Your HEPP COLA Benefit

The HEPP COLA Plan will pay an ad hoc COLA benefit to retired HEPP members each year, subject to approval by the HEPP COLA Plan Board of Trustees. The first COLA was paid in April 2018, and future COLAs, if granted, will be paid in January of each year.

If a COLA is granted, the benefit will be paid in a one-time taxable lump sum, not monthly. Your regular monthly HEPP pension payments will remain the same. 

The maximum COLA Plan benefit that may be payable in a given year will be two-thirds of the increase in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) from April to April.

Your COLA is always granted based on your monthly HEPP pension in payment. It does not compound based on any previous COLA amounts. See how your COLA benefit is calculated

The HEPP COLA Plan is registered as a supplemental plan under the Income Tax Act, but is not registered with the Pension Commission of Manitoba. This means it is not subject to all of the same rules as HEPP when it comes to such things as division of your pension if your marriage or common-law relationship breaks down. See the question list below for more information.