April 2020 Edition

More than ever, Desjardins is there for you while many of us are experiencing financial difficulties. Desjardins recently made significant donations to community organizations to address the humanitarian crisis, offered last-resort loans and reduced the credit card interest rate for individual members. We continue to work closely with governments to come up with additional solutions and support.

Special relief measures External link. Opens in a new window. for businesses will be applied on a case-by-case basis, such as:

• Temporary changes to line of credit terms
• Moratorium on principal payments across all industries
• Fast-tracked approvals
• Deferred payments on credit cards and Accord D financing
• Refinancing for certain loans

To find out more and stay up to date with the latest news, visit the Desjardins COVID-19 External link. Opens in a new window. web page.

In case you missed it, here’s the message shared by email on April 3, 2020, and it is available on the plan sponsor services website.

In these unprecedented times, I wanted to take a moment to reassure you. The entire Group retirement savings team is here for you and committed to do what's best for you and your plan members. In parallel, our Group Benefits colleagues are keeping clients and plan members informed of the latest developments.

We remain fully operational and are applying government mandated containment measures by having the vast majority of our employees working from home and complying with social distancing protocols in our activities. At all times, we will follow the government’s recommendations and continue to act responsibly to minimize the spread of the virus.

As the Desjardins Group continues to help members and clients deal with the financial hardships caused by this situation, we are here to support you and your plan members. We are working closely with the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) as well as provincial and federal pension authorities to collaborate regarding the issues and concerns you may be facing and will keep you informed of any developments.

While we continue processing requests received by mail, we invite you to use our online plan sponsor services at dfs.ca/plansponsor. You can also reach us by email  This link will launch your default mailing software. or by contacting your client relationship manager. Your plan members are also encouraged to manage their transactions 24/7 on the secure member site, accessible via dfs.ca/participant.

At this time, rest assured that the Desjardins Group is financially solid External link. This link opens in a new window, with levels of capitalization and liquidity that are more than adequate and capable of absorbing substantial losses during the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I hope you and your plan members stay safe and healthy during this challenging time.

David Charbonneau, ASA, ACIA

Senior Vice-President, Group Retirement Savings

Exciting news! As a result of the ongoing trust you have placed in Desjardins and as we reflect on the continued growth of business across the country, we are making some changes to ensure we continue to deliver a client and member experience that is always in your best interest. With the following appointments, I’m pleased to announce we are introducing a regional model, reinforcing our commitment to supporting your needs across Canada.

Jennifer Katzsch joins Desjardins as Regional Vice-President, Western Canada, Group Retirement Savings. She will lead the regional Business Development and Client Relationships teams in Western Canada along with the national Education and Transition teams. Jennifer brings 20 years of experience to the role and spent the early part of her career working as a plan sponsor. She is a seasoned leader who inspires and generates results focused on the best interest of her clients.

Marc-Olivier Desbiens as Regional Vice-President Quebec, Group Retirement Savings. He will lead the regional Business Development and Client Relationships teams in Quebec, along with the national Best Practices & Support team. Since joining Desjardins, Marc-Olivier has held management roles in Pricing and Investment, and most recently led our national sales team. He brings 16 years of industry experience within the Group Retirement Savings and Group Benefit industry.

Jean-Pascal Plamondon as Regional Vice-President Ontario & Atlantic Canada, Group Retirement Savings. He will lead the regional Business Development and Client Relationships teams in Ontario and Atlantic Canada along with the national Investment Solutions team. Jean-Pascal has 18 years of experience. During his tenure at Desjardins, Jean-Pascal has been responsible for our national Client Relationship and Investment teams. Prior to joining Desjardins, he worked for a national consulting firm in Calgary and Montreal where he led the business operations and client servicing teams.

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer, Marc-Olivier and Jean-Pascal on their new roles and feel free to reach out to them directly.

Nadia Darwish

VP, Business Development & Client Relationships

Group Retirement Savings

We are committed to reassuring your plan members by giving them all the information and support they need during these difficult times.

On March 20, we sent them this email External link. This link opens in a new window that explains how COVID-19 affects their retirement savings and the key takeaways to keep in mind in times of market volatility. And on April 7, we shared a short educational video This link opens in a new window. that covers best practices to adopt while financial markets are highly volatile.

We will keep your plan members informed of any developments in this rapidly evolving situation.

Please note that these communications are also posted in the My messages section of the secure member website, accessible via dfs.ca/participant.

Due to the high call volume at our Customer Contact Centre during this unprecedented time, we invite you to encourage your plan members to complete their transactions and access their information at any time on the secure member website, accessible via dfs.ca/participant.

Among other things, they can:

• View their account details
• Change their investment instructions
• Modify their investor profile
• Modify their beneficiary
• Change their contributions (if allowed under your plan rules)
• Make withdrawals or transfers between funds

For any questions, do not hesitate to contact Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software. or grs_plansponsor@dfs.ca  This link will launch your default mailing software..

On March 25, the federal government adopted Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan which provides for a 25% reduction of the minimum amount to be withdrawn for 2020 from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), including life income funds (LIF), locked-in retirement income funds (LRIF) and restricted life income funds (RLIF). As a result of this reduction, the new minimum amount to be withdrawn from a RRIF for 2020 corresponds to 75% of the minimum calculated on January 1, 2020 (the old minimum).

Good news for your plan members!

Considering the current state of the markets, this is good news. They won’t have to withdraw as much of their savings to meet the minimum withdrawal requirement.

Other information

• This new minimum applies only to 2020.
• Minimum withdrawals made before March 25, 2020 (based on the old minimum), are not eligible for a 25% refund, according to the rules issued by the federal government. We have no choice but to decline such requests.
• To request the reduced minimum withdrawal amount, RRIF holders must contact us at 1-877-585-3033 This link will launch your default phone software. or send a note to yourtransition@dfs.ca  This link will launch your default mailing software.. However, they also have the option of maintaining the payment already scheduled for their RRIF, in which case they have nothing to do.

Our communications

In the next few days, we’ll send an email regarding the above to all plan members with a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) or a life income fund (LIF), who have requested the minimum annual withdrawal for 2020 and who haven’t yet received the total minimum as of March 25, 2020. We’ll send a letter to those plan members for whom we don’t have an email address.

The lucky winner of the “Start the year on the right foot and win $5,000” contest is Ms. Elizabeth A. Miner from Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

The contest ran from January 1 to March 31, 2020. All participants who logged in to our secure site and visited our Wellness Centre during this period were automatically entered. For more details, see the complete contest rules (PDF, 157 KB) This link opens in a new window..

Due to the current situation where temporary layoffs are taking place, it is important for you to know whether or not you should report a termination date to Desjardins. This table outlines the steps to follow:

* You may decide, at your discretion, to report a temporary layoff as a termination of employment (subject to your obligation under a collective agreement, an employment contract or other considerations).

Note: If you have already submitted a termination date in error, please contact us.

Did you know?

From an administration perspective, a termination of employment is the equivalent of a plan membership termination. Termination option statements are generated, providing plan members with options such as:

• remain in the plan, when permitted
• transfer out of the plan, but remain with Desjardins Insurance
• transfer to another plan or to the financial institution of their choice
• cash-in a portion or all of their accumulated savings

For a Defined Contribution Pension Plan and a Québec Simplified Pension Plan, according to pension legislation, a termination date should not be provided to us as a temporary layoff is not the equivalent of a termination of plan membership. For other plans, a temporary layoff normally means a termination of plan membership.

When does a temporary layoff become a termination of plan membership?

The answer varies by legislation (provincial or federal), but it generally varies between 26 weeks and 24 months. We will work closely with pension authorities regarding this matter and keep you informed as the situation evolves.

Pension Contribution Regulatory Reporting

Temporary layoffs may result in significantly (10%) lower contribution amounts that will need to be justified for provinces where it is required to provide expected contributions, such as Form 7 in Ontario or similar forms in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software. or send a note to grs_plansponsor@dfs.ca  This link will launch your default mailing software..

Did you know that each province has different rules for the defined contribution (DC) plan? That’s why we must send you a new plan appendix when you add a new employee who will work in a province other than your plan’s registration province. This appendix will give you the rules specific to the province of employment.

What you need to do

If such a case arises, please notify your client relationship manager as soon as possible. He or she will relay the information to our Plan Administration team, who will produce the necessary appendix, make changes to your plan rules as necessary, and return the documents to you for signature.

1. What’s the difference between a retiring allowance and severance pay?

A retiring allowance is paid to employees when they retire, in recognition of years of service. Severance pay is paid to employees when they lose their job. However, from a tax perspective, severance pay will generally be considered as a retiring allowance.

2. An employee with unused sick leave and vacation credits will be retiring or losing their job. Do I include them in their retiring allowance or severance pay?

Unused sick leave can be included. Salary, bonuses, overtime and vacation days not taken before retirement are excluded. For other exclusions, visit the Canada Revenue Agency External link. This link opens in a new window

3. An employee wants to deposit their retiring allowance or severance pay into their group Tax-free savings account (TFSA). Can I do that?

No. Retiring allowances and severance pay can only be deposited into a defined contribution (DC) plan, simplified pension plan (SPP) or group retirement savings plan (RRSP).

4. An employee is leaving the company and wants their severance pay deposited into their RRSP. Do I need to make at-source deductions?

As a general rule, the transfer of severance pay to an RRSP can only take place if the employee has unused RRSP contribution room. To process the transfer without at-source deductions, the employer must ask the employee for their RRSP Deduction Limit statement or a certificate confirming that the contribution does not exceed their unused RRSP contribution room. However, an exception applies if the employee has years of service with the employer before 1996. In fact, the following amounts of severance pay can be transferred to an employee's RRSP, regardless of the available contribution room:

• $2,000 for each year or part of a year of employment before 1996, plus;
• $1,500 for each year or part of a year of employment before 1989 where none of the employer’s contributions to a pension plan or deferred profit sharing plan were vested in the employee’s name.

When severance pay is paid to the employee, withholding tax must be deducted.

5. How should I make this plan contribution?

You need to remit a separate contribution from your regular remittance and contact Plan Sponsor Services to let them know that it’s a retiring allowance or severance pay by calling them at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software. or by sending a note to grs_plansponsor@dfs.ca  This link will launch your default mailing software..

To find out more about the retiring allowance, visit the CRA website External link. This link opens in a new window. and refer to our checklist (PDF, 136 KB) Opens in a new window..

When making your contribution remittances, incorrect or missing information can cause error messages, whether you’re using the contribution remittance interface or the standard file.

Here are two common situations and their solutions:

1. Contribution remittance interface

Situation: You pre-enrolled a new plan member and entered a contribution remittance, and then got an error message.

Solution: Please wait 24 hours before doing anything as our system may not be up to date. If both the pre-enrolment and contribution remittance aren’t in the system the next day, contact your plan administrator.

2. Standard file

Situation: You sent the standard file and got the following message:

Solution: The message tells you exactly where the mistakes are. Simply follow these steps:

1. In the Excel file, correct the line indicated in the message
2. Rename the file by adding an underscore R at the end of the original name (e.g., G00123456_COT_20140725_R)
3. Submit the file the same way you did the first time

Please note: The new file will automatically overwrite the previous one.

IMPORTANT: If you get another error message, call your plan administrator.

If you think you have made an error

To make corrections to amounts, contribution types, periods or other information, or if you think there was a problem with the data transfer, call your plan administrator as soon as possible or call Plan Sponsor Service at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software. or send a note to grs_plansponsor@dfs.ca  This link will launch your default mailing software..

As part of a periodic review, modifications to the composition of our Multi-Management Funds were made on March 30, 2020. These modifications are in line with our management philosophy for these funds: to optimize the long-term expected return for a given level of risk.

The main changes made to the funds are as follows:

• A revision to the allocation between funds within the foreign large cap equity component, in order to optimize its combination. Among other things, this change involves the removal of the Hexavest Global Equities Fund.
• The addition of the Fidelity Canadian Low Volatility Equity Fund to the Canadian equity component, in order to ensure consistency with the low volatility approach found within the foreign equity component.

These modifications will not result in any changes to the pricing of the Multi-Management Funds.

For more information, do not hesitate to communicate with your client relationship manager.

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Legg Mason, Inc. The addition of Legg Mason’s multiple investment affiliates elevates Franklin Templeton to one of the world’s largest global investment managers with a combined $1.5 trillion in assets under management. The acquisition will include the following leading asset management affiliates: Brandywine Global, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Martin Currie, QS Investors, Royce Investment Partners, and Western Asset.

DGAM

DGAM has announced the hiring of Mr. Vincent Fitzbay as Chief Operations Officer (COO). In his role, Mr. Fitzbay will supervise the following functions: data governance, operational governance, specialized application support and project management. He will ensure that productive relationships exist with strategic partners, including the technology, back-office and mid-office groups.

Triasima Portfolio Management

Triasima Portfolio Management announced that Mr. Giovanni Romeo has joined the team as Senior Director, Securities transactions. In this role, Mr. Romeo will bring his expertise and experience in securities trading to ensure optimal execution of buy and sell orders from the Portfolio Management team.

Beutel Goodman

Beutel Goodman has announced the appointment of Ms. Linda Watts, CFA, as Vice-President, Customer Service / Business Development. Ms. Watts joins Beutel Goodman with over 20 years of experience in the financial industry. She has, among other things, held positions in institutional customer service, business credit, product development and business development.