Presenting... Our Group Retirement Savings Service Offer
Guidance and support. That's what best describes the Desjardins Financial Security group retirement service offer.
As a retirement plan sponsor, you want a plan provider that can meet your individual needs, one that can give you access to efficient, well-designed administration tools to help you track your plan activities simply and accurately. You also need a plan provider who assists you in offering your participants optimal educational support.
In response to these needs, we have:
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Created The Integrated Retirement Management Centre, designed to simplify the administration of your plan and offer you some innovative solutions;
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Implemented an array of sound governance practices for your peace of mind;
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Assembled a family of funds specifically designed to respect the intent of the CAP guidelines, that is, to provide plan members with an adequately diverse range of funds, while providing them with clear choices in each investment category;
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Introduced TRACE, our Lifecycle Environment Solution, which will simplify your participants' investment management while assisting you in fulfilling your fiduciary responsibilities.
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The Setting Sail for the Future Education Centre
The Capital Accumulation Plan (CAP) Guidelines make plan sponsors responsible for providing ongoing communication to participants with respect to plan activities and investments.
To assist you in meeting the ongoing education needs of your participants, we have developed the Setting Sail for the Future Education Centre.
The Setting Sail for the Future Education Centre is above all a team dedicated to guiding and supporting your plan participants throughout all the stages of the retirement planning process. Combined with our solid and industry-recognized education programs, the expertise and knowledge of our Education Advisors greatly help promote the active participation of your employees in monitoring their group retirement plan.
To learn more about our Education Centre, please click on the following document:
Education Centre.
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Information Sessions
A critical element in getting your plan up and running in the right direction is the initial participant information session. To maximize employee participation in the retirement plan, it is essential to properly inform them so that they can appreciate all of their plan's advantages and be motivated to take an interest in planning for their retirement. We specialize in these types of sessions. Our staff is trained to present plan particulars in a manner that is basic and easy to understand. Retirement planning is, by definition, a complex subject. The terminology and theory involved can be intimidating to some plan members. Our presenters' friendly approachable manner disarms plan members, thereby promoting participation in the information sessions and, in turn, an interest in planning for his or her retirement.
We organize initial information sessions for plan participants to:
- Inform them about the various sources of income available at retirement
- Present their retirement plan to them
- Guide them in their investment strategy
- Help them to make informed decisions and to complete the required forms
- Answer any questions they may have
Afterwards, participants may set up individual meetings as needed. This allows us to offer personalized service that meets the needs of each participant.
In addition, for plan members unable to attend the information session, we have produced a generic enrolment video presentation, which is available in DVD or VHS format. Should plan members have any questions after viewing the video, participants are invited to get in touch with our Customer Contact Centre.
Continuous Service
Once the plan has been set up, group and individual meetings periodically take place to assist members in monitoring their plan, and usually cover the following topics:
- Review and analysis of fund performance
- Explanation of participant statements
- Review of financial markets
- Any other topic of interest that has come up during the year
Training sessions and seminars are also held to discuss innovative and flexible solutions in terms of Group Retirement products. These meetings cover topics of a financial nature, which employees must take into account prior to or at retirement.
Prior to retirement
- Analysis of the participant's current financial situation
- Review of the various sources of retirement income
- Calculation of the savings required for retirement and selection of the type of investments that will help the participant reach his/her retirement savings objectives
At retirement
- Use of various products (RRIF, LIF, annuities, etc.) to maximize retirement income and achieve retirement goals
Enrollment Kit
When they enrol in the plan, members receive a complete navigation kit offering them a 5 step retirement planning methodology. The kit contains:
- A guide to navigating the investment world
- 5 steps or "ports of call" to assist participants in developing a customized retirement plan
- Investor profiles to allow participants to optimize their asset allocation in keeping with their risk tolerance
- Retirement planning software
- A slide ruler for participants without access to a computer
- All the forms required to enrol in the plan
- Descriptions of the various investment options available
Dedicated Customer Contact Centre
Mission
- To offer personalized service to the members of our pension plans, with a focus on human contact and active listening.
- To meet our goal of offering exceptional quality in terms of response time and efficiency of service.
Our Customer Contact Centre is an important source of information about our products and services. Our Customer Contact Centre is open Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 8 PM, Eastern Time. Members can call a toll free number from anywhere in Canada for service in English or French.
Our Customer Contact Centre representatives are specially chosen for their communication skills. They are offered a comprehensive series of courses about group retirement savings products and the laws governing them, investment funds, among others, and are fully prepared to answer any and all questions about the financial services we offer. Training is given on an ongoing basis by a permanent team of experienced professionals.
Our Customer Contact Centre allows members to:
- Obtain information about their group retirement plans or their statements
- Obtain information on the accumulated value of their accounts
- Change the personal information in their files
- Obtain general information and advice on their investment options
- Determine their investor profiles and obtain information on our wide range of funds
- Change their investment instructions
- Transfer funds from one investment vehicle to another
- Find out current interest rates, or the unit values and rates of return of our pooled funds
- Obtain forms or explanations on how to complete forms
- Obtain assistance on how to consult our Web site
Interactive Web Site "My Personal Teller"
At Desjardins Financial Security, we make it easy for plan members to keep track of their retirement plan with our user-friendly Web site. Once members have registered as a password-protected user, they can:
- View their account balances and asset mixes
- Change their investment instructions
- Transfer assets from one investment fund to another
- View and print an account statement for any period
- Print any required forms
- Notify us of a change of postal or electronic address
- View transactions carried out on the Website
"My Personal Teller" also contains a wealth of information and tools to help members with their retirement planning. With a click of a mouse, members can download copies of our newsletters and software, get information on our funds, and more.
To learn more about our password-protected "Personal Teller" Web site, we invite you to take the Guided Tour.
Retirement Calculator
This easy-to-use calculator package helps members gain a better understanding of their retirement plan. It can be loaded onto most PCs running Microsoft Windows.
This calculator has two interactive sections. The first section, entitled ''How Much Should I Save?'' allows plan members to enter in different contribution amounts to find out how much money they will need to save to reach their financial goals at retirement.
The second, entitled ''How Should I Invest my Savings?,'' allows members to work through their own Personal Investor Profile to measure their tolerance for risk. A portfolio of funds corresponding to their profile is then recommended. It is possible to download the calculator from this page or by visiting our secure site.
Setting Sail for the Future
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Investor Profiles
To guide plan members in their choice of investment options, we offer six asset allocation portfolios adapted to the various investor profiles and stages of life. The portfolios were constructed using an in-house optimization model designed to minimize volatility and maximize return. They are each comprised of funds representing the various asset classes and corresponding to different investment styles: Security, Conservative, Balanced, Dynamic, Energetic and Aggressive. The portfolios are regularly rebalanced to ensure that they always maintain their appropriate asset mix.
Participants are assigned a portfolio based on their responses to a series of short questions regarding their life situation and attitudes about risk.
A Complete Range of Investment Options
In addition to offering a wide variety of Guaranteed Funds, Desjardins Financial Security also offers a comprehensive range of Pooled Funds. After consulting with industry experts, we selected funds managers recognized for their solidity and with complementary investment styles: Addenda Capital, AIM Trimark Investments, AllianceBernstein, Baille Gifford, Barclays Global Investors, Bissett Investment Management, CBRE Global Real Estate Securities, Desjardins Global Asset Management, Fidelity Investments, Fiera Capital, GE Asset Management, Gestion FÉRIQUE, Jarislowsky Fraser Limited, McLean Budden, Templeton Investment Management and UBS Global Asset Management.
Communication to Employees
Setting Sail for the Future Newsletter
The Setting Sail for the Future newsletter corresponds perfectly to the educational and financial retirement planning program of the same name that we designed with plan members in mind. In a series of brief news items, the newsletter provides relevant information related to retirement planning.
The Setting Sail for the Future newsletter is structured so as to make retirement planning easier, provide participants with all the information they need to realize their goals and help them take concrete actions to make the most of their group retirement plan.
This newsletter is also available on our secure Web site.
Personalized Member Statements
At Desjardins Financial Security, we are committed to making our communications clear and helpful. Our member statements are a good example. They are easy to read and contain a personalized rate of return showing how the member's investments are performing by fund and overall. Statements can also be viewed on our Web site at any time convenient for members.