We know how important it is to access information on pension legislation quickly and easily. Manulife’s Legislation Corner – your new “go to” reference for all things pension legislation is here.

With a click of the mouse, you’ll be able to access current pension information, including the widely used Summary of Pension Legislation (the “Summary”). The Summary’s quick, searchable format enables at-a-glance comparison of jurisdiction, section and topic, making it easier and more convenient for you. In addition to the Summary, the site offers additional pension-related resources including plan comparison charts and summary of maximum contributions.

The resources provided on this new site will allow you to obtain up to date pension legislation information and help Plan Sponsors meet fiduciary responsibilities and better serve their plan members.

Initiatives will be launched in the coming weeks to announce the new site:

• An email announcement to plan sponsors broadcasting the Legislation Corner
• An article about the features and benefits in the quarterly Plan Sponsor newsletter

You may also see other electronic media advertising this new site.

Check out the site today at manulife.ca/legislationcorner and bookmark it for future reference.

This solution combines the advantages of lifecycle funds and lifestyle funds. Members get a diversified portfolio that’s in line with their risk tolerance, stays on track and adjusts its risk exposure over time.

• Easy to build – Arranged in a matrix with pre-set asset allocations, portfolios are populated with i-Watch funds selected by plan sponsors and their advisors
• Easy to use – Members are guided through a simple process that places them in a portfolio and keeps them on track
• Flexible – Lets sponsors control the fee structure of their portfolios
• Transparent – Performance and fees are provided for each fund

Launched: November 2016

Material on GRS Connect
Watch the video

Contact: Olga Petcherkina

The Manitoba Prescribed Retirement Income Fund (PRIF) has been added to the Manulife Group Retirement Income Plan (GRIP) available payout options.

The GRIP lets members turn their retirement savings into income while continuing to enjoy many of the same services and fund selections they had with their group savings plan. The addition of the Manitoba PRIF will allow plan members who have locked-in money under the Manitoba jurisdiction to easily and seamlessly transfer their assets to the GRIP upon retirement at no cost, and to take advantage of all its benefits.

Launched: December 11, 2016

Contact: Shineen Huque

With GRS Mobile, plan members can view their account balances, asset mixes, contribution history and transaction summary, and access My Retirement Tools directly from a tablet or smartphone.

GRS Mobile 2.2 adds two new features:

• Rates of return (ROR) views, with graphical display and easy navigation between policies and funds.
• Supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) – account balance and details for investment funds.

GRS Mobile is available on Android, Apple and BlackBerry devices.

More information: www.manulife.ca/GRSmobile and Communications Tool Kit

Version 2.2 launched: May 27, 2016

Knowing that an employee’s finances are often their biggest source of stress (from our Health and Wealth research), we’ve developed the Financial Wellness Assessment. This tool will help employees alleviate this stress and take control of their financial situation.

The Financial Wellness Assessment measures a member’s current level of financial wellness and – based on their answers and financial priorities – provides them with a score and a personalized action plan to improve their situation.

• Simple, quick online questionnaire (less than 5 minutes).
• Creates a customized action plan.
• Offers various tools and resources to help members take action.
• Members can compare their score with other Canadians from the results of the Manulife Financial Wellness Study – Benchmark 2015.
• For large-case plan sponsors, reporting will be available to review the results for their workforce and identify areas of concern and focus for education campaigns.

Launched: February 29, 2016

More details here

With the addition of Standard Life funds, Manulife now offers one of the most comprehensive investment platforms in the industry, with multiple options in all asset classes and styles:

• Over 200 funds and many new asset classes
• innovative investment solutions
• all backed by our robust i-Watch governance process

Available to Manulife clients. Standard Life clients will have access to these funds in Q1 2017.

To recognize members’ entire financial situation – not only the savings in their company-sponsored group plan – the Member Reward Program (MRP) for GRIP and Personal Plans has been enhanced. These enhancements make asset consolidation more attractive for members and create interesting business opportunities for advisors:

• Crystallization - Members of a GRIP account retain the highest reward level achieved on or after the effective date of October 1, 2016 even if their account value decreases due to retirement income payments or partial withdrawals.
• Householding - Members can link their Personal Plan and/or GRIP accounts with those they have in other group retirement accounts with Manulife. Combining the value of their Manulife-held assets may help members achieve a higher reward level. If a member’s spouse also has assets in a Manulife group retirement plan, member and spouse account values can be linked for potential additional savings bonuses. If the spouse is also a member of the Personal Plan, both members would benefit from the higher reward level.

More details on GRIP
More details on the Personal Plan

Launched: September 25

Contact: Shineen Huque

Manulife now offers one of the most competitive DB solutions in the industry. The one-stop-shop offering will help strengthen clients’ DB plans and meet challenges such as:

• Market and investment risk
• Interest rate risk
• Fiduciary risk

Combining the pension and risk management expertise of both Manulife and Standard Life, this program will help DB clients return their plans to a fully-funded position, and provide them with more governance and oversight support for managing and administering their plans.

Launched: June 2016.

Contact: Nicolas Gandolfo

More details here

The Get Started program helps plan members realize the full value of their group pension plan and provides Plan Sponsors with the peace of mind that members are enrolling and participating in the plan.

These outbound calls are made to jumbo converged clients and can:

• assist in the member enrolment process,
• answer any questions about investments or
• review their plan options and contributions to their plan

What’s next: Inbound service for Large and Jumbo Plans

• Plan sponsors and advisors will have access to standard reports with added customization available through online self-serve capabilities.
• Help plan sponsors manage their group savings program, and take action to help their members make the most of their plan.
• Includes both Group Benefit and Group Retirement, so both lines of business will enjoy a converged reporting experience.
• Launched in July 2016: The Asset package, which consisted of seven group retirement reports that give plan sponsors various breakdowns of their program’s assets in all their plans, and shows how members use the funds available to them

Contact: Agnes Gagliardi

Manulife has worked on a new and secure way to access the GRS Mobile site. As a further enhancement to GRS Mobile, members can log in using their fingerprint. New features to include

• Beginning October 24^th plan members using Touch ID enabled Apple devices will be able to use their fingerprint to log into GRS Mobile.
• Option to default to credentials

Initial rollout to iOS users (60%+ of Manulife’s user base)

Launched October 2016

We’re excited to announce that we’re taking the first step towards combining the GB and GRS sign in experience for desktop and mobile users. The new dual login feature will allow plan members to assess their group accounts from a single page. By combining the GB and GRS sign in experience we hope to increase usage, strengthen our convergence offering and support our health and wealth story.

NEW sign in page for GB and GRS will go live on March 27th. The page features dual login so plan members can access their group benefits and/or group retirement accounts from one page. It also has a new ad tile to promote pre-login GB or GRS (respectively) specific messaging to our members.

NEW Manulife Mobile App will be available for Apple and Android the week of March 27th. The app also features dual login so plan members can manage their group benefits and group retirement accounts from one app. It combines all the capability of both our existing apps in one.

Current GB and GRS app users will receive notification to download the new app and delete the old version(s) on their device. We will support all three apps during this transition as we work towards phasing out the old GB and GRS apps.

The Financial Wellness Assessment is getting better. We have expanded our reporting capabilities and reporting will now be available to all sponsors. Data from the report is gathered from the users of the Financial Wellness Assessment and captures these details:

• The total number of members who have completed the assessment with a breakdown by age, gender and household income
• Overall average score, along with a breakdown by age, gender and household income
• Top five most frequently recommended action plans
• Information on financial priorities and reasons for not saving more for retirement
• Overall results broken down by six categories – budgeting, retirement planning, investing, debt, protection and financial stress

With this information, sponsors can take action to help their employees address some of their challenges through Manulife’s services and support.

Note: The Financial Wellness Assessment Report is not available for FutureStep^® , VRSP or PRPP clients.

In addition to expanded reporting capabilities, the Financial Wellness Assessment will also be made available to SLX clients.

Relaunched end of June 2016.

Providing plan members with access to holistic financial advice to help them make decisions with confidence, the PlanRight offering includes:

• A national team of salaried (non-commissioned) financial experts employed by Manulife.
• Trained on group plans and details of specific clients’ plans.
• Qualified to provide personal financial planning advice.
• Manulife assumes all liability for the services and advice provided to members by a PlanRight advisor

New services in person or one on one. New technology: skype, webex or over the phone, plan sponsor website and more.

Availability: PlanRight is currently offered at no cost to select clients (at presale or existing clients)

Updated PlanRight promotional materials are now on GRS Connect:

PlanRight sponsor report
Promotional Materials Posters
Promotional Materials Posters Member
Marketing Enrolment

Planning for retirement is not just about money, it’s about planning for a major life change. Retirement Redefined is a new, innovative solution designed to help employees develop a personalized vision for life after retirement and help them build an action plan to make it a reality.

A unique personalized approach help guide and engage employees, while tracking their progress as they build their personalized roadmap and pursue their retirement goals with confidence.

• For members aged 50 and above
• Personalized program based on individual needs, life stage and level of retirement readiness.
• Combines the financial, health and lifestyle aspects of retirement.
• Helps employees build an action plan to make their goals a reality.
• Retirement Counselors are available for individual support.

Retirement Redefined Brochure

Phased rollout to more of our group retirement clients throughout 2017.

In order to support all retiring group members and their spouses with GRS, we are continuing to make enhancements to the Group Retirement Income Plan product.

The Federal Restricted Life Income Fund (RLIF) will be added to MPS as part of the March 2017 release.

Contact: Shineen Huque

• Launched in November 2016: Five more group retirement reports, including the Member Investment Behaviour Review (MIBR), Fund Performance report, Financial Summary, Contributions report and the Withdrawals report.
• Launching in 2017: Five more group retirement reports and the first 10 group benefit reports.

Contact: Laura Simon and Venki Nayani

A powerful benchmarking tool that will help you better guide Market Sources and Plan Sponsors in the choice and design of their Group Retirement Savings plans.

Using the considerable data from the Group Retirement Savings programs managed by Manulife, this reporting tool provides a comprehensive view of the plan design provisions offered by employers and can be customized by industry, plan member size, and location.

The report’s benchmarking data is presented in easy to understand tables & graphs, and provides information on the many features of group retirement programs.

GRS Plan Design Benchmarking Report now available

• Participation rules
• Eligibility of full-time employees
• Contribution formulas
• Definition of pensionable earnings
• Vesting of employer contributions upon termination of employment
• Withdrawal rules during employment
• Additional plans available

Launch date - Q1 2017

Contact: Venki Nayani