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Retirement News
SunWise Elite Plus from Sun Life Financial and CI Investments to offer guaranteed income for life
TORONTO - For Canadians looking for help in meeting their retirement income needs, Sun Life Financial and CI Investments Inc. announced plans to introduce a lifetime withdrawal option on the SunWise Elite Plus segregated funds rider. Currently expected to be available on March 24, 2008, the enhancement builds on the existing SunWise Elite Plus Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) by providing guaranteed income for life.
"Canadians are living longer and longer in retirement, and so they need
help with the uncertainty of outliving their retirement nest eggs," said Dean
Connor, President, Sun Life Financial Canada. "This exciting enhancement to
SunWise Elite Plus will relieve that uncertainty by paying a guaranteed income
for life."
"SunWise Elite Plus allows Canadian investors to turn their retirement
savings into their own private pension," said Peter W. Anderson, Chief
Executive Officer, CI Investments. "Investors and their advisors will be able
to construct a retirement plan with much more certainty, knowing the minimum
amount they will have at retirement and how much will be available every year
for life. And, if their investments perform well, their guaranteed income
could increase."
According to a recent survey by Sun Life Financial, Canadians' most
pressing retirement concerns centre on not saving enough money for retirement
or outliving their savings. SunWise Elite Plus guaranteed income for life is a
powerful retirement planning tool for Canadians. It allows them to take
control of their retirement risks by reducing the need to worry about
outliving their savings or how their investments will perform. The guaranteed
lifetime income can increase with resets every three years, which helps
mitigate the risk of inflation eroding purchasing power.
SunWise Elite Plus income for life is an optional rider that will be
available for both new and existing SunWise Elite contracts, with a minimum
investment per policy of $25,000. It offers a number of benefits to clients:
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- Guaranteed, predictable income for life, starting at age 65 or later.
- Potential for growth as investors can allocate up to 90 per cent of
their portfolio to equity investments.
- Flexibility, with Canada's first income deferral feature on a GMWB,
which allows the client to accumulate unused withdrawal room of up
to 15 per cent.
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In addition, SunWise Elite Plus provides investors with a five per cent
bonus on their guaranteed income for every year they do not make a withdrawal
in the first 15 years following the initial deposit to the GMWB rider. This
means that by not making withdrawals in the first 15 years, an investment made
at age 50 will increase the guaranteed income by at least 75 per cent by age
65. This is a valuable feature for investors saving for retirement because it
increases their guaranteed income and reduces the worry that a market downturn
could impact their savings in the crucial years just before retiring.
"How your investments perform in the period leading up to your actual
retirement is crucial to your overall retirement income," said Connor.
"SunWise Elite Plus provides customers with the peace of mind that their
investments will maintain their value, and that they'll have a guaranteed
income stream for life."
Seven new funds are being added to the SunWise Elite lineup, including
three new Cambridge Funds managed by Alan Radlo. This brings the total to
54 funds, making it the most extensive segregated fund lineup available in
Canada with GMWB income for life. The lineup is well diversified by region,
asset class, investment style and portfolio manager and includes portfolio
management teams from a variety of leading fund companies in addition to
CI Investments. The seven new funds will be:
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- SunWise Elite CI Signature Global Income & Growth Fund
- SunWise Elite CI Cambridge Canadian Asset Allocation Corporate Fund
- SunWise Elite CI Cambridge Canadian Equity Corporate Fund
- SunWise Elite CI Cambridge Global Equity Corporate Fund
- SunWise Elite Northwest Growth & Income Fund
- SunWise Elite Manulife Global Monthly Income Fund
- SunWise Elite Manulife Global Opportunities Fund.
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