November 2026 eNews
In this issue:
The value of personalized support*
Meghan Vallis recognized for industry leadership
Reminder: Review manual allocations for HCSAs and/or TSAs*
*We will share this information with your clients.
The value of personalized support
Nearly two years ago, back pain forced Wayne—an Equitable group benefits plan member—to step away from a career he loved. Our long-term disability (LTD) team provided personalized rehabilitation support to help him return to work.
Watch Wayne’s story in this video and help clients understand how personalized disability support can help employees make a successful recovery and return to work.
Meghan Vallis recognized for industry leadership
We’re pleased to congratulate Meghan Vallis, Group Sales Vice-President, Western Canada, on being named to the Benefits and Pensions Monitor (BPM) 2026 Hot List.
The annual list recognizes leaders in Canadian benefits, pensions and investments who have had a major impact on their industry in the last year. Honourees are recognized for positively reshaping the industry.
“I’m creating ripples in the conversations we’re having,” says Meghan. “The benefits industry is more complex than ever. I'm challenging advisors to get outside of their comfort zones and learn about and advise their clients on what can often be sensitive health topics. Topics like men's mental health, menopause, and how women have been left out and discriminated against in the medical system."
Meghan has led our group sales team in Western Canada since 2020, with a career in group benefits that’s spanned operations, strategy, talent development and more. She’s also taken on an important role as an industry expert, regularly leading advisor education sessions on topics such as women’s health, men’s health, flexible benefits and the benefits needs of different generations. She has also represented Equitable on the annual Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey advisory board.
“Ultimately, the decisions we make in this industry affect advisors, employers, employees and families. There’s a great responsibility that comes with that,” Meghan says. “If the people providing benefits advice – the account executives, the service reps, the benefits advisor – are taking the time to be a little bit better every day, the industry as a whole will benefit.”
Learn more about BPM’s Hot List here.
Reminder: Review manual allocations for HCSAs and/or TSAs
If your client’s health care spending account (HCSA) and/or taxable spending account (TSA) has manual allocations, they need to allocate these amounts to plan members each year.
Plan administrators can update these amounts on EquitableHealth.ca. Here are the steps:
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Select View certificate
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Select Health Care Spending Account or Taxable Spending Account
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Select Update Allocation in Task Center
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Enter amount in Revised Allocation Amount
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Override Reason – Plan Administrator Request
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Select Save
Plan administrators who have reporting capability can determine which plan members have a zero allocation by running the HCSA Totals by Plan Member report online. Here are the steps:
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Select Reports
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Select New
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Select Next
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Select HCSA or TSA Totals by Plan Member
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Select Next
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Enter end date of 12/31/2026
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Select Next
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Select Finish
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View Report
Your clients can also contact us at GroupBenefitsAdmin@equitable.ca for help with updating the amounts.