HOOPP vs IPP: Pension Planning for Incorporated Healthcare Professionals
Updated: Oct 4
Reviewed October 4, 2026.
HOOPP, an Individual Pension Plan and a Retirement Compensation Arrangement are different retirement structures. The right choice begins with eligibility and the retirement benefit you need, rather than a claim that one structure is always superior.
Who can join HOOPP?
HOOPP is a pooled defined benefit pension plan with participating employers. It opened to eligible incorporated Ontario physicians in 2025. Joining through a medicine professional corporation involves the corporation becoming a participating employer and meeting HOOPP's requirements. Do not assume every incorporated healthcare professional or dentist is eligible.
Compare an IPP separately from an RCA
An IPP is a registered pension plan with actuarially determined funding within the applicable pension and tax rules. The employer takes on plan administration and funding responsibilities. Investment choices and benefits are constrained by the governing rules and documents.
An RCA is a separate supplemental retirement arrangement. Under the ordinary funded RCA regime, contributions and investment income or gains are generally subject to 50% refundable tax. It should not be presented as interchangeable with an IPP or as an account where all earnings compound without annual tax.
What to compare
Obtain a HOOPP eligibility and benefit illustration, an IPP actuarial quotation and, if relevant, an RCA design. Compare employer and employee contributions, the tax treatment, retirement dates, survivor benefits, indexation provisions, administrative costs and responsibility for a funding shortfall.
Also compare what happens if employment ends or the corporation is sold. Do not assume that changing jobs automatically destroys a HOOPP pension, that an IPP surplus can always be withdrawn, or that either structure lets beneficiaries inherit the entire balance without conditions.
Past service is not exclusive to an IPP
HOOPP offers buybacks for certain eligible service. Whether a particular member can buy back service, the cost and available transfer options depend on the plan's rules. An IPP's past-service funding also requires an actuarial and tax review.
Make the choice using quotations
Use the same salary, retirement date and survivor assumptions in each illustration. Ask who bears investment risk, what must be contributed after a poor return, and which benefits continue if the business is no longer operating. Compare expected retirement income and total costs rather than contribution size alone.
Confirm eligibility directly with HOOPP and review the quotations with your pension actuary and tax adviser before making a commitment.
Sources
Discuss your situation with Xponents
Contact Xponents to discuss the issue and the scope of a tax-planning review. Advice and implementation depend on your facts and the agreed engagement.
Comments