the employeeYes1CodeF
HireDateDate employee was hired at specific employerYes8Date10302015
EnrolmentDateDate employee was enrolled in the planYes8Date10302015
EmploymentTypeCode that indicates employee’s type of employment Yes2CodePT
EmploymentType EffectiveDateEffective date of the employment typeYes8Date10302015
AnnualizedEarningsAnnualized earnings associated to the year of enrollmentYes8Integer52000
UnionDesignationCode identifying member's union designation at that specific employerYes7CodeOPSEU
TelephoneNumberEmployee’s primary contact numberYes15Character4165555555
EmailAddressEmail address of employeeNoYes80Characterjohndoe@email.com
AddressLine1First line of the employee’s addressYes40Character123 Street
AddressLine2Second line of the employee’s addressNo40CharacterApt. #805
AddressLine3Third line of the employee’s addressNo40CharacterPO BOX 456
CityCity of the employee’s addressYes40CharacterToronto
ProvinceStateProvince of the employee’s addressYes2CodeON
PostalCodeZipCodePostal code/Zip code of the employee’s addressYes12CharacterM5C 3B2
CountryCountry of the employee’s addressYes2CodeCA

...

    • Employee Contributions (Low Contributions, High Contributions)  
    • Retro contributions contributions 
    • Pension Adjustment (PA)  
    • Annualized Earnings (AE) 

...

Interface CodeDescription 
MMale
FFemale
UUnspecified


Title

Interface CodeDescription
Ms.General form of address for woman regardless of marital status.
Mrs.Married Woman
MissUnmarried Woman
Mr.General form of address for man regardless of marital status.
Dr.Doctor

...

Interface CodeDescription
AAHPOAmerican Armenian Health Professionals Organization
CIPPClinical Investigator Preparatory Program
CLACChristian Labour Association of Canada
CLCCanadian Labour Congress
CUOECanadian Union of Operating Engineers
CUPECanadian Union of Public Employees
EA
IBEWInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
ICTUIndependent Canadian Transit Union
ITEInstitute of Transportation Engineers
IUOEInternational Union of Operating Engineers
LIUNALabourers’ International Union of North America
MULTIMultiple Union Designation
NONENo Union Designation
NOWUNational Organized Workers Union
OCHUOntario Council of Hospital Unions
ONAOntario Nurses’ Association
OPEIUOffice and Professional Employees International Union
OPSOntario Public Service
OPSEUOntario Public Service Employees Union
OTHERUnion Designation Not Listed
PHFPublic Health Foundation
PNFOPractical Nurses Federation of Ontario
SEIUService Employees International Union Healthcare
UFCWUnited Food and Commercial Workers
UNIFORUnion for Canada
UPGWA International Union, United Plan Guard Workers of America

...