Buy Back Service
During your working life, you may take time off work to raise a family, go back to school, or to travel.There may also be times when you worked but didn’t belong to HOOPP. In either case, the result may mean that you have less contributory service than you could have.
Buyback provision
To help you fill in these gaps, HOOPP provides a buyback provision.
Under the program, you can buy an eligible period of service – subject to Income Tax Act limits – at any time before you retire or terminate from the Plan, as long as you're a member of HOOPP. This means you can buy service from years ago, even if you missed an old deadline, provided that service is still eligible for purchase.
If you're a retired member who has temporarily stopped receiving your HOOPP pension and re-enrolled in the Plan, you can't purchase past service.
When can you make the purchase?
There are no deadlines for buying periods of past service. But generally the longer you wait, the more it costs. This is because the cost goes up with increases in your age, years of contributory service before purchase and earnings.
Find out more
Note
If you have an eligible period of past service, your personal circumstances will dictate whether or not buying it makes sense for you. Neither HOOPP nor your employer is in a position to provide advice. If you're uncertain about the costs and benefits, it might be a good idea to see a qualified financial planner.
