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  1. Equitable Life Savings & Retirement Webinar Series welcomes Fidelity Investments Canada. In 2021, Equitable Life’s S&R team will spotlight various aspects of our competitive fund lineup and product offerings. Each webinar in the series will feature a new topic. This series will also give advisors an opportunity to:
    • learn more about various products and product features,
    • hear from industry professionals,
    • learn about investment strategies; and so much more.
     
    This month, Equitable Life welcomes David Tulk, Portfolio Manager, and Ilan Kolet, Institutional Portfolio Manager from Fidelity Investments Canada®, who will highlight the Fidelity Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios. These portfolios will be part of the Pivotal Select™ lineup, launching June 7, 2021.
     

    Learn More

  2. Equitable Life Savings & Retirement Webinar Series featuring Dynamic Funds

    In 2022, Equitable Life’s® S&R team will continue to spotlight various aspects of our competitive fund lineup and product offerings. Each webinar in the series features a new topic. This series gives advisors an opportunity to:

    • learn more about products and product features,

    • hear from industry professionals,

    • learn about investment strategies; and so much more.

    This month, Equitable Life welcomes David L. Fingold, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, 1832 Asset Management L.P.
     
    Learn More!
     

  3. A new look and feel for EZtransact, our digital self-serve tool We’re excited to introduce a new look and feel for EZtransact™, our digital self-serve tool.  EZtransact allows you to:
    • •  Help a client set up a one-time or recurring deposit or edit an existing pre-authorized debit.
    • •  Manage client segregated fund policies conveniently and eliminate the hassle of filling out forms and facilitating signatures.
     
    EZtransact now has a simplified and modern design that will make managing pre-authorized debit requests even easier!
     
    Check out EZtransact. And stay tuned for more exciting digital enhancements coming soon!
     
    If you have any questions, please contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager. 

    Posted November 27, 2023
  4. Equitable can help clients this tax season

    It is tax time and clients should be receiving tax slips and deposit receipts by now.

    Check out the Tax Slips: A Quick Reference Guide which gives a taxation breakdown by product. Review Insights into Non-Registered Taxation offering a detailed explanation on investment income, and why T3 tax slips generate on non-registered segregated funds.

    Do clients have questions about contribution limits? Retirement Income Fund minimums? or Canada pension maximums? Check out Equitable’s handy 2024 Facts & Figures guide.

    If you have further questions,  please contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager or one of our Client Services Representatives at 1.866.884.7427.  

    Posted February 23, 2024

  5. [pdf] Children's CI - Forced Savings for Education
  6. Savings & Retirement Forms and Resources
  7. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – November 2021 In this issue: *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

    Reminder: Deadline to opt out of New Brunswick biosimilar program*

    Earlier this year, we announced via eNews that on Feb. 1, 2022, we are ending coverage for some originator biologic drugs in New Brunswick in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative.* These changes will help protect your clients’ plans from additional drug costs while still providing access to equally safe and effective biosimilars.
     
    Do my clients need to take any action?
    No action is required if employers want to have the originator biologics excluded from their plan. Plan members taking these targeted originator biologics will be contacted directly to allow them ample time to transition to the biosimilar. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.
     
    All groups, except myFlex clients, who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for existing claimants in New Brunswick can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than Nov. 30, 2021.
     
    Advisors with myFlex Benefits clients who wish to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for New Brunswick plan members should speak to their myFlex Sales Manager to confirm their eligibility to opt out of this change.
     
    Groups that opt out of this change are also opting out of any future changes to our New Brunswick biosimilar initiative. This means that their drug plans will continue to cover any additional originator biologics for which we subsequently end coverage as part of the biosimilar program.
     
    Questions?
    If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact your Equitable Life Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
     
    * The list of affected drugs or conditions is dynamic and may change.

    Web Reports Quick Reference Guide now available for plan administrators

    A Web Reports Quick Reference Guide is now available for plan administrators on EquitableHealth.ca. This new guide offers a listing of our newest reports available on the plan administrator web. It also provides instructions for plan administrators outlining how to pull the report using the plan administrator portal.
     
    The guide is available under the Quick Links section on both the advisor and plan administrator portals on EquitableHealth.ca.

    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. Please review all your plan members’ profiles on EquitableHealth.ca to ensure they have received their allocation(s) for the current benefit year.
     
    If your clients have Plan Administrator update access on EquitableHealth.ca, they can update these amounts online by doing the following:
    • Select “View certificate”
    • Select “Health Care Spending Account” or “Taxable Spending Account”
    • Select “Update Allocation” in Task Center
    • Enter amount in “Revised Allocation Amount”
    • Override Reason – “Plan Administrator Request”
    • Select “Save”
    If your clients have Plan Administrator reporting access on EquitableHealth.ca, they can determine which plan members have a zero allocation by running the “HCSA Totals by Plan Member” report online by doing the following:
    • Select “Reports”
    • Select “New”
    • Select “Next”
    • Select “HCSA” or “TSA Totals by Plan Member”
    • Select “Next”
    • Enter end date of “12/31/2020”
    • Select “Next”
    • Select “Finish”
    • View “Report”
    To provide us with the amounts to be updated, please have your client contact our Group Benefits Administration Team at GroupBenefitsAdmin@equitable.ca.

    Help your clients take advantage of our convenient digital options*

    We have several digital options available to make it easier for your clients to do business with us and for their plan members to access and use their benefits plan. Over 71% of plan administrators are managing their plan online and 78% of plan members are already using our digital tools.
     
    For plan administrators:
    • Online Plan Member Enrolment tool – allows all groups to add new plan members without the need for paper forms
    • Plan Administrator Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan administrators can easily manage their plan anytime and anywhere
    • Digital Welcome Kits – personalized welcome kits are delivered to plan members via email
    • Easy automated payments – plan administrators can avoid missed payments by setting up pre-authorized debit or electronic funds transfer
    For plan members:
    • Plan Member Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan members get secure, 24/7 access to their claims history, coverage details and health and wellness resources
    • Electronic Claim Payments and Notifications – plan members can get claim updates sooner in their email inbox and payments right into their bank account
    • EZClaim Mobile App – submitting claims from a mobile device is fast, easy and secure
    • Digital Benefits Cards – plan members no longer have to dig through their wallet – they can download their benefits card on their mobile device
    We can help
    We’ve created a brochure and a video guide to help plan members access and use their digital resources. For further assistance, plan members can visit www.equitable.ca/go/digital. They can also contact our Web Services team at 1.800.265.4556 ext. 283 or groupbenefitsadmin@equitable.ca.
  8. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – March 2022 In this issue: *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
     

    CLHIA launches industry anti-fraud initiative*

    In February, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) announced a new anti-fraud initiative that is using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to further identify and reduce benefits fraud.
     
    Equitable Life is excited to be a part of this important initiative. It will enhance our own fraud detection analytics by using AI to connect the dots across a huge pool of anonymized claims data. This will lead to more investigations and actions to mitigate the impact of fraud on your clients’ plans.
     
    The initiative is being led by the CLHIA and member insurers and is supported by technology provider Shift Technologies. It will be further rolled-out and expanded over the next three years.
     
    Benefits fraud affects more than just insurers. The costs of fraud are felt by employers and their employees as well. We are looking forward to being able to better identify and reduce benefits fraud.
     

    Provincial biosimilar update*

    BC expands its biosimilar initiative
    BC Pharmacare recently announced it is adding two rapid-acting insulins to the list of drugs included in its ongoing initiative to switch patients to biosimilar versions of high-cost biologics. Patients taking Humalog or NovoRapid for Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drugs by May 29, 2022 to maintain coverage under the public plan.

    Biologics are drugs that are engineered using living organisms like yeast and bacteria. The first version of a biologic developed is also known as the “originator” biologic. Biosimilars are also biologics. They are highly similar to the originator biologic drugs they are based on, and Health Canada considers them to be equally safe and effective for approved conditions.

    How we are responding to protect our clients
    To help prevent this change from resulting in additional costs for our clients’ drug plans while still providing plan members with access to safe and effective medications, we will no longer cover Humalog or NovoRapid for plan members in BC. Effective June 1, 2022, claimants currently taking Humalog or NovoRapid will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drugs to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan and their BC Pharmacare plan.

    We will be communicating this change to plan administrators later this week. And we will be communicating with affected claimants in early April to allow ample time to change their prescription and avoid any interruptions in their treatment or their coverage.
    If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

    Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories introduce biosimilar initiatives
    The governments of Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories each recently announced they are launching biosimilar initiatives to switch patients from certain originator biologic drugs to biosimilar versions of the drugs.

    Patients in Nova Scotia using affected originator biologic drugs will have until February 2023 to switch to a biosimilar version of their medications in order to maintain coverage under the province’s public drug plans. Patients in the Northwest Territories will have until June 20, 2022, to switch.

    Equitable Life® actively monitors and investigates all biosimilar policy changes and the ongoing evolution of biosimilar drugs entering Canada.  We will keep you informed of any impact on private drug plans and how we are responding.
     

    Quebec decreasing insurance premium tax*

    The Quebec Government has announced that it plans to decrease its Insurance Premium Tax rates effective April 1, 2022. The premium tax rates for group life and accident and sickness insurance are expected to decrease from 3.48% to 3.3%. The new tax rates will be applied to premiums for the billing period beginning on or after April 1, 2022.
     

    Coming soon: A survey to understand how we can better serve your clients’ needs*

    We are committed to providing your clients and their plan members with industry-leading service. We’ve introduced several enhancements over the past year to make it easier to do business with us. And we’re continually looking for ways to improve.
     
    In the coming weeks, we will conduct a survey of your clients to help us understand how we can better serve them. On March 28, we will send plan administrators an email with a link to the survey. The survey will remain open until the end of the day on April 11 and will take between five and 10 minutes to complete. Please encourage your clients to participate. Their feedback will be confidential, and their responses will help us improve our service and ensure we’re meeting their expectations. We may also follow up with plan administrators directly to address any concerns they’ve identified.
     
    We know your clients’ time is valuable. So, each plan administrator who completes the survey will be entered into a random draw for a chance to win one of 25 prepaid gift cards for $25.
     

    Remind your clients’ plan members in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan to register for Pharmacare*

    If your clients have plan members in British Columbia, Manitoba or Saskatchewan, the provincial government offers a Pharmacare program to support prescription drug costs.  Plan members in these provinces must register for their provincial Pharmacare program to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life drug plan.
     
    Registration is easy! We will send two registration reminder messages directly to plan members’ pharmacists and post them on their Explanation of Benefits. We’ve also created a step-by-step guide that your clients can share with their plan members.
     
    English version
    French version
     
    For more information about the provincial Pharmacare programs, including how plan members can register, please visit:
     
    For British Columbia residents: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare-for-bc-residents  
     
    For Manitoba residents: https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/pharmacare/apply.html
     
    For Saskatchewan residents: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/prescription-drug-plans-and-health-coverage/extended-benefits-and%20drug-plan/drug-cost-assistance#eligibility
     
     
  9. Supporting clients at claim time with KIND Did you know that our KIND™ program is available for new sales of Equitable Generations™ universal life and Equimax® participating whole life?

    In September 2022, we introduced our KIND program with our Equitable Generations launch and in February 2023 we announced the addition of KIND to new sales of Equimax.

    Our KIND program includes:
    ●  Compassionate Advance* - access up to 50% of your coverage to a maximum amount of $100,000 if the insured becomes terminally ill1
    ●  Bereavement Counselling - benefit for beneficiaries up to $1,000 total1
    ●  Snap Advance*- providing immediate access (if needed) of a portion of the death benefit up to $25,000 or the cash value of the policy, whichever is less when a death claim is submitted1
    ●  Living Benefit - tax-free access to the policy cash value in the event of severe disability1 We offer benefits to clients and their heirs with our KIND program. This is an example of our commitment to our clients.

    We offer benefits to clients and their heirs with our KIND program. This is an example of our commitment to our clients.


    To learn more about KIND with Equitable Generation or Equimax, read our our KIND Caring Claim Support Package or contact your local wholesaler.


    View our KIND video on YouTube or Vimeo! 
     
     
    ® and TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
    * Snap Advance and Compassionate Advance are non-contractual and may be altered or terminated by Equitable Life at any time without notice
    1 Subject to meeting the eligibility requirements.
     
  10. Announcing our new Travel Assist provider We are pleased to announce that we are partnering with Trident Global Assistance as our new Travel Assist provider, effective June 1, 2023.
     
    Based in Etobicoke, Ontario, Trident provides travel assistance for thousands of Group Benefits plan members. Trident has an experienced leadership team with decades of combined industry expertise. They have both the operational know-how and global networks to provide your clients and their plan members with 24/7 support for their travel health assistance needs.
     
    No action is required from plan sponsors or plan members. For clients with Travel Assist included in their plan, the transition to Trident will be seamless. The phone numbers for Travel Assist will remain the same and there is no requirement to download a new benefits card.
     
    As we previously announced, Allianz Global Assistance, our current Travel Assist provider, is exiting the Canadian group travel administration market. Allianz will continue to accept and support claims and inquiries received before June 1, 2023. All claims and inquiries received June 1 or later will be supported by Trident.
     
    In the meantime, we are working closely with Allianz and Trident to help ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our clients and their plan members.
     
    If you have any questions about the transition to Trident as our new Travel Assist provider, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.