1. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON ADVISOR.CA | RETIREMENT RESOURCE CENTER
FEBRUARY 2015
The new Annuity & GIC income comparison tool is
already proving to be a big hit. Caroline Laflamme, Wealth
Sales Director for Sun Life Financial, describes how this
application was created to help make your job easier, and
she’s done the math to prove it.
Many of you were asking for an online tool that could be
used to easily compare the income clients would receive
from a life annuity to income generated from a GIC
portfolio. “Advisors can now use a single, two-sided page
to answer what are sometimes unfounded objections from
investors, who believe that GIC rates may be higher in the
future and therefore potentially provide the opportunity
for higher income.” The reality is that GIC rates would have
to rise significantly to provide the income sustainability of
a guaranteed annuity income.
Laflamme and her sales assistant Valérie Guertin — who’s
a real Excel whiz — worked on this project from January to
May 2014, before handing it off to head office. A dozen or
so people from the marketing, translation, compliance and
technology areas were also involved with some of the more
complex steps; for example, calculating the appropriate
RRIF minimums for an accurate income comparison.
OF
THE
BEHINDthe scenes
comparison
TOOL
NEW
Life’s brighter under the sun

2. “ ”
THE OUTCOME?
The tool successfully launched
in September 2014. “We’re first
in the industry to offer this type
of online solution,” Laflamme
says proudly.
GIC OR LIFE ANNUITY?
Clients are sometimes convinced
it’s better to wait a while before
purchasing a life annuity. “Is it
worth it to hold off until interest
rates go back up?” they may
ask. Waiting is actually a missed
opportunity. “While investors
are waiting to buy a life annuity,
they’re not receiving the income
from that product. How long will it
take to get back the amount being
left on the table?” asks Laflamme.
“And how high do interest rates
have to go for clients to make up
the difference?”
The tool allows you and your
clients to compare the income
from a GIC portfolio to the
income from an annuity purchased
with the same amount of money.
You can choose the interest rate
they think the GICs will earn. The
annuity provides income that
clients can get now, guaranteed to
continue as long as they live.
Life expectancy is on the rise, so
it’s not surprising that an increasing
number of clients want to make
sure their money will last to age
95. The tool allows you to show
the required return on a GIC
portfolio that will ensure it can
match the annuity income to age
95. It would be approximately 5%,
based on current annuity pricing.
But what if clients live past 95?
The tool can also show the higher
GIC returns needed to continue to
have enough GIC assets to sustain
income to age 100.
HELPFUL IN THE FIELD
Feedback on the comparison
tool has been very positive so far,
and simplicity is its strong suit.
“I didn’t want the calculation to
produce an 8-page document, like
a detailed financial plan,” explains
Laflamme. The tool gives a visual
representation that’s easy for
clients to understand, helping you
quash their initial objection.
“Life annuities are a simple and
transparent product, and I wanted
the report to be like that too,”
she adds.
Laflamme describes the potential
next step: “We may very well create
more similar tools for the Money
for Life web app.” If upcoming
initiatives are as on target as this
one, the future definitely looks
bright.
Sign in to sunlife.ca/advisor and go to the Money for Life web app to access the Annuity
& GIC comparison tool, or talk with a member of Sun Life Financial’s Wealth sales team.
Life’s brighter under the sun
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies.
© Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2015.
Caroline Laflamme,
Wealth Sales Director
Individual Wealth Distribution | Sun Life Financial
1155 Metcalfe, Mtl, Qc, H2W 2H8, 603E20
514-592-1055
caroline.laflamme@sunlife.com
Valérie Guertin,
Wealth Sales Assistant
514-866-2472
valerie.guertin@sunlife.com