October 2021 Edition

Co-op Week, held annually in Canada, is the perfect opportunity for co-op members to celebrate their commitment to the communities they serve.

For its 51st edition, running from October 17 to 23, 2021, with the theme of Together when it matters most, Co-Op week features a variety of virtual programming including financial and co-operative education activities:

• Virtual escape room
• Awareness activity: In Charge of Your Life and Your Property program
• Workshop: Personal Finance: I’m in Charge!

We’re proud to put forward our cooperative model, which is more relevant than ever and is at the heart of the socioeconomic recovery.

All organizations need to set clear objectives around diversity and inclusion, and Desjardins is no exception.

When Nadia Darwish, Vice-president for Business Development and Client Relationships, joined Desjardins, she was inspired by the company culture regarding inclusion. In the article Women in leadership External link - Opens in a new window. for Benefits Canada, she reveals her journey and talks about the importance of supporting employees’ full potential.

“When I finally got my dream job and moved from a small town to Toronto, I was fortunate to find a mentor there who taught me to be my authentic self, to use my voice in ways that made an impact, and to keep advocating for what I believed in—even if I didn’t see results right away. Over the course of my career, I have established a trusted network of dynamic women in leadership across different companies. We’ve supported one another over a period of 20 years now.”

Nadia’s view on diversity and inclusion is very inspiring: ‟There’s no longer a single narrative for diversity, so it’s important to see and embrace change, both of which lead to being more empathetic and achieving real outcomes. This is at the heart of being a cooperative. Everything we do supports the economic and social well-being of all individuals and all communities. And it’s facilitated through our Desjardins Behaviours, which inform how our 52,000 employees across Canada work together and interact with our clients and partners. Having diverse employees with diverse ideas is the key to unlocking the full value of a business, because it sparks creativity and innovation.”

Nadia concludes by saying that “Diversity and inclusion is everyone’s job. We own it as employees, but we also need to seek it out from our organizations and from our networks.”

The current CEO, Guy Cormier, has committed to a target of 50% female senior executives by 2024. Nadia’s division already has 44%.

To answer the most frequently asked questions about responsible investing (RI), we published the article 5 questions for a better understanding of responsible investing on the plan member website in the Wellness Centre under Financial wellness > Finance and money.

On October 5, we invited plan members to have a look at this new material by way of the On your way to financial empowerment contest email.

Read the article here (PDF, 189 KB) Opens in a new window.. Happy reading!

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Retraite Québec has announced an extension of the temporary measure to ease the rules for LIF (life income funds) withdrawals in 2021. These changes apply to all LIFs governed by Quebec’s Supplemental Pension Plans Act.

Plan members who hold an eligible LIF and were under 70 years of age on December 31, 2020, can obtain temporary income of up to 40% of the maximum pensionable earnings ($24,640 in 2021). At any age, when temporary income is paid, the life income amount will be adjusted accordingly. The adjustment will be based on the amount of temporary income withdrawn, the account balance and the age of the holder.

Further details

LIF holders who were between 65 and 69 years of age on December 31, 2020, are entitled to temporary income in 2021, something which would not usually be allowed.

LIF holders who were under 54 years of age on December 31, 2020, are entitled to temporary income as per the usual rules, but these rules remain for 2021:

• Income from other sources, such as employment earnings, will no longer be considered
• Withdrawals can be made as a lump sum or in several payments throughout 2021
• It’s not required to have only one LIF; withdrawals can be made if the holder has more than one LIF

To request the temporary income, eligible plan members must contact us by calling the Customer Contact Centre. However, they also have the option of maintaining the payment already scheduled for their LIF, in which case they have nothing to do. We will issue the payment as planned.

Our communications to your plan members

A communication to this effect was sent on April 26, 2021, to plan members who are holders of a Québec LIF with Desjardins Insurance and are eligible for temporary income.

Are any of your plan members celebrating their 71st birthday this year? Please make sure to review the What you can do section below to ensure a smooth transition for them.

Plan members sometimes forget that they need to choose a retirement income option to convert their registered retirement savings plan1by the end of the year they turn 71. If they don’t, we’ll transfer any non-locked-in amounts to a RRIF and any locked-in amounts to a LIF. And if their balance is less than 20% of maximum pensionable earnings for the year ($12,320), they’ll receive a lump-sum payment, which is taxable.

We send plan members in this situation a statement of options every September and try to encourage them to choose how they want to convert their savings, but there are always a few stragglers. We’re hoping you can help us help them.

What you can do

• Invite plan members who are turning 71 to contact our retirement advisors at 1-877-585-3033. Our advisors can not only help them understand their options, but also help them choose the combination that will best suit their needs.
• Ensure that plan members’ addresses are up to date. If they aren’t, it’s important to do the address change first. You can remind plan members to change it themselves with the Omni Desjardins app or on the secure site at dfs.ca/GroupPlanMember Opens in a new window., or you can do it for them at dfs.ca/plansponsor Opens in a new window.. Afterwards, your employees who have not received their statement of options at their new address should call the Customer Contact Centre at 1-800-968-3587 so that we can send them another copy.

To make sure these plan members receive all the contributions and tax benefits they’re entitled to, send us their final contributions (remittances and payments) by December 1, 2021. By law, we’ll have to return any contributions received after December 31, even if the payroll reference period is in 2021.

And if you have any questions, you can contact your dedicated administrator or Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762.

Did you know that a Missing Information Report1 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 unpleasant surprises, you should contact plan members whose records are incomplete, especially if what we’re missing is their enrolment information.

This is 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. Please ask your plan members to send us the information via the plan member site Opens in a new window..

To view the report, go to the Report centre tile and open the Missing Information Report tab.

If you have any questions, contact your dedicated administrator or call Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762.

To make sure you can leave work behind without worry:

1. Fill out the Request to grant or revoke access to plan information and plan members’ personal information form (PDF, 1.01 MB) Opens in a new window. to designate a replacement and give them access to the plan sponsor site.

   You need to complete this authorization form so that your backup can be issued their own user ID. For security reasons, don’t share your user ID. If your replacement forgets your user ID and then calls us for help, we won’t be able to do anything if they’re not in our system.

2. Train your backup so they can do:
   • Enrolments
   • Updates to personal information
   • Terminations
   • Contribution remittances

To help you train your backup, refer to the administrative guide available at dfs.ca/plansponsor Opens in a new window..

• Click Log on
• Select Group retirement savings
• Enter your user ID and password
• Click Guides and procedures