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Give clients guaranteed retirement income with Payout Annuities
With increased market volatility and interest rates higher than we have seen for much of the past decade, now is a great time to consider payout annuities. Payout annuities can provide regular guaranteed income regardless of how markets perform.

Clients using only a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) for retirement income are potentially vulnerable during times of market volatility due to the sequence-of-returns risk.¹ When markets are down, more units are redeemed to cover income needs. When markets later rise, clients are not able to participate fully in the recovery because more units were redeemed to provide income. That is why having a guaranteed income component, like a payout annuity, as part of an overall retirement strategy is so important.

Three great reasons to consider Equitable Life® for your payout annuity business:

1. Choose from a variety of payout annuity options including:

A. Life Annuity – guaranteed income for one life
B. Joint Life Annuity – guaranteed income for two lives
C. Term Certain – guaranteed income for a specific period of time (5 to 30 years)
D. Term Certain to Age 90 – guaranteed income until age 90

2. Attractive rates, particularly in Registered and Term Certain Annuities

3. Step Up Your Wealth Sales program - 25% of payout annuity net sales qualify for the 0.75% bonus commission earned on net deposits for 2022²

For more information, please contact your Equitable Life Regional Investment Sales Manager.

¹Sequence-of-returns risk, or sequence risk, is the risk that an investor will experience negative portfolio returns very late in their working life and/or early in retirement.
²All eligible deposits, sales, and redemptions occurring between January 1 and December 31, 2022, will be used to calculate an advisor’s 2022 net deposits.
® denotes a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.

January 2024 eNews

In this issue:

Equitable scores high marks with group advisors*
REMINDER: Equitable's National Biosimilar Program starts in March*
2024 dental fee guide updates*
Homewood Health wins HR Reporter Reader's Choice award for EFAP excellence*

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients.

Equitable scores high marks with group advisors*

Equitable ranked first for operational service among major group insurers in a recent study of Canadian group benefits advisors.

NMG Consulting, a leading global consulting firm, conducted in-depth interviews with 146 Canadian group benefits brokers, consultants, MGAs and third-party administrators between May and August 2023 for its annual Canadian Group Benefits Study. Based on these interviews, NMG ranked group insurers in six categories, ranging from operational management to technology.

Nationally, Equitable ranked among the top three in five of the six main categories, including number one for Operational Management:

Category	Ranking
Operational management	1st
Initiatives (including seminars & training)	2nd
Technology	3rd
Underwriting & claims management	3rd
Relationship management	3rd

“Advisors regard us highly in many categories. That’s a testament to our mutual status and ability to focus exclusively on our clients and advisor partnerships,” said Marc Avaria, Executive Vice President, Group Insurance Division. “We are truly working together to build strong, enduring and aligned partnerships with our clients and advisors.”

“We’re delighted with these results and are committed to continuously advancing our delivery of a better benefits experience for our clients and advisors,” added Avaria.

More highlights from the latest NMG survey

Nationally, we ranked first in seven subcategories in Operational Management, including:

Overall service to intermediaries,
Overall service to plan sponsors,
New quote process,
Plan implementation,
Renewal process,
Accuracy and timeliness of reporting and billing, and
Administration quality and responsiveness

In Underwriting and Claims Management, we finished in the top three for flexibility of underwriting (2nd).

And we were rated strongly in Technology, finishing in the top three for:

Overall technology for Intermediary (2nd)
Member experience (3rd)
Quality of technology for the plan sponsor (2nd)
Quality of mobile application (2nd)

REMINDER: Equitable's National Biosimilar Program starts in March*

In October 2023 we announced the upcoming launch of our national biosimilar program. Starting March 1, 2024, we are expanding our biosimilar switch initiatives to provide a single, nationwide** program. 

Why we’re making the switch

Over the past few years, most provinces have introduced policies to delist some originator biologic drugs. They require most patients to switch to biosimilar versions of those drugs to be eligible for coverage under their public drug plans. Soon, it is expected that all provincial drug plans will cover only biosimilars.

Equitable’s National Biosimilar Program simplifies drug plan coverage by replacing our provincial programs. It also protects clients from additional drug costs while offering access to lower-cost biosimilars deemed equally safe and effective by Health Canada.

How will this affect clients' drug plans?

Because we have already introduced biosimilar switch initiatives in most provinces, the impact of this change will be minimal. It will primarily affect plan members in provinces or territories where we haven’t already required the switch to biosimilars. It will also affect plan members who are taking biosimilars that were not originally included in the switch initiative for their province.    

Regardless of where they live, plan members across Canada will no longer be eligible for most originator biologic drugs if they have a condition for which Health Canada has approved a lower-cost biosimilar version of the drug. Plan members already taking the originator biologic will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable plan. We will support their transition with education, personalized communication, and resources. 

Advance notice for plan members

We contacted affected claimants in early December to give them enough time to change their prescriptions 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 Account Executive.    
 ** Excludes plan members in Quebec who participate in a separate provincial program. 

2024 dental fee guide updates*

Each year, Provincial and Territorial Dental Associations publish fee guides. Equitable uses these guides to help determine the reimbursement limits for dental procedures.

For your reference, you may wish to refer to the 2024 list of the average dental fee increases for general practitioners.

Homewood Health wins HR Reporter Reader's Choice award for EFAP excellence*

Equitable is proud to congratulate our Employee and Family Assistance Plan (EFAP) partner, Homewood Health®, for winning the Canadian HR Reporter 2023 Reader’s Choice Award in Employee Assistance Plan services. Homewood’s EFAP provides confidential support for a range of health, family, money, and work issues through face-to-face, phone, email, chat, or video counselling. The award recognizes their high standards in counselling and mental health support services.

The annual Reader’s Choice Awards identify organizations that provide outstanding expertise and services for HR professionals and employers across Canada. Those organizations provide valuable information on useful, innovative HR and employee benefits products and programs, in categories such as recruitment, mental health services, employee engagement programs, and more.

Sharing Homewood Health with your clients

Since 2019, we have worked with Homewood to provide mental health services for Equitable benefits plan members.

Your clients can access Homewood Health’s award-winning EFAP for an additional fee by adding it to their benefits plan. Services are available 24/7, 365 days a year.

All Equitable clients also have free access to Homewood Health Online in their benefits plan. Homewood Online provides a variety of helpful wellness resources, including:

Homeweb, an online and mobile health and wellness portal,
Health Risk Assessment, a group of assessment tools to help plan members identify and overcome health and wellness barriers, and
Online Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) through Sentio to manage symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.

Questions

To learn more about Homewood Health’s services, contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Account Executive.

[pdf] Life Quick Reference Guide
[pdf] CLHIA MGA Compliance Survey
The Equitable Gives Back Contest – Start spreading the word! Equitable Life of Canada is celebrating our 100^th Anniversary in 2020, and we’re busy planning a year of events and activities so we can celebrate this significant milestone with our employees, clients, wholesalers and advisors across Canada.

A big part of who we are as a company is our commitment to help strengthen the communities where we operate by supporting a variety of charitable initiatives that help to improve the quality of life for the people living there. We are proud to launch the Equitable Gives Back Contest. Our goal is to give $10,000 to five registered charities operating in Canada.

All it takes to enter is an original essay (not less than 100 words, not more than 500) describing the way in which a charitable organization could use $10,000 to help further their charitable purpose and improve life for Canadians.

Reach out to your clients, tell them about the contest, and encourage them to visit www.equitable100.ca to see if they are eligible! All entries must be submitted by March 31, 2020.
Death Claim Requirements
Reframing retirement with help from Equitable and the Franklin Templeton Academy Equitable^® Savings & Retirement and Franklin Templeton Academy have teamed up again with two pre-recorded On-Demand webcasts that can help you reframe retirement goals and planning discussions with clients.

Rethinking Retirement Income
The traditional view of retirement income assumes clients will need a specific percentage of their annual pre-retirement income through their senior years. In this session you will learn how our notions of retirement have changed over the years, the difference between the traditional and goals-based planning approaches, and how we can help you implement a goals-based retirement income planning strategy.

Register to watch

Ethics of Aging
According to Statistics Canada, by 2036, Canadians aged 65 and older are estimated to represent 24% of our total population. In this session, you will learn about challenges that come with aging, helping clients prepare for the worst, and identifying and handling elder financial abuse.

Register to watch

Join your host, Joseph Trozzo, Investment Sales Vice President, Equitable, along with guest speaker Jocelyn Duncan, Senior Learning Consultant with the Franklin Templeton Academy, to reframe retirement and help clients develop a strategic retirement mindset.

Continuing Education Credits
These webcasts have been accredited for 1 Life continuing education (CE) credit for all provinces excluding Quebec via the Insurance Council of Manitoba and Alberta Insurance Council. To be eligible for CE credits, you must register individually, watch the webcast in full and complete a short quiz. These webcasts are available in English only.

Date posted: December 19, 2024
International Women’s Day
Reflecting on inclusion in our industry

International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to pause and think about how we support the women clients we serve. In wealth management, inclusion is not just a theme for one day a year — it plays a critical role in building stronger relationships and long‑term business growth.

Our recent Master Class – From Insight to Inclusion: Engaging Women Investors with Confidence –reinforced this.

The 60-minute session, featuring Susan Silma, Client Experience Transformation Leader and industry speaker and columnist, looked at why many women still feel under‑served in our industry and what advisors can do to create a more engaging and supportive experience.

Here are a few key takeaways from the conversation:

•  Inclusion strengthens your practice. When women feel heard and understood, trust grows —and so does loyalty.

•  Start with better conversations. Susan shared ways to turn research and insights into everyday discussions that feel relevant and meaningful to women.

•  Consistency builds confidence. A clear, repeatable process for prospecting, onboarding and reviewing plans with women clients helps ensure they feel included from day one.

Did you know: 82% of advisors who attended the live Master Class identified the need to add more women clients to their business.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it is a good reminder that creating a space where women feel comfortable, informed and valued benefits everyone — and positions your practice for long‑term success.

If you missed the session — or would like to revisit the ideas — the Master Class recording is now available on demand. On behalf of everyone at Equitable, Happy International Women’s Day, Canada!

Date posted: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Path to Success Module 5
Savings & Retirement Policy and Procedure updates regarding Electronic Signatures We have updated our policies and procedures regarding electronic signatures in the Savings and Retirement department. We are now able to accept electronically signed documents, from all major third-party signing vendors.

Including esign@equitable.ca as a non-signing reviewer is the preferred method as it ensures the security embedded documents are accurately and immediately available for Equitable. We will be automatically notified when signing is complete and will download eSigned forms immediately for processing. Including esign@equitable.ca as a non-signing reviewer is secure, quick, and efficient. Documents no longer need to be emailed to us – eSigned documents are sent directly to us once all signatures are completed, therefore you do not need to notify us once the documents are signed.

When esign@equitable.ca is not used to submit electronically signed documents, the following criteria are required:
- The original signed form and audit trail with all the security features intact
- The email address used to sign must match what is in our files (as provided on the application, for electronic policy delivery or through previous communication). If an email address has changed, or we don’t have an email contact for the signer, we will follow up for confirmation.
A guide on how to use esign@equitable.ca can be found here.

Please note that Equitable does not accept digital signatures (images or fonts of a signature which are not stamped).

Date posted: June 13, 2024