What is the enrolment process?
The process of Enrolment means submitting all the necessary information for your eligible employee so that they can join HOOPP and begin making contributions towards their retirement. Enrolment is mandatory for all full-time employees of a participating HOOPP employer and optional for all part-time and all other non-full-time employees.
For more details on the full eligibility requirements, please review the Admin Manual / Enrolment section.
Why is enrolment important?
Aside from it being mandatory for all full-time employees – why exactly is this event important? Retirement security is one of the top worries for Canadians – and studies show that 71% of employees would forego a higher salary for a good pension. That’s why HOOPP works together alongside other government benefits such as CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) and OAS (Old Age Security) – to help members make the most out of their retirement.
Luckily, being a HOOPP employer means that you have chosen to help provide employees with the peace of mind they deserve. Being enrolled in HOOPP means that employees will have a pension for life – a member will never outlive their pension.
It’s also important for employees to be promptly enrolled so that they don’t miss any contributions that are required under the Plan, and for part-time members, to maximize their pensions for their future by joining as soon as they are eligible. Timely enrolment can also eliminate any stress or time needed to correct administrative mistakes resulting in missed contributions that must be paid to HOOPP, along with applicable late payment fees.
For details about contribution requirements, please review the Admin Manual / Required Contributions section.
And finally, for you as the employer, encouraging your employees – including non-full-time and part-time, to join the pension can add value to your organization and yield higher employee satisfaction and help reduce staff turnover.
Employer Obligations
Now that we’ve learned about the importance of the event itself – let’s talk about your obligations when it comes to the enrolment of your employees. Within 30 days of your employees hire date you must:
Provide the HOOPP Handbook to all employees within 30 days of your employee’s hire date so that they understand how the Plan applies to them, as well as their rights and responsibilities under the Plan. Providing the handbook to all new employees, including part-time and other non-full-time employees who have the option of joining HOOPP, is an important part of your responsibilities as a participating employer and is required by law. The handbook provides key information about HOOPP for members, including their rights and enables part-time and other non-full-time employees to make an informed decision about whether to join the Plan.
Click here to learn how to send the HOOPP handbook to employees, including sample email content.
Inform eligible non-full-time employees that they have the option to join HOOPP on their date of hire, or on any subsequent date. Making the decision to join HOOPP is an important choice for your employees and is a valuable opportunity to save for their future retirement. It is your obligation to ensure this benefit is being offered.
Click here for some key talking points to help you talk to your employees about the benefits of HOOPP.
Immediately enroll all eligible employees. It is your responsibility as a HOOPP employer to enroll all full-time employees immediately upon hire and to begin deducting HOOPP contributions and remitting them to HOOPP.
Click here to learn how to submit enrolments to HOOPP.