Site Search

698 results for browse official page MAKEMUR.COM Paying to get my daughter out of jail now pay later West Virginia

Summer is here and so is our new dividend scale
Equitable’s Board of Directors has approved a new dividend scale for the period of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
● The interest rate* we use for the dividend scale will change. It will go from 6.25% to 6.40% on July 1, 2024.
● Other factors used to decide the dividend scale will remain the same.
● The interest rate for policies with dividends on deposit will change. It will go from 2.25% to 3.50% on July 1, 2024.
● The interest rate for most policy loans will remain at 6.50%. This applies to both new and existing policy loans, and automatic premium loans. It specifically applies to Equimax^®policies with a 9-digit policy number that starts with either "3" or "8". Older policies may have different loan rates as they are based on the prime interest rate.

Learn more:
● 2024 Advisor Dividend Scale Notice
● 2024 Client Dividend Scale Notice
● Dividend Information Page

Did you miss our Spring update & 2024 Dividend Scale announcement? Watch it now:

(*The French and Chinese events will be partially in English, with sub-titles on screen).

*The dividend scale interest rate (DSIR) is different from the participating account (PAR) rate of return. The PAR rate of return is the return on the investments in the participating account over the calendar year. The DSIR smooths out the ups and downs of the participating account experience.

Market Comments - October 2024

Key Takeaways for Q3

· Central banks eased monetary policy by reducing their target interest rates.
· Bond markets performed very well during the quarter as interest rates fell.
· Risk markets experienced some volatility, but stock markets had robust returns.
· Canadian stocks outperformed U.S. stocks in Q3, while the sources of returns in the U.S. market were more balanced and diversified than in the first half of the year.

Views From the Frontline

Bond Markets: During the third quarter, interest rates in both Canada and the U.S. moved significantly lower as markets anticipated that the Bank of Canada would continue – and the Federal Reserve would start – cutting rates. Additionally, the expectation became that the central banks would end up lowering rates more aggressively than previously assumed. That’s because inflation data has softened sufficiently to give the central banks the scope to ease policy, and other economic data, especially from the labour market, indicated the need for them to ease policy in order to prevent economic activity from cooling too much. For instance, in Canada, inflation slowed to the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, while the labour market showed warning signs with the unemployment rate rising to 6.6%. The Bank of Canada cut its target interest rate by 0.25% at each of its July and September meetings. Governor Macklem indicated that if growth does not materialize as expected, “it could be appropriate to move faster on interest rates”. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve kicked off its easing cycle by cutting its target rate by 0.50% in September. The growing signs of a cooling labour market amidst slowing inflation motivated the larger-than-typical move. That said, consumer spending in the U.S. continued to be strong, and GDP is still tracking a healthy growth rate.

While interest rates fell, bonds returns were also boosted by solid behaviour of corporate bonds. Credit spreads (i.e. the risk premium for corporate bonds versus government bonds) continued to grind lower over the quarter. Tightening credit spreads reflected the generally positive risk-on tone to the market, despite some volatility. Lower-rated BBB bonds performed better than higher-quality A-rated bonds. Credit spreads have now generally fallen back to levels that are largely consistent with the tight post-pandemic levels experienced in 2021. The on-going appetite of investors for the extra yield offered by corporate bonds over government bonds is indicated not just by falling credit spreads, but also by investors’ enthusiasm to support the primary issuance market. Corporate bond supply continues to be very robust, with $29B (billion) in new issuance during the quarter, resulting in an impressive $119B issued year-to-date, a new record. Nonetheless, on balance, we do not think the current risk premium adequately compensates for downside risk, particularly in longer-dated corporate bonds, and have a bias towards shorter-dated credit where we view the risk / reward trade-off as being more favourable.

Stock Markets: In the U.S., we continue to caution against heavily concentrated sources of market returns and emphasize a diversified portfolio. Last quarter, diversification proved essential as a multitude of factors heightened market volatility. These factors – which included the unwind of the yen carry trade, investor reactions to mixed mega-cap earnings, and concerns of a slowing labour market – drove investors away from mega-cap technology names and into defensive areas of the market. Following the Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce interest rates by 0.5%, sources of investment returns continued to broaden as investors rotated into economically-sensitive baskets. Underpinned by decelerating inflation and easing monetary policy, we believe the rotation away from the mega-cap tech names is likely to persist and we continue to emphasize portfolio diversification. In Canada, high-quality, high-yielding businesses – composed of the financial sector and non-financial dividend payers – outperformed over the quarter as investors rewarded companies that demonstrated a strong ability to sustain dividends, as well as greater efficiency generating profits. While we continue to favour these businesses, we have taken profit on our financial sector dividend exposure after a sharp reversion in the premium between value creation and current yield. In addition, Chinese officials introduced a wave of stimulus to revitalize growth, bringing life back to the metals and luxury goods sectors. Accordingly, Canadian and European equities have benefitted recently.

Market Update

Rates & Credit: In Q3, interest rates in both Canada and the U.S. decreased significantly, with front-end interest rates declining faster than long-end interest rates amid cooling inflation and a weakening labour market. As a result, the FTSE Canada Universe Index posted a positive return of 4.7%. Coincidentally, Canadian corporate bonds and government bonds each also generated returns of 4.7%, totally in-line with the Universe index. On the other hand, despite short-term interest rates falling much more than long-term interest rates, the higher price sensitivity of long-dated bonds had them outperform shorter-dated bonds, with the Long-Term bond index up 5.8% while the Short-Term bond index gained 3.4%. Similarly, within corporate bonds, industries that have longer-dated debt (e.g. energy and infrastructure) outperformed those that tend to have shorter-dated debt (e.g. real estate and financials).

Equity Overview: Underpinned by decelerating inflation data and easing monetary policy – including the outsize 50-basis cut from the Federal Reserve – prospects for an economic soft landing increased over the quarter. That favourable outlook spurred global equity markets to all-time highs, with previously lagging areas of the market narrowing the performance gap compared to the U.S. mega-cap technology names that had led returns in the first half of the year. Canadian equities outperformed their U.S. counterpart last quarter, rising 10.5% as strength in the banking and materials sectors pushed the index higher. Major developed markets from Europe, Australasia, and the Far East (EAFE) were more subdued, gaining 0.9% (in local currency terms) last quarter. That said, grand expectations for further interest rate cuts in the U.S. pushed the greenback to its lowest level in over a year, boosting EAFE returns to over 7% in U.S. dollar terms. Within the U.S., sources of market returns broadened as well, with investors rotating out of concentrated AI companies and into more economically sensitive businesses.

U.S. Fundamentals: Outside of the Magnificent 7, investors are interpreting downside earnings surprises as a normalization of financial performance rather than a deterioration. For example, McDonald’s share price rallied over 17% into quarter-end following its earnings release despite announcing declining sales and contracting earnings per share. Within the AI-ecosystem, investors are beginning to look for opportunities beyond chip manufacturers, such as nuclear energy providers. At an index level, our work shows that members of the Russell 1000 index, excluding the Mag-7, posted a median earnings growth of nearly 9% year-over-year, expanding from the ~6% witnessed in Q2. Furthermore, the number of companies from this group reporting positive earnings growth grew to approximately 67%, up from 60% in the prior quarter. In our view, the ongoing broadening of earnings strength outside of the Mag-7 can provide tailwinds to current market rotations into previously left-behind companies. Within the mega-cap tech space, investors have become more discriminant than in prior quarters, rewarding businesses with greater success monetizing their AI-investments. This trend was evident through the divergence of returns from IBM and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) following their quarterly earnings.

U.S. Quant Factors: Decelerating U.S. inflation data prompted a rotation out of highly concentrated areas of the market (growth) and into more economically-sensitive companies (value). Then, concerns of a slowing U.S. labour market and the unwind of the yen carry trade increased market volatility, leading investors to shelter their positions by reallocating to low volatility. As the quarter progressed, expectations of easing monetary policy and stabilizing employment data helped calm return to the market and the rotation from mega-cap tech sector resumed, albeit at a lesser pace. Notably, this “catch-up” trade also benefitted dividend-paying companies, particularly those with a lengthy and established history of increasing dividends, as investors favoured those more mature operations.

Canadian Fundamentals: Investors returned to the Canadian market after Canadian companies showed signs of recovery last quarter with earnings expanding by more than expected. With inflation showing clearer signs of deceleration and the outlook regarding the path of monetary policy increasingly implying lower interest rates going forward, investors are allocating toward high-quality, dividend-paying companies. From a sector level, surging gold prices provided a tailwind for Canadian miners, helping the materials sector outperform over the quarter. More recently, the materials sector has benefitted from elevated base metal prices following the arrival of Chinese stimulus. In contrast, oil prices declined over 16% last quarter as fears of an oversupplied market swelled following speculation that OPEC+ would look to dial back production cuts. As a result, investors looked past lingering geopolitical risks and the energy sector underperformed.

Canadian Quant Factors: Amid an improving Canadian macroeconomic backdrop and clearer outlook on the trajectory of monetary policy, dividend-yielding businesses became sought after. More specifically, investors continued to emphasize dividend sustainability last quarter, rewarding dividend-paying businesses that demonstrated strong financial performance and the ability to support future payouts. For example, the major Canadian banks sharply outperformed in Q3 after reporting earnings growth that mostly exceeded expectations. In essence, investors have become more constructive on this high-yielding group as their ability to create value relative to financing costs improves.

Downloadable Copy

Mark Warywoda, CFA VP, Public Portfolio Management	Ian Whiteside, CFA, MBA AVP, Public Portfolio Management	Johanna Shaw, CFA Director, Portfolio Management	Jin Li Director, Equity Portfolio Management
Tyler Farrow, CFA Senior Analyst, Equity	Andrew Vermeer Senior Analyst, Credit	Elizabeth Ayodele Analyst, Credit	Francie Chen Analyst, Rates

ADVISOR USE ONLY

Any statements contained herein that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements represent the portfolio manager’s best judgment as of the present date as to what may occur in the future. However, forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, and are based on the portfolio manager’s present opinions and views. For this reason, the actual outcome of the events or results predicted may differ materially from what is expressed. Furthermore, the portfolio manager’s views, opinions or assumptions may subsequently change based on previously unknown information, or for other reasons. Equitable® assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained herein. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully and not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Investments may increase or decrease in value and are invested at the risk of the investor. Investment values change frequently, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Professional advice should be sought before an investor embarks on any investment strategy.

Claims payments and notifications will go fully digital on July 1, 2023 We are committed to providing a better benefits experience. We have secure and convenient digital options to make it easier for plan members to access and use their benefits plan, including EquitableHealth.ca and the EZClaim Mobile app.

Most plan members are already using these tools to set up email claim notifications and direct deposit. They get their claim updates faster and their claims paid more quickly, right into their bank account.

To help ensure that all plan members benefit from faster claim payments and notifications, we are making these services fully digital as of July 1, 2023. That means, in most cases, we will no longer mail paper claim cheques or explanation of benefits (EOB) notifications.**

Plan members who haven’t already activated direct deposit and email notifications will need to activate these services via their plan member account on EquitableHealth.ca.
How we’ll help plan members get set up
Fortunately, it’s simple for plan members to set up these features. And it only takes a few minutes. To make it even easier, we’ve created a Plan Member Guide to Getting Started Online. It includes simple instructions to help plan members use our digital features and get the most from their benefits plan.

We have also created a toolkit that plan administrators can email to their plan members to walk them through the simple steps. Access the toolkit here.

And we’re available to guide plan members who may need help. They can call us at 1.800.265.4556 and select “Plan Member Web Support”. Our Client Care Centre Team is happy to help them activate these services.
How we’ll communicate with plan members
We will start communicating this change to plan members in April. For plan members who aren’t taking advantage of these convenient features, we will send them an email to let them know about the change, with instructions and support on getting set up.

We will also include an insert with all mailings of paper cheques and EOB notifications sent out. And we will post an announcement and banner on EquitableHealth.ca to let plan members know about the change.

How we’ll support plan members who need extra help or accommodations
After July 1, 2023, we will follow up with plan members who have not yet activated direct deposit or email notifications for their claims and provide any extra help and support they may need. And, of course, we’ll make exceptions for plan members who aren’t willing or reasonably able to use these features.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

** Disability claimants will continue to receive paper Explanation of Benefits notifications in the mail. Some pay-direct drug claims will also continue to be paid by cheque.

Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – October 2020

In this issue:

Group benefits enrolment just got a lot easier*
Critical Illness added to myFlex Benefits® selection tool**
ASO dental available down to 3 lives
QDIPC updates terms and conditions for 2021*

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
**Indicates content that will be shared with myFlex Benefits groups only

Group benefits enrolment just got a lot easier*

Our Online Plan Member Enrolment tool now makes it simple to add new employees to the benefits plan.

Enrolling new plan members can be overwhelming – for both you, your clients and their employees. It’s challenging to ensure plan members complete the necessary paperwork before the enrolment deadline, and time consuming to manually load new members.

That’s why we’re updating our plan member enrolment experience. Beginning November 2^nd, 2020, all Equitable Life groups will be able to easily enrol new employees in the benefits plan with our Online Plan Member Enrolment Tool.

Benefits of Online Plan Member Enrolment

Our Online Plan Member Enrolment tool offers a more secure and efficient option to traditional paper enrolment. Employees are able to enrol in their benefits plan in just minutes from their computer or mobile device.

The user-friendly interface was built with the plan member in mind. They can easily enter all their enrolment information, including dependent details, banking information for direct deposit of claim payments and details for coordination of benefits. They can even designate their beneficiary electronically.

The online enrolment tool also lessens the effort for plan administrators to onboard new hires. The tool reduces errors and rework that can occur due to spelling mistakes or missing information on paper forms. And the days of chasing plan members for their paper enrolment forms are gone. Once they enter a few employee details, our system will automatically send out an email to each plan member, inviting them to enrol in their benefits program. And there will be no need to send reminders or follow up with employees about their benefits enrolment. It’s all done automatically.

Online plan member enrolment is available to all traditional and myFlex Benefits plan administrators with update access beginning November 2^nd, 2020. Plan administrators just choose “New” from the “Certificate” view in EquitableHealth.ca to get started.

This enhancement is for plan administrators who have update access on EquitableHealth.ca. If your clients are not sure if they have update access, they can contact their Equitable Life Client Relationship Specialist or myFlex Benefits Team for support.

Learn More

We’ve created Online Plan Member Enrolment User Guides to support your clients and their plan members with this new tool:

We’re also offering a series of webinars to help your clients learn about Online Plan Member Enrolment. Plan administrators will receive an invitation with links to register for the time that best suits their schedule.

Help your clients spend less time administering group benefits. Contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager to learn more about our enhanced online plan member enrolment.

Critical Illness added to myFlex Benefits selection tool*

For many employers, mandatory Critical Illness (CI) coverage is an important part of their group benefits package. It provides proactive protection against life-altering illness, helping give plan members and their families a sense of security.

While CI is available on myFlex Benefits plans, it was not built into our benefits selection tool since there is no action required by the plan member.

Beginning November 2^nd, 2020, we are adding a CI page to the myFlex Benefits selection tool that appears when this coverage is included as part of the plan. There are no options to choose – plan members simply review their CI coverage and carry on with the benefits selection process. It keeps the process smooth, while ensuring plan members fully appreciate their employer’s contributions.

Adding CI to the benefits selection tool also simplifies the budgeting process for employers. Now that CI is included in the selection tool, employers no longer need to break out the amount billed for CI from their contribution per employee when loading flex allocations.

To learn more about our myFlex Benefits selection tool or Critical Illness coverage for myFlex Benefits, contact your myFlex Sales Manager.

ASO dental available down to 3 lives

Beginning November 2^nd, 2020, groups with as few as three full-time employees will be able to self-insure their Equitable Life dental benefits with an Administrative Services Only (ASO) funding arrangement.

Currently, dental benefits are only available on an ASO basis for groups with 20 lives or more.

In an ASO arrangement, Equitable Life administers the benefits plan but does not insure it. The plan sponsor pays for all eligible claims, as well as the expenses of administering the plan.

Why ASO?

Choosing an ASO funding arrangement allows plan sponsors to save on premiums. With a traditional insured funding arrangement, a portion of every premium dollar includes a charge for the risk that the insurer is assuming to cover the claims.

With an ASO arrangement, the plan sponsor assumes all risk, so they avoid the risk charge. And since dental claims are usually more predictable than other benefits, there is typically less risk involved in covering those claims.

For more information, contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

QDIPC updates terms and conditions for 2021*

Every year, the Quebec Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation (QDIPC) reviews the terms and conditions for the high-cost pooling system in the province. Based on its latest review, QDIPC is revising its pooling levels and fees for 2021 to reflect trends in the volume of claims submitted to the pool, particularly catastrophic claims.

Size of group (# of certificates)	Threshold per certificate 2021	Annual factor (without dependents)	Annual factor (with dependents)
Fewer than 25	$8,000	$251.00	$691.00
25 - 49	$16,500	$165.00	$455.00
50 - 124	$32,500	$94.00	$258.00
125 - 249	$47,500	$68.00	$187.00
250 - 499	$72,000	$49.00	$135.00
500 - 999	$95,000	$40.00	$111.00
1,000 - 3,999	$120,000	$35.00	$95.00
4,000 - 5,999	$300,000	$16.00	$44.00
6,000 and over	Free market - Groups not subject to Quebec Industry Pooling	Free market - Groups not subject to Quebec Industry Pooling	Free market - Groups not subject to Quebec Industry Pooling

We will apply the new pooling levels and fees to future renewal calculations that involve Quebec plan members.

A New Universal Life Solution for the 21st Century – Coming Soon
Introducing a new Universal Life solution built for the 21st century: Equitable Generations™ universal life insurance will be available for sale September 26, 2022.

Check out our Equitable Generations universal life splash page: www.equitable.ca/ul

Our new Equitable Generations
Equitable Generations is a Universal Life product that offers investment options that resonate with today’s 21^st century client while reducing every fee possible. It also reduces the cost of insurance to help clients maximize their opportunity to purchase coverage and build tax-advantaged wealth.

Features of Equitable Generations:
- 34 fund options, including 18 new investment options, tracking funds managed by Fidelity™, Dynamic™, Invesco™ and more.
- 3 sustainable investment “ESG” (Environmental, Social & Governance) options – because today’s buyer cares as much about impact as they do about returns.
- Target date funds that auto-rebalance over time so that as a client approaches retirement, the fund adjusts its risk automatically.
- A lower cost insurance with no policy fee, with the opportunity to purchase insurance protection, more opportunity to build wealth, or both.
Supporting you at claim time with KIND™

This service will include the following components:
● Living Benefit
● Bereavement Counselling benefit
● Snap Advance*
● Compassionate Advance*

^*Snap Advance and Compassionate Advance are non-contractual and may be altered or terminated by Equitable Life at any time without notice.

New illustration software available
The updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 6, and will include the new Equitable Generations product. See the Equitable Sales Illustrations Update for information on how to download the software or check for updates.

Learn more
Transition rules are available

Check out our Equitable Generations universal life splash page: www.equitable.ca/ul

Watch for more information and get ready to sell Equitable Generations universal life as it becomes available on September 26.

Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information.

Invesco® and all associated trademarks are trademarks of Invesco Holding Company Limited, used under licence. Invesco is a registered business name of Invesco Canada Ltd.
Dynamic Funds is a registered trademark of its owner, used under license, and a division of 1832 Asset Management L.P.
Fidelity is a registered trademark of 483A Bay Street Holdings LP. Used with permission.
Equitable Life, Equitable Life of Canada, KIND and Equitable Generations are registered trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
Manage more details within Contract Delivery for New Business applications We are excited to announce further enhancements to our eDelivery process to empower you, the advisor, the ability to manage client details more easily within Contract Delivery.

Effective January 15, 2022, advisors will need to create a Password within Contract Delivery when choosing “eDelivery” as the contract delivery method and provide the password to the client to use as their password:

The Password must be between 4 and 100 alpha/numeric characters, and cannot be the Policy number. For multiple signers the password (and email address) must be unique per each signer.

Advisors can now edit and/or update an email address within Contract Delivery, in the event of a bounce back or email change, to keep the eDelivery process moving and avoid delays in processing time. If a lock out occurs, advisors can trigger a resend of the signing email once they add a new valid email address in Contract Delivery. Simply click the pencil icon beside the Email field to enter the valid email address:

Another new feature- in the event a client has declined, the advisor will get an email from Equitable Life^®. Click through to EquiNet^® within the email to view the message within Contract Delivery that the client provided as the reason for decline under a new “Declined Details” section. This enables you to connect with the client to proceed with the sale by discussing the reasons for decline with them directly.

Also new for clients with this enhancement, policy owners of a policy created after January 15 will be able to see a PDF copy of their policy within client access. Note: this PDF copy is as the policy was originally issued.

Resources:
- eDelivery of a Contract - New Business
- eDelivery FAQ
Things keep getting EZer with Equitable and EZtransact! Equitable® continues to make great strides with our digital self-serve tool, EZtransact^®. To keep this momentum, we’ve given EZtransact a fresh new look and feel, with additional transaction management changes and a new dashboard to enhance your online transaction experience! This refresh embraces our new brand, as we continue to focus on making it easier for you to do business with us.

What’s new with this update?
New dashboard for client search
- The existing client search screen has been replaced with a new user-friendly dashboard.
- Upon accessing EZtransact, all contracts associated with the user’s EquiNet ID will be displayed.
- Users can refine the results and search by client name or contract number.
Transaction management
- Transactions submitted through EZtransact within the last 12 months are available, including their status.
- Transactions that have received all signatures will now allow the user to download a copy of the signed request and any supporting documents uploaded by the user.
- Transactions that are pending client signatures will allow the user to manage and track the e-signature process:
  - Signing packages can be resent to clients who have not completed their e-signature.
  - Clients can be unlocked through the dashboard if locked out due to too many invalid attempts.
Signing process changes
- Advisor and dealer/MGA stakeholders have been removed from signing information and review screens.
- Users are no longer required to provide an email address for the dealer/MGA to submit a transaction.
Get to know EZtransact and fast-forward your sales process. If you have any questions, please contact your Director, Investment Sales

Date published: October 3, 2024
[pdf] Ownership Change Form
[pdf] Gradual Inheritance Strategy
[pdf] myFlex Options Guide

Site Search

698 results for browse official page MAKEMUR.COM Paying to get my daughter out of jail now pay later West Virginia

How we’ll help plan members get set up

How we’ll communicate with plan members

How we’ll support plan members who need extra help or accommodations

Questions?