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If Member Receives a Severance Package
Not all types of payments a member may receive upon termination of employment are pensionable. See section 4.2 Pensionable Earnings (Click Here) and section 4.7 Contributions on Termination Payments (Click Here) for more details. If you are planning to offer a member a complex severance package, you may wish to contact HOOPP before finalizing the terms of the termination agreement to ensure that the terms of the package are consistent with HOOPP’s policies. Failing to do this could lead to problems later, particularly if the terms of the settlement conflict with HOOPP's provisions.
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The member is aged 55 or older and wants to retire immediately; or
The member is stopping contributions due to a change in employment status. You will not need to submit a termination event for a full-time member who changes to part-time status at your organization, and who is contributing to HOOPP at another employer on a full-time basis. The part-time employee can choose to stop making HOOPP contributions with their employer where they are employed part-time. Please submit the contribution status change information to HOOPP. It is important that the dates for "employment type effective date" and " contributory status effective date" match.
If, due to a contribution status change request, the member will no longer be making contributions, the member should complete a Sample Contributions Waiver Contribution Waiver (a sample HOOPP Member Contribution Waiver is available on HOOPP Insight) to acknowledge that they understand the rules regarding waiving contributions. Please keep the completed form for your records. Normal termination procedures (at the part-time employers) do not apply for these members and they will not get a termination or retirement benefit until they terminate or retire from their full-time employer as well.The member is part of a divestment (sale, assignment, or disposition of a business). Contact your Regional Manager for information.
Termination of Employment for Access to Benefits
We caution employers against engaging in re-employment arrangements with HOOPP members for the primary purpose of enabling employees to access their HOOPP benefit. This would be inconsistent with the Plan terms and pension legislation. Employees may only access their options under HOOPP to transfer or start their pension following a legitimate (bona fide) termination of employment or retirement. For unionized employees, this will likely mean a break in seniority and potential loss of eligibility to other employment benefits, and treatment as a new employee upon subsequent re-hire. Termination of employment is usually documented through a Record of Employment and is subject to the requirements of the Employment Standards Act.
If a member chooses to resign from your organization, you have an obligation to report the termination to HOOPP and to provide accurate data. However, it is generally not appropriate to report a termination or retirement event where:
An employee transfers from one position to another within your organization or an affiliate; or
There is a pre-arranged offer, agreement or understanding to re-hire an employee following the reported event, particularly where the employee will be re-hired in the same or a similar position.
HOOPP reserves the right to challenge a reported event to ensure compliance with the Plan.
Termination When a Member is Receiving Free Accrual
If a member’s employment is terminated while they are in receipt of free accrual, submit the necessary member termination information to HOOPP.
Calculating Final Weeks, Contributions, Other Amounts
For help calculating final weeks, contributions, and other required amounts, refer to section 4 Contributions (Click Here) - Contributions and the PA Guide.
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