2007 – Another Strong Year
HOOPP had another strong year in 2007, ending the year 99 per cent funded, with assets at an all-time high of $30 billion. At a time when difficult investment markets are causing other plans to consider benefit cuts or contribution rate increases, HOOPP is well-positioned to secure the pension promise for the healthcare community.

HOOPP is within one per cent of fully funded status. This is the result of excellent investments – including double-digit returns for four of the last five years. As well, the Board’s quick action in the past has stabilized our benefit and contribution levels.

It was another year of accomplishment for our Board of Trustees, which features equal representation from the Ontario Hospital Association and four unions – the Ontario Nurses’ Association, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, and the Service Employees International Union.

In 2007, the Board was able to:

• provide all pensioners (including survivors) with a 1.79 per cent cost of living increase for 2007, applied April 1, 2008
• hold contribution rates stable – at 2004 levels – until the end of 2009, and
• move into less risky investments

The Board successfully launched a part time awareness campaign in 2007, with the aim of better explaining the value of joining HOOPP to part-time employees through posters, brochures, web copy, and an online survey.

In addition, to help focus its long-term planning for the future, the Board took part in a successful retreat in 2007.

Given that the 250,000 healthcare workers who depend on us for benefits is an aging population – the average member is 47 – HOOPP is taking steps to make sure we find the right level of risk for our investments, since so many members will soon be depending on their pensions. With the help of new systems in our Investments area, we’re moving to a “liability driven” investment approach. With fingertip access to all our investment data – be it held via stocks, derivatives, or through private equity – this new technology will help to ensure our investment strategy carries a suitable level of risk given current asset levels and projected liabilities. In short, by better managing pension assets to liabilities, we will be better positioned to protect and grow our assets – and secure the pension promise.

Influencing change
The Board has been keeping a close eye on changes in healthcare. Simply put, the provincial government’s Health Transformation Agenda is changing the way healthcare is funded in Ontario and will ultimately change the way healthcare is delivered.

To ensure that HOOPP continues to support the interests of healthcare workers and employers, we’re taking concrete action. We want to ensure that HOOPP continues to be the pension plan of choice for Ontario’s healthcare community. And we want to ensure our members continue to have access to the best pension possible – even as their employment relationships change.

In addition to managing change in the healthcare environment, HOOPP must deal with a changing pension environment. This complex and highly regulated environment poses a number of tax, funding and administrative challenges for defined benefit pension plans, such as HOOPP. We intend to meet those challenges head on.

To that end, HOOPP stepped up its advocacy efforts in 2007. In October, we presented a detailed submission to Ontario’s Expert Commission on Pensions outlining our concerns with how certain existing pension legislation does not meet the needs of the healthcare community. Specific concerns included portability – the need for members to be able to continue to grow their pension benefits if they change jobs or even pension plans, and ensuring that the legislation – including such topics as solvency and windup rules – is appropriate for a multi-employer pension plan like HOOPP.

Focused on our members
In 2007, our new pension administration system achieved core functionality, leading to improved benefit processing turnaround times. We’re already seeing improvements, captured by our quarterly surveys, in the satisfaction of members, pensioners, and employers.

Our new system produced, for the first time, annual COLA statements for our pensioners, and member annual statements for active members.

And we’re hoping that adding service options via the web, to be rolled out later in 2008, will make dealing with HOOPP even easier.

Looking ahead
Despite the ongoing changes faced by the healthcare sector and the investment community, HOOPP remains on a firm footing. Going into 2008, we have the benefit of a strong financial position, an excellent governance structure, a clear vision for the future, and a talented and dedicated team. In short, we’re well-positioned to rise above the many challenges that lie ahead – and, in the process, help shape the future of defined benefit plans in Canada.

The healthcare and pension environments in which we operate may be in a state of flux, but our commitment to the pension promise remains steadfast.

Marcia Gillespie		Kelly Butt
Chair		Vice-Chair