Six Months Before Your Retirement...

Here's what you should be thinking about at six months before you actually retire.

• Revisit this website or review the current version of our publication, HOOPP, Retirement and You, available from your employer, to prepare for the decisions you'll have to make in the months ahead.



• Gather proof of a qualifying spouse. HOOPP will accept a copy of your marriage certificate or a statutory declaration confirming your spouse meets HOOPP's definition of a qualifying spouse.



• Collect proof-of-age documents for you and, if you have one, your qualifying spouse. Keep in mind that it can sometimes take a while to obtain the documents, especially from another country.
  
  Acceptable proof-of-age documents include a legible photocopy of one of the following:
  • valid Canadian passport
  • birth certificate
  • baptismal certificate
  • citizenship papers
  • valid Canadian driver's licence
  
  Alternatively, HOOPP will accept a legible photocopy of any two of the following:
  • valid foreign passport
  • expired Canadian passport (regardless of expiry date)
  • Ontario picture health card
  • Canadian immigration papers
  • marriage records
  • Ontario age of majority card
  
  HOOPP will accept a statutory declaration of your age, or your spouse's age, if none of the proof of age documents listed here can be obtained. A statutory declaration is a sworn statement made before a judge, notary public, or commissioner of oaths.



• If you are planning to collect Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Security benefits at the time your HOOPP pension starts, contact the federal government to find out what you need to do to start receiving federal benefits.