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Take emotions out of investing
Taking the emotion out of investing can be easier said then done. Most of us at one time or another have decided upon something strictly because of how we felt at the time, not because it was logical or made good financial sense. I am sure most of us have a good story to tell.

When it comes to financial planning, you always want to encourage your clients to be a rational investor and accept that market fluctuation is part of the investment journey. Over the last few months, even the hardiest rational investor has been challenged to accept the market fluctuations. History shows us that this too, shall pass and markets will rise once more. The biggest question asked is always, when?

While no one has a crystal ball with that answer, the best we can do is help our clients understand that when building portfolios, risk is always at the forefront of any good investment strategy. The level of risk is just one of the building blocks to constructing a financial portfolio that will see the client through good times and bad.

Need more help? Equitable Life has created an emotional investing brochure to help your clients manage through these extraordinary times. To download a copy, click here. We have also included a template letter that you can personalize and use to reach out to your clients. To download an editable copy, click here.
Tools to manage mental health
As we all continue to manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to remind your clients of the valuable supports available to help their plan members cope through this challenging time.

Free trusted information and COVID-19 resources

Our partner FeelingBetterNow® is responding to the pandemic by providing trusted public resources that offer mental health support. They are available to anyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and include:
- What to do if you’re anxious or worried about COVID-19;
- Resources for parents and caregivers; and
- National and Provincial Public Health resources.
Access COVID-19 resources from FeelingBetterNow.

FeelingBetterNow Mental Health Assessment

In addition to these public resources, Equitable Life clients with FeelingBetterNow as part of their group benefits plan have access to online mental health resources. FeelingBetterNow can help plan members identify their risk for mental health concerns and work with their doctor on diagnosis and treatment. It’s an anonymous tool developed by mental health experts which provides:
- Emotional and mental health assessments;
- Practical, evidence-based tools employees and their doctor can use to assess, treat, and follow-up on emotional and mental health concerns; and
- Convenient online access to information and effective resources.
FeelingBetterNow is easy to use and completely anonymous. It takes less than 20 minutes to complete the assessment and view your results.

Learn more about FeelingBetterNow, then contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager to discuss how your clients can add this service to their plan.
Have you heard about Equitable Client Access?
Equitable Client Access^® allows clients to self-serve on some of the more popular requests. Thousands of clients have already signed up for Equitable Client Access and are enjoying the benefits of accessing their secure information 24/7.

•   Does your client need to change or stop existing Pre-Authorized payment (PAD)? Equitable Client Access can do that.
•   Does your client need to change a withdrawal date for a PAD? Equitable Client Access can do that too.
•   Address or banking information changes? Equitable Client Access has your clients covered.
•   Does your client need to change her beneficiary from Aunt Flora to Uncle Ned? Equitable Client Access can even do that.

Equitable Client Access is a secure online client site that connects clients with policy information, right at their fingertips. In addition to the self-serve features, Equitable Client Access can also provide:

•    Insurance coverage and guarantees
•    Investment allocation, performance and market values
•    Transaction history
•    Statements and letters
•    Advisor contact information, along with so much more.

If your clients have not signed up for Equitable Client Access, direct them to client.equitable.ca - it only takes a few minutes to set up an account, and connects your clients with their policy information online – anytime!

Have a question about Equitable Client Access? Want to tell your client how to go paperless? Check out our updated FAQ or contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager today.

Responding to Alberta's Biosimilar Initiative

Beginning March 15, 2021, we are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Alberta in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative. These changes will help protect your clients from additional drug costs that may result from this new government policy while still providing access to equally safe and effective biosimilars.

What is Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative?

Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative will end provincial coverage of several originator biologic drugs for some or all conditions beginning on Jan. 15, 2021. Patients 18 and over who are using these drugs for the affected conditions will be required to switch to biosimilar versions of the drugs to maintain coverage under the province’s government drug plan.

What is the impact on private drug plans?

Industry response to Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative has the potential to significantly impact your clients’ drug plan costs. If other insurance carriers follow suit with the province and delist the originator biologics, it could expose a plan that doesn’t delist them to significant coordination of benefits risk. (See Case Study below.)

How is Equitable Life responding?

To protect your clients’ plans from paying additional and avoidable drug costs, we are changing coverage in Alberta for most biologic drugs included in the provincial initiative.

As of March 15, 2021, several originator biologic drugs will no longer be covered for plan members of all ages in Alberta. Plan members taking these biologics will be required to switch to the biosimilar versions of these drugs to maintain eligibility under their Equitable Life plan.

What drugs and conditions are affected?

The following table outlines the drugs and conditions that will be affected by this change. The list of affected drugs or conditions is dynamic and will change as Alberta includes more biologic drugs in its Biosimilar Initiative, as new biosimilars come onto the market, and as we make changes in drug eligibility.

Drug name	Originator biologic These drugs will no longer be covered in Alberta for the conditions listed in this table.	Biosimilar Plan members will need to switch to these medications to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan.	Affected health conditions The changes in coverage apply to these conditions.
Etanercept	Enbrel	Brenzys Erelzi	Ankylosing Spondylitis Rheumatoid Arthritis Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) Psoriatic Arthritis Plaque Psoriasis (adults and children)
Infliximab	Remicade	Inflectra Renflexis Avsola	Ankylosing Spondylitis Plaque Psoriasis Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Crohn's Disease (adults and children) Ulcerative Colitis (adults and children)
Insulin glargine	Lantus	Basaglar	Diabetes (Type 1 and 2)
Filgrastim	Neupogen	Grastofil Nivestym	Neutropenia
Pegfilgrastim	Neulasta	Lapelga Fulphila Ziextenzo	Neutropenia
Glatiramer*	Copaxone	Glatect TEVA-Glatiramer Acetate	Multiple Sclerosis

*Glatiramer is a non-biologic complex drug.

How will Equitable Life communicate this change to plan members?

We will be communicating with affected claimants in January 2021 to allow them ample time to change their prescriptions and avoid any interruptions in their treatment or their coverage.

Can my client maintain coverage of these biologic drugs?

Traditional groups who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Alberta plan members can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than January 15, 2021. Advisors with myFlex Benefits clients who wish to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Alberta plan members should speak to their myFlex Sales Manager to confirm their eligibility to opt out of this change.

Will this change impact my clients’ rates?

The rate impact of this change in coverage will be relatively insignificant. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.

If plan sponsors opt out of these changes and maintain coverage for the originator biologics, it may result in a rate increase. Any rate adjustment will be applied at renewal.

What is the difference between biologics and biosimilars?

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 drug they are based on and have been shown to have no clinically meaningful differences in safety or efficacy.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

CASE STUDY: The Alberta Biosimilar Initiative and Coordination of Benefits (CoB) risk

CoB risk is real and can be significant, even if a pharmaceutical savings program exists.

The industry response to Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative has the potential to significantly impact your clients’ drug plan costs. Some insurers may follow the province’s lead and delist these originator biologics. Others may cut back coverage to the cost of the biosimilars or maintain coverage of the originators. These differences could expose a plan that doesn’t delist the originator biologics to significant coordination of benefits risk. Here’s how:

Let’s assume there are two private drug plans – Plan A and Plan B. Both plans are open plans with no deductible. Plan A has 80% co-insurance and Plan B has 100% co-insurance.

BEFORE Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative

Before Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative, both plans cover the originator biologics listed above.

Plan A is the first private payer for an Alberta plan member taking an originator biologic drug for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Plan B is the second private payer. The cost of the originator biologic for the plan member is $30,000 annually. Here’s how the coordination of benefits would look before Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative.

AFTER Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative

In response to Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative, the insurer for Plan A delists the originator biologic and requires plan members to switch to the biosimilar. The insurer for Plan B maintains coverage of the originator biologic. Under this scenario, if the plan member doesn’t switch, Plan B essentially becomes the first payer and sees their annual cost increase by 400% (from $6,000 to $30,000).

Even if the insurer for Plan B cuts back coverage to the cost of the biosimilar or adjusts the paid amount because they have a savings program in place with the drug manufacturer, the impact could be significant. For example, if the insurer cuts back coverage to 50% (or $15,000 annually), Plan B would see a 150% annual cost increase (from $6,000 to $15,000):

Ways to reduce net income after age 71 with Equitable Life
Your client is contacting you to ask how to reduce net income after age 71. While each client’s situation is unique, here are a few options to consider.
1. Clients with a spouse under the age of 71 can contribute to a spousal Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) up until December 31^st of the year the spouse turns 71; provided contribution room is available. This option can also work for those clients over the age of 71 with employment income. This can be useful for small business owners who are still making money over the age of 71 and forced to convert their RSP to a Retirement Income Fund (RIF) or Life Income Fund (LIF).
1. For clients with a RIF or LIF, they can strategically elect to use their spouses’ age to calculate the minimum RIF income payment (minimum and maximum for LIF). The idea being that if there is an age gap between spouses:
- Your client makes a RIF/LIF minimum payment lower by using the age of the younger spouse. This is beneficial to clients who do not need a lot of income from their RIF/LIF.
- Your client makes a LIF maximum payment higher by using the age of the older spouse. This is beneficial to clients who want to withdraw as much as possible from their LIFs each year.
To learn more, contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager.

® and ^TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada

Changes to Short Term Disability Benefit Calculations The Canada Employment Insurance Commission and Canada Revenue Agency have announced the 2022 changes to Maximum Insurable Earnings, and premiums for employment insurance. These changes take effect January 1, 2022.

	2021 Amount	As of Jan. 1, 2022
Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE)	$56,300	$60,300
Maximum Weekly Insurable Earnings (MWIE)	$1,083	$1,160
EI Benefit (55% of the MWIE, rounded to the nearest dollar)	$595	$638

How does this affect your clients?

If your client’s Group Policy with Equitable Life includes a Short Term Disability (STD) benefit which is tied to the EI Maximum Weekly Insurable Earnings, and at least one classification of employees has less than a $638 maximum, then to comply with the provisions of their policy, their STD benefit will be revised with the maximums updated based on the percentage of EI Maximum Weekly Insurable Earnings shown in their policy.

The additional premium for any increase from their previous STD amounts and new STD amounts will be show on their January 2021 Group Insurance Billing (as applicable).

If their STD maximum is currently higher than $638 or based on a flat amount (not based on a percentage or regular earnings), no change will be made to their plan unless otherwise directed.

If your clients wish to provide direction regarding revising their STD maximum, or have questions about the process, they can email Kari Gough, Manager, Group Quotes and Issue.

Equitable Life Savings & Retirement Webinar Series featuring Equitable Asset Management Group
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 various products and product features,
- hear from industry professionals,
- learn about investment strategies; and so much more.
This month, Equitable Life welcomes David Irwin, Director, Portfolio Management and Client Relations, Equitable Life of Canada. Please join us to hear David Irwin discuss the state of markets today, what key risks investors are focused on, and how the Equitable Life Active Segregated Fund lineup is positioned.

Learn More

Continuing Education Credits
This webinar has been submitted for continuing education (CE) approval with the Insurance Council of Manitoba and Alberta Insurance Council for all provinces excluding Quebec. Upon approval, you will be sent an email notification to come back to the webinar presentation console to download your personalized certificate from the tool bar. To be eligible for CE credits, you must register individually, watch the webcast in full and complete a short quiz. This webcast is available in English only.
NEW Jump Around feature available on EZcomplete One of the most requested features is available on EZcomplete® effective November 19, 2022. We like to call it “jump around”. It’s the ability to jump from one part of the application to another and back again. You no longer have to complete the application one section after another in order. This will allow a lot more flexibility when submitting a policy application.

This functionality is helpful as you can input basic client information ahead of a meeting to review with the client later. After completing the Owner’s step (step 1), you could jump to step five (Subsequent Payment) or step six (Third Party). This allows you the opportunity to easily jump back and add a second owner once you have all their details from the client. You can also return to your dashboard, and when you go back into the application, you will be returned to the owner’s section.

Hitting the Save button will save the information you have inputted already, so after jumping ahead to a different section, you can return to complete those questions knowing your progress will be saved. When you have completed all the necessary fields, hitting the Done button will validate all the information and the step will be complete. A check mark will appear beside each completed and validated step.
Please note, if you go back to a previously validated step and change information you will have to go through all subsequent steps and complete and validate them again by clicking next if nothing has changed or making any necessary changes.

To Equitable Life®, the term EZ really means something! Learn more about how doing business with Equitable Life continues to be easy.

Questions: Please contact your Regional Sales Manager

® denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
December 2022 eNews
Update: EI Sickness Benefit Extension confirmed for Dec. 18, 2022*

The federal government confirmed on Nov. 25, 2022, that it is extending the Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits period permanently from 15 weeks to 26 weeks. The change takes effect on Dec. 18, 2022.

Equitable Life will not require or implement any changes to our disability plan designs based on this extension. However, plan sponsors may wish to amend their short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) plans and policies to align with the new 26-week EI period.

If your clients choose to amend their plan design in response to this extension, we have created an overview of how amendments may affect common plan design scenarios. Click here to learn more.

If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

QDIPC updates terms and conditions for 2023*

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 2023 to reflect trends in the volume of claims submitted to the pool, particularly catastrophic claims:

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

If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
Kickoff to 2023 with Equitable Life and Robert Gignac Equitable Life® is pleased to present Robert Gignac, author of the book ““Rich is a State of Mind”. Robert will deliver his new “Stop Playing Chess in a PokerStars World” presentation. Robert’s engaging presentation offers examples of what clients (and prospects) are struggling with today and how advisors can take a leadership role by changing from a one-dimensional game (chess) to a multi-dimensional one (poker).

Your hosts, Cam Crosbie, Vice President, Savings & Retirement and Joseph Trozzo, Investment Sales Vice President, MGA, will highlight some of the ways Equitable Life can help make 2023 a great year.

Learn More

Posted: December 23, 2022

Continuing Education Credits
This webinar has been submitted for continuing education (CE) approval with the Insurance Council of Manitoba and Alberta Insurance Council for all provinces excluding Quebec. Upon approval, you will be sent an email notification to come back to the webinar presentation console to download your personalized certificate from the tool bar. To be eligible for CE credits, you must register individually, watch the webcast in full and complete a short quiz. This webcast is available in English only.

® denote a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada