Other plans might be increasing member contribution rates but the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) board of trustees says HOOPP won’t be one of them. Member and employer contribution rates will remain stable in 2013.
“Stability is an important objective for HOOPP,” says the plan’s president and CEO John Crocker. “HOOPP’s fully funded status means that our clients will, by the end of 2013, enjoy an entire decade without any contribution rate increases.”
The contribution rates have been the same since the start of 2004 and HOOPP currently has sufficient assets in its $35.7 billion fund to pay for all benefits owed to all members.
“When a plan is not fully funded, it means they have to look at ways to increase the money clients contribute or else decrease the benefits provided,” says Crocker. “Our board took action, following the tech wreck of the early 2000s, to develop our investment strategy to protect against volatility. That decision, which led to our liability driven investing strategy, helped protect HOOPP’s assets during the 2008 downturn and helped us earn double-digit returns in 2009 and 2010.