November 2023 Edition

It’s Financial Literacy Month! To mark the occasion, we’re addressing not 1, but 2 important issues: financial education and the money taboo in the workplace.

In 2 new articles, we offer recommendations to employers on how they can have an impact on these 2 issues by developing their employees’ financial skills and competencies.

Click the links below and enjoy!

• 5 ways to reimagine financial education at work - This link will open in a new window.
• 3 ways employers can help break the money taboo - This link will open in a new window.

Our online education offer has been enhanced! The plan member site’s Education Centre now offers 2 types of online courses. Your employees can:

• Continue to attend our live webinars hosted by our financial education advisors.
• Take the Debt 1.0 and Budget 1.0 self-service courses anytime, at their own pace.

Debt 1.0 self-service course

This course is designed to help your employees better manage and reduce their debt and take charge of their financial future.

Budget 1.0 self-service course

This interactive video helps your plan members create and then balance their budget to reach their financial goals.

Upcoming live webinars:

• Government pension benefits programs
• How to handle market volatility
• Converting your savings into retirement income
• How to preserve and transfer your wealth
• Responsible investing
• Budget 2.0
• Debt Management 2.0
• Retirement savings plans and income taxes

Did you know that a Missing Information Report^[Note 1] is posted in your account on the Plan Sponsor Services site each month? This report lists any plan member information missing from our records.

To avoid any unpleasant surprises, you should contact plan members whose records are incomplete, especially if their enrolment information is missing.

Here’s what happens if the plan member is not enrolled, for each plan type:

For voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs), enrolment is automatic. However, you may receive a Missing Information Report if a plan member’s beneficiary or personal information is missing. Ask your plan members to send us the information through their online account via dfs.ca/GroupPlanMember or the Omni app.

To view the report:

• Go to the Report centre tile
• Open the Missing Information Report tab

Questions about the Missing Information Report? Contact your dedicated administrator or call Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762.

Why not use automated communications? By subscribing to this type of email communication, plan members will receive the right message at the right time. List of available communications:

• Pre-approved
• Missing application
• Missing application (RRSP)
• Missing beneficiary
• Default fund
• Investor profile
• On Target Retirement^®
• Employer match
• Regular contributions

Contact your client relationship manager now to sign up!

According to Canada's Income Tax Act, the specified shareholders and persons related to the employer (herinafter referred to as “ineligible plan members”) aren’t eligible for the Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP).

To maintain the plan registration from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you must ensure employee eligibility before they join the DPSP and whenever there is a change that may affect their status such as integration of a new shareholder, new issue of shares, sales of shares or restructuring.

Tax consequences of making DPSP contributions on behalf of ineligible plan members^{[Note 2][Note 3]}

If plan members want to make a cash withdrawal from their registered plan^[Note 6], and if the plan and its legislation permit, the following deadlines must be met in order for the taxable amount of the withdrawal to be included in the income tax return for the 2023 tax year.

Note that we generally don’t recommend making cash withdrawals from registered plans since the whole purpose is to save for retirement.

If plan members have any questions, they can call our Customer Contact Centre at 1-800-968-3587, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (ET). One of our agents will be happy to help them.

ACM Advisors

EQB and ACM Advisors recently announced that they’ve entered into a definitive agreement by which EQB will acquire a 75% interest in ACM. Following the transaction, ACM will operate as an independent majority-owned subsidiary of EQB. ACM expects the partnership will allow the firm to leverage EQB’s significant experience and deep relationships in Canadian commercial real estate into enhanced deal flow. The acquisition is expected to close prior to the end of 2023.

The Desjardins Insurance Group Retirement Savings Investment Solutions team believes that this change has a moderate impact on the Multi-Manager Private Credit Fund, of which the ACM Commercial Mortgage Fund is part. Indeed, even though the commitment of current managers and the interdependencies with Equitable Bank will need to be assessed, the ACM strategy possesses a limited weight within the fund (target of 10%). We’ll monitor the situation over the coming quarters and provide updates as needed.

Baillie Gifford

Baillie Gifford recently announced the nomination of Apricot Wilson as Senior Impact Analyst in the Positive Change team. She will become a decision-maker on the strategy with Edward Whitten, replacing Michelle O'Keeffe since June 2023. Her permanent appointment is an acknowledgement of her performance within the team.

The Desjardins Insurance Group Retirement Savings Investment Solutions team believes that this change has a moderate impact on the Desjardins SocieTerra Positive Change (Baillie Gifford) Fund. We’ll monitor the situation over the coming quarters and provide updates as needed.