First of all, from the representatives of your pension/retirement committee, Happy New Year 2023!
Following the newsletter published in November and announcing to you the decision taken by the company to transfer RRSP/RPDB funds from Manuvi to Desjardins (this does not concern the MSPP), here is an account of the last meeting on December 14, 2022 and in which two officials of your pension/retirement committee participated as representatives of the PNC of the supervisory committee.
This three-hour meeting, programmed by the employer and proved to be very constructive, had three important components on the agenda:
– Presentation by Desjardins of its program, its platform and its transition team composed of 4 experts: co-or and development, customer relationship, implementation, education and transition, who will accompany PNC members at each stage of the transition process as well as for the future monitoring of their program and which is called “Financial Well-being”.
– Presentation by Chrystal Healy, VP Corporate Responsibility at Transat, of the reference framework favoured by the company regarding its corporate responsibility in the choice of its three objectives in sustainable development and in connection with ESG (Environment, Society, Governance, which were explained to you in the previous newsletter).
– Presentation by Normandin Beaudry’s team of experts of their analysis and recommendations on the choices of new managers for the construction of life cycle program (LCP) portfolios by asset category, as well as new à la carte options. These new managers are recommended because they align with Transat’s three ESG objectives. Recall here that the final choice of managers will be decided by the company.
Here are the important points to remember from this meeting:
Schedule proposed by Desjardins:
April 2023: Sending invitations to employees for information sessions to be held in May and June 2023. (Dates and formats to be confirmed.)
July 2023: Transfer of Manulife funds to Desjardins.
What changes:
Normandin Beaudry wants the trajectory of LCPs to move from the current plateau model to a continuous model in order to maximise investments and their returns as well as to reduce risk continuously.
Normandin Beaudry strongly suggests that investments in guaranteed investment certificates be replaced by investments in tangible shares (direct real estate and global infrastructure). This option is based on a better return on these assets, especially in times of recession in addition to offering greater flexibility during withdrawals.
Normandin Beaudry also recommends that when it comes to investments in the stock markets, American and international stocks be replaced by global stocks of 3 types: low volatility, growth, and small capitalisation.
According to Normandin Beaudry and given the evolution of the current economic context, all these changes are likely to generate an expected retirement balance about 20% higher compared to the current solution.
However, it should be noted that these changes concern LCPs and that some of the old options will still be available for the à la carte program. For those who make this choice, other suggestions for à la carte funds will be offered to you.
Also, regarding the Transat action funds, we have been informed that all amounts held will be transferred to Desjardins, whether the participant is in LCPs or à la carte.
Finally, regarding the re-accession window, a pre-transfer campaign encouraging participants to review their choice of investments will be put in place. By default, if the participant does not make any investment choices, the current investment option will be renewed.
The representatives of your pension/retirement committee therefore encourage you to take advantage of this transfer as an opportunity to reassess your financial strategy towards retirement, to make adjustments if necessary and to actively participate in the information sessions that will be offered to you in order to maximise your retirement objectives.
Also, we invite you to visit manuvie.ca/pro to review and understand what your current situation is, in order to make the right decisions for you when the time comes.
As always, you can contact us at pension@atcomponent.com for your questions, suggestions and comments. However, we also encourage you to use the services of a financial advisor in your decisionmaking.
“To know how to plan… is to be able to enjoy! “… in retirement.
In closing, we are still waiting for the company to put us in contact with the human resources person to undertake our project to write an information brochure for retirement.
Thank you for taking the time to read us and once again Best wishes to all for the new year from the representatives of your committee!
Charles-Éric Latour, Chairman of the Committee
Marie-Claude Bourdages, YUL
David Ogilvie, YYZ
Julie Roberts, YVR
Sheena Sumra, YVR, Component link