What is the MDC process?
As a participating HOOPP employer, you may have come across the term MDC – but what exactly is MDC and why is it one of the most important cyclical events for you as an employer? In short, the Member Data Collection (MDC) process is an annual process that is used to gather and update member information including:
Member Low and High Contributions
Contributory service weeks
Pension adjustment
Annualized earnings, if prior to January 1, 2014, a member waived contributions because of an employment status change from Full-time to Part-time
Employment status changes or leaves of absences, if they were not previously reported throughout the year
Contributory leaves or temporary periods of reduced earnings information (also referred to as an Approved Work Schedule Reduction) for members who made contributions and were part-time at any point during the year.
All this information is submitted through HOOPP Insight. This year’s MDC will take place between December 11, 2023, to February 29, 2024, giving you plenty of time to complete the process. But don’t wait until the last minute to complete your submission – go see the many resources to help you along the way!
In addition to our Employer Learning Centre resources, annual MDC refresher webinars are hosted by Regional Managers each year to equip you with the knowledge and resources that will make this process as straight forward as possible. If you were unable to attend one of the sessions, you can visit here to watch a recording of the webinar.
Why is the MDC process important?
Apart from knowing that the MDC process is a mandatory process that’s done annually, you should also be aware of why it’s an important part of your responsibilities as a participating HOOPP employer and how it supports member administration.
Meeting the MDC deadline is highly important as we need to have correct and up to date member data to properly administer the Plan. The accuracy and timely reporting to HOOPP have a direct impact on the following member processes:
Members receive an annual statement that provides important information about their benefits with HOOPP. The information you provide supports the statement process and ensures members receive accurate information on their statements in the Spring of each calendar year. Accurate and timely submissions means that members can rely on this information to make important decisions concerning their pension.
HOOPP Connect is an important resource for our members where they can view and update their information and use the Pension Estimator to receive personalized estimates of their pension at different milestone dates. Having up-to-date information is essential for members to see their benefits and support future retirement planning.
Member benefits are determined based on the data that you report to HOOPP. Accuracy of information results in accuracy of the benefits that we pay out to our members.
In addition to the member processes, the following employer process is also reliant on the accurate and timely submission of your MDC:
The annual Statement of Account (SOA) report that you receive from HOOPP each year, provides details of your account balance with respect to the contributions that you remitted throughout the year, and based on the member data that you report to us. We compare and reconcile your member contribution data against the remittances that you paid within that same year. Based on this we determine and issue any corresponding invoices for underpayments, or credits for overpayments.
While the MDC process may seem like a lot of work, you can see what an important process it is and the many impacts it has on the service we provide our members and ensuring they have access to up-to-date, accurate information and benefits.
Throughout your MDC process, know that you will be supported by our Employer Services Specialists. In addition to contacting our Specialists, you can visit our Job Aid section for an MDC checklist and videos on how to kickstart this process.
Employer Obligations
Now that we’ve learned about the importance of the event itself – let’s talk about your obligation as an employer. While the process itself takes time to complete, your obligation is simple: we require you to provide HOOPP with complete, accurate and timely information and according to the MDC deadline we communicate for each year’s cycle. Remember – accurate and timely submission is vital as it has direct impacts on both member and employer processes.
We have many resources as referenced for you to complete your mandatory MDC process easily and smoothly. Please visit the Employer Resources section for videos, job aids, the MDC Checklist and more.