October 2019 Edition

This year’s Cooperathon officially kicked off at Montreal’s Olympic stadium on October 2. Over 25 days, Desjardins is redefining social impact with the largest open innovation competition in the world. Through the Cooperathon, Desjardins is showcasing its commitment to people and communities by calling upon all participants to find ways to engage individuals in their financial health. Guy Cormier, President and CEO of Desjardins, addresses this challenge specifically: "Financial literacy and education translate into good financial health. It's essential to take action on this front and that's why I'm challenging changemakers. I want them to come together to reflect and propose innovative solutions that will make a real difference in people's lives. I'm excited to see the results!"

Follow the Cooperathon External link. Opens in a new window. Facebook page to learn about the ideas submitted. And don’t miss December’s edition of The Essential to discover the winners, which will be announced at the grand finale on November 20.

Competition for the awards was fierce, with nearly 1,200 entries. And at the end of the day, our Financial Wellness Centre, which is part of the Participant services website, received an award of excellence as part of APEX 2019: the 31^st annual awards program recognizing excellence in communications.

Plan members can use our Financial Wellness Centre to conduct a financial literacy self-assessment quiz to see how they stack up to other Canadians. They can find out how to make their plans a reality in the My Goals section. My Money covers budgeting, debt and credit. My Peace of Mind takes a slightly different approach to financial wellness, encouraging plan members to think about the ways in which their physical health and financial health are intertwined.

Life Events addresses key points in life at which plan members may see big changes to their financial situation. New to the Job Market is designed to start younger plan members down the path to financial wellness early. And at the other end of the spectrum, Retiring Soon? contains a link to a trusted website where plan members can find tools and ideas about how to gear up for retirement.

The Financial Wellness Centre is a reliable source for financial information. Encourage your plan members to check it out!

For details on the APEX 2019 Awards for Publication Excellence, see 2019 APEX AWARD Winners External link. Opens in a new window..

In the June edition, we let you know that we no longer required the irrevocable beneficiary’s signature to process withdrawals, and that we were working on applying this change to withdrawal requests submitted via the Participant services website.

Well, as of September 2019, plan members with an irrevocable beneficiary can now make online withdrawal requests. If they prefer, they can still call the Customer Contact Centre.

As part of our Wellness initiative, the Education Centre will provide virtual interactive classes, tools and coaching to help plan members adopt healthy financial and savings habits.

The classes are free of charge, and plan members can choose which to attend based on their specific interests. Starting in November 2019, the following topics will be gradually introduced:

• The ABCs of investing
• Budgeting tips and tricks
• Debt management

Other topics will be added on a regular basis.

Several time slots will be available, so plan members from across the country can follow the courses at their convenience in either English or French.

Each course will be streamed live by Webex. In addition to scheduled Chat sessions and a question period, a quick reference guide will be available after the class.

To register for a course, all plan members have to do is log in to their online account, go to the Wellness Centre and select Education Centre. There, they will see the list of available webinars. If they click on a course, they will see the corresponding details and schedule. They can register for a class directly from their online account and will receive a confirmation email.

We’ll communicate with plan members during the launch campaign, and then on a regular basis to let them know of any new courses.

Reducing employees’ financial stress

According to a recent study by the Canadian Payroll Association External link. Opens in a new window., financial concerns is the stressor that affects the most Canadians. And this stress is so great that it undermines the job performance of 43% of the workers surveyed. The same study indicates that 78% of respondents would be interested in receiving financial education in their workplace. The online Education Centre is therefore a fitting and potentially very useful tool for your plan members.

If you have any questions about the Education Centre, please contact your Client Relationship Manager or Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software..

Are any of your plan members turning 71 this year? Please make sure to review the What you can do paragraph below to ensure a smooth transition for them.

Plan members sometimes forget that they need to convert their registered savings plan (DCPP, SPP, RRSP, LIRA or locked-in RRSP, DPSP, or VRSP) into a retirement income solution by the end of the year they turn 71. If they don’t, we will transfer any non-locked-in amounts to a RRIF and any locked-in amounts to a LIF. And if their balance is less than 20% of maximum pensionable earnings for the year ($11,480), they’ll receive a lump-sum payment, which is taxable.

We send plan members in this situation a statement of options every September and try to encourage them to choose how they want to convert their savings, but there are always a few stragglers. We’re hoping you can help us help them.

What can you do?

• Ensure that plan members’ addresses are up-to-date so they receive their option statement.
• Remind plan members that our Retirement Specialists can not only help them understand their options, but also help them choose the combination that will best suit their needs.

Important: to make sure these plan members receive all the contributions and tax benefits they’re entitled to, send us their final contributions (remittances and payments) by December 1, 2019. By law, we will have to return any contributions received after December 31, 2019.

We make it easy for plan members to decide how their savings will take them into retirement. They can call our Retirement Specialists at 1-877-585-3033 This link will launch your default phone software.. And if you have any questions, you can contact Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software..

Did you know that a Missing Information Report¹ is posted on the Plan sponsor services site each month? This report lists any participant information missing from our records. To avoid unpleasant surprises, you should contact participants whose records are incomplete, especially if what we are missing is their enrolment information.

This is what happens if the participant is not enrolled, for each plan type:

If the participant is not enrolled2	RRSP	TFSA	NRP	SPP/DC	DPSP
The participant’s account won’t be registered with government agencies.			—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable
No tax receipts or slips will be issued.		—Not Applicable		—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable
Contributions will be returned after 90 days.
Contributions will be invested in a temporary fund that doesn’t generate any returns.				—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable
Contributions will be invested in a daily interest savings account.	—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable	—Not Applicable
They will not have a designated beneficiary.
Personal information (address, phone number, email address, etc.) will be missing or not up-to-date.

To view the report, go to the Report centre tile and open the Missing Information Report tab.

If you have any questions, contact your dedicated administrator or call Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software..