Latest news with #HealthcareofOntarioPensionPlan
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HOOPP appoints Reena Carter as new Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Carter brings more than 20 years of financial leadership in Canada's pension industry TORONTO, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Reena Carter as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 'Reena has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and financial acumen, while making meaningful contributions to Canada's world-class pension industry over the course of her career,' said Annesley Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer, HOOPP. 'On behalf of our Board of Trustees and senior leadership team, I would like to welcome Reena to the HOOPP team. I am confident she will play a key role in delivering on our strategy to ensure we fulfill our pension promise to our members.' Ms. Carter joins HOOPP from the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), where she served as Senior Managing Director of Portfolio Management and Operations. In this role, she led all operational functions, portfolio construction and the sustainable investing strategy for OMERS Infrastructure globally. Since joining OMERS in 2003, Ms. Carter held progressively senior finance and audit roles, including Executive Vice President, Head of Investment Finance & Valuations; Executive Vice President, Global Head of Assurance & Advisory; and CFO of Borealis Infrastructure. She oversaw all finance and investment valuations matters, in addition to strategic planning, risk management, treasury, debt and tax compliance. 'I am excited to join a world-renowned organization dedicated to building a stronger financial future for more than 478,000 healthcare workers across Ontario,' said Ms. Carter. 'HOOPP has consistently delivered strong results as a leading pension fund in Canada, which speaks to the commitment and stewardship of its Board, management team and employees. I look forward to working with Annesley and the entire team as we grow and evolve to continue meeting the needs of Ontario's healthcare community.' Ms. Carter has held board positions at Bruce Power and LifeLabs and is currently on the boards of Cymbria Corporation and Teranet. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business, York University. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Business Valuator and a Chartered Director. About the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan HOOPP serves Ontario's hospital and community-based healthcare sector, with more than 700 participating employers. Its membership includes nurses, medical technicians, food services staff, housekeeping staff, physicians, and many others who provide valued healthcare services. In total, HOOPP has more than 478,000 active, deferred and retired members. HOOPP is fully funded and manages a highly diversified portfolio of more than $123 billion in assets that span multiple geographies and asset classes. HOOPP is also a major contributor to the Canadian economy, paying more than $3 billion in pension benefits to retired Ontario healthcare workers annually. HOOPP operates as a private independent trust, and its Board of Trustees governs the Plan and Fund, focusing on HOOPP's mission to deliver on our pension promise. The Board is made up of appointees from the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and four unions: the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). This governance model provides representation from both employers and members in support of the long-term interests of the Plan. Contact:Scott White, Senior Director, Media Relations and External Communications swhite2@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Toronto Star
26-04-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Ontario expands pension plan to self-employed doctors previously excluded
It's a shot in the arm for doctors at a time when Ontario is scrambling to ease a shortage that has left 2.5 million people without a family physician. Since January, doctors with their own practices have been able to join the same pension plan enjoyed by colleagues who work in hospitals — and bring their receptionists, nurses and any other staff along for the ride to retirement. Hundreds of self-employed physicians have expressed interest and more than 75 have taken steps to become part of the $123 billion Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, also known by its acronym pronounced 'hoop.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW While the opening wasn't created with the troublesome doctor shortage in mind, it can't hurt, says a senior executive. 'If the ability to access the defined-benefit pension like HOOPP is the reason for a physician to set up shop in or stay in Ontario, that's fantastic,' says Rachel Arbour, a lawyer and head of plan benefits, design and policy. 'But we're here to provide really good pensions and retirement for health-care workers, and this is one of the reasons why we looked at growing our plan to physicians,' she adds. 'We believe we play an important role in recruitment and retention. Health-care employers in our province can say to their staff 'we can offer you a great pension.'' Canada Desperately seeking a family doctor. What a striking scene in one small Ontario town says about a brewing crisis Megan Ogilvie The plan boasted a solid 9.7 per cent gain on global investments last year on behalf of 475,000 members and retirees in health care across the province. Opening the pension plan to self-employed physicians who have established their own medicine professional corporations and agree to pay a membership fee to the Ontario Hospital Association is the result of years of work and urging from within the health-care sector, including the Ontario Medical Association. The change to include self-employed doctors involved getting approval from Ontario's pension regulator and the Canada Revenue Agency. The OMA offers a group retirement savings plan to its members — who include 31,500 practicing physicians — but recognizes that many would also like to have a traditional pension plan with defined benefits. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'It has a good track record,' says Kimberly Moran, a chartered accountant and the OMA's chief executive officer, of the HOOPP pension. While the shortage of an estimated 3,500 family doctors has many root causes, such as heavy workloads, long days and administrative paperwork, Moran notes the new pension offering provides 'a little bit of help.' Provincial Politics Doug Ford government pledges more money to ease doctor shortage on eve of election call Rob Ferguson Recognizing it was politically vulnerable because of the doctor shortage, Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives pledged $1.4 billion in new spending on the eve of Ontario's Feb. 27 election campaign for expanded primary health-care teams, with Health Minister Sylvia Jones acknowledging 'there's no doubt people have been waiting a long time, too long, frankly, to get connected to a family-care practitioner in their community.' Ford has also added more spaces in medical schools and a new medical school is opening at Toronto Metropolitan University in Brampton next fall, but will take years to produce fully trained doctors. The OMA said 8,600 physicians have retired or left their practices since 2018, meaning two doctors are lost for every three new ones added to the health-care system. As many jurisdictions around the world compete with each other for med school graduates, more than 750 doctors have reached out to a HOOPP hotline about the pension plan after reading full details posted on the organization's website. They are encouraged to discuss the prospect of joining with their own financial advisors. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Every doctor is going to have a slightly different set of circumstances they're going to have to work through and make sure that it makes sense for them,' says Moran. Aside from paying a membership fee to the Ontario Hospital Association, which would not reveal the dollar value but said the cost is 'modest' for doctors, physicians joining the plan make contributions both as the employer and the employee, based on income. Those contributions are tax-deductible. 'It's about half-and-half in terms of doctors who are sole practitioners and those who have staff with them,' Arbour says. 'We would love the family physicians, their nurses, the receptionist, the whole bucket of people supporting that practice to come into our plan. The longer you're in our plan, the bigger your pension income will be upon retirement.' Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Hamilton Spectator
26-04-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario expands pension plan to self-employed doctors previously excluded
It's a shot in the arm for doctors at a time when Ontario is scrambling to ease a shortage that has left 2.5 million people without a family physician. Since January, doctors with their own practices have been able to join the same pension plan enjoyed by colleagues who work in hospitals — and bring their receptionists, nurses and any other staff along for the ride to retirement. Hundreds of self-employed physicians have expressed interest and more than 75 have taken steps to become part of the $123 billion Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, also known by its acronym pronounced 'hoop.' While the opening wasn't created with the troublesome doctor shortage in mind, it can't hurt, says a senior executive. 'If the ability to access the defined-benefit pension like HOOPP is the reason for a physician to set up shop in or stay in Ontario, that's fantastic,' says Rachel Arbour, a lawyer and head of plan benefits, design and policy. 'But we're here to provide really good pensions and retirement for health-care workers, and this is one of the reasons why we looked at growing our plan to physicians,' she adds. 'We believe we play an important role in recruitment and retention. Health-care employers in our province can say to their staff 'we can offer you a great pension.'' The plan boasted a solid 9.7 per cent gain on global investments last year on behalf of 475,000 members and retirees in health care across the province. Opening the pension plan to self-employed physicians who have established their own medicine professional corporations and agree to pay a membership fee to the Ontario Hospital Association is the result of years of work and urging from within the health-care sector, including the Ontario Medical Association. The change to include self-employed doctors involved getting approval from Ontario's pension regulator and the Canada Revenue Agency. The OMA offers a group retirement savings plan to its members — who include 31,500 practicing physicians — but recognizes that many would also like to have a traditional pension plan with defined benefits. 'It has a good track record,' says Kimberly Moran, a chartered accountant and the OMA's chief executive officer, of the HOOPP pension. While the shortage of an estimated 3,500 family doctors has many root causes, such as heavy workloads, long days and administrative paperwork , Moran notes the new pension offering provides 'a little bit of help.' Recognizing it was politically vulnerable because of the doctor shortage , Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives pledged $1.4 billion in new spending on the eve of Ontario's Feb. 27 election campaign for expanded primary health-care teams, with Health Minister Sylvia Jones acknowledging 'there's no doubt people have been waiting a long time, too long, frankly, to get connected to a family-care practitioner in their community.' Ford has also added more spaces in medical schools and a new medical school is opening at Toronto Metropolitan University in Brampton next fall, but will take years to produce fully trained doctors. The OMA said 8,600 physicians have retired or left their practices since 2018, meaning two doctors are lost for every three new ones added to the health-care system. As many jurisdictions around the world compete with each other for med school graduates, more than 750 doctors have reached out to a HOOPP hotline about the pension plan after reading full details posted on the organization's website. They are encouraged to discuss the prospect of joining with their own financial advisors. 'Every doctor is going to have a slightly different set of circumstances they're going to have to work through and make sure that it makes sense for them,' says Moran. Aside from paying a membership fee to the Ontario Hospital Association, which would not reveal the dollar value but said the cost is 'modest' for doctors, physicians joining the plan make contributions both as the employer and the employee, based on income. Those contributions are tax-deductible. 'It's about half-and-half in terms of doctors who are sole practitioners and those who have staff with them,' Arbour says. 'We would love the family physicians, their nurses, the receptionist, the whole bucket of people supporting that practice to come into our plan. The longer you're in our plan, the bigger your pension income will be upon retirement.'
