October 2022 Edition

The Desjardins GoodSpark Grants are back to give small business owners in Canada a chance to get the backing they need to grow and thrive.

Local businesses are the bedrock of our economy and communities. All across the country, small business owners are working hard to grow their businesses and bring their dreams to life, which is why Desjardins will be awarding another 150 grants worth $20,000 each this year. Businesses must operate in one of the following provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island or Saskatchewan.

Who can apply? Small, locally owned and operated businesses with 50 employees or less that are working on an initiative that focuses on innovation, sustainability, employment or making a positive impact in the community.

Eligible businesses can apply on the program website Opens in a new window. by November 6.

You’ve recently received an invitation to attend our Responsible Investment (RI) webinar.

Attend our webinar on December 1, 2022, at 1 PM (ET) if you want to learn more about the fundamentals of RI and Desjardins Insurance’s group retirement savings solutions. Mark your calendar; it’s an appointment not to be missed.

The On Target Retirement^® campaign aims to encourage plan members to complete and keep the data in their goal tracker up to date. This will provide them with a detailed and current financial snapshot to help them stay the course with their savings objectives.

When this campaign is activated for a given group, only plan members who have completed their enrolment will receive the message if:

• They haven’t yet completed their On Target Retirement, or
• It’s been 24 months or more since they updated their On Target Retirement

Do you want your plan members to receive our automated communications?

Contact your client relationship manager now, and we’ll set it up.

In September, we mailed a letter to employees who are turning 71 this year, because they will need to transfer ^{[ Note 1 ]} the assets in their retirement savings plan ^{[ Note 2 ]} to a retirement income vehicle such as a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), a Life Income Fund (LIF), an annuity or other option.

In the letter, we ask them to make their choice by December 1 in order to get a head start on the plan conversion. The Income Tax Act (Canada) gives them until December 31, 2022, to make their choice; otherwise we'll apply the procedure for failure to respond. This procedure is explained in their benefits statement.

What to do if a plan member didn’t receive their benefits statement?

Check that we have the correct address. If not:

1. Change the address first

• You can remind them to change it themselves with the Omni Desjardins app or on the secure website at dfs.ca/GroupPlanMember Opens in a new window., or by doing it for them at dfs.ca/plansponsor Opens in a new window..

2. Ask them to request a new copy of their benefits statement

• Plan members will have to call the Customer Contact Centre at 1-800-968-3587 to receive their new benefits statement.

Reminder for the final contributions

Let us know by November 15, 2022, if you plan on remitting any contributions for these employees between now and the end of the year. These contributions must be received by December 1, 2022, to prevent any processing delays. Any contributions sent after December 31, 2022, will be returned to you, even if the payroll reference period is an earlier date.

If you have any questions, please call your plan administrator or Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762.

We’d like to draw your attention to 2 important articles from the How to section that have been published since the beginning of the year.

Other important How to articles published since January 2022

On September 2, AlphaFixe announced the hiring of Jean-François Scraire as senior manager. Mr. Scraire will assist the team in monitoring the corporate bond market while working on alternative credit solutions. He’ll also make investment recommendations for high-yield bonds and monitor issuers. In addition, he’ll participate in establishing the investment strategy for credit bonds and will be involved in client servicing.