Can anyone offer some advice on how to find a financial advisor, how they work and what to look for in one?
Thank you,
*Not Urgent: Please take your time to respond to my email, enjoy the summer!*
Dr. Evelyn Encalada Grez (she/her/ella)
[Latinx] Assistant Professor
| Labour Studies-Sociology & Anthropology
I acknowledge the unceded lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, səl̓ilw̓ ətaʔɬ, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm & kʷikʷəƛ ̓ əm nations in which I live and work & strive to respectfully &
tangibly support.
Simon Fraser University | Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/evgrez | eencalad@sfu.ca
Campus phone number: +1-778-782-3657
Justice for Migrant Workers: https://twitter.com/j4mw
From: Jim Delgrande <jim@cs.sfu.ca>
Sent: July 29, 2022 10:32 AM
To: Anthony Perl; Ralph Mistlberger; Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
Sent: July 29, 2022 10:32 AM
To: Anthony Perl; Ralph Mistlberger; Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
Hi all,
This is a very interesting discussion, with lots of useful tips and suggestions (thanks Ronda!:). Clearly there is no one-size-fits-all approach. For myself, I'm planning on putting my Sun Life contributions into the BCCPP with other savings managed by a financial advisor. Here are a few points that I haven't seen mentioned before. (Of course, I'm not trying to convince anyone; this is just stuff that influenced my thinking.)
- My main concern is that retirement income be predictable and secure. In a word, mindless -- that there is an income stream that I don't have to worry about. True, the colleges plan could potentially go sideways (as can any other plan), but this is a very remote possibility, and to date it is fully funded, with a (capped) reliable cost of living increase. A financial advisor may (emphasis may) come up with better returns over the long run, but in the short run, I have had friends and colleagues who were not happy to see their investments decrease significantly at the start of the pandemic, and again recently. So I'm happy to trade off hypothesised better returns for increased security and predictably.
- It's great having a reliable and knowledgeable financial advisor, but IMO it is not easy to find such a person, and they may not stick around. I am very happy with my current advisor, but this is the fifth advisor that I've had over the last 30+ years: Of the other 4, two were poor-to-bad and I eventually dumped them. Two were very good, but moved on (one to very high net worth clients and one to manage a bunch of financial branches). I expect that my current advisor will retire in the next 5-10 years, and I don't look forward to the uncertainty that that entails.
- As a minor point, I like the idea that the BCCPP is public sector, as opposed to Sun Life or your favourite financial institution, which are beholden foremost to their shareholders. Of course this is mitigated by the fact that any reputable financial advisor should have a fiduciary duty to their clients.
Cheers,
Jim
From: Anthony Perl <aperl@sfu.ca>
Sent: July 28, 2022 5:19 PM
To: Ralph Mistlberger; Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
Sent: July 28, 2022 5:19 PM
To: Ralph Mistlberger; Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
Hello comrades,
I'll add another vote for "No deal" with buying past service in BCCPP. With the quote they gave me, I'd have to keep collecting to age 83, just to get back the amount they require for purchasing past service. If one adds even a modest return on the investment income from those funds (say 2.5%) that one could collect in the intervening years, I wouldn't break even before age 90. That doesn't seem like a good deal to me.
The biggest selling point of the BCCPP to me is that it is supposed to be indexed - keeping up with inflation. But there's an asterisk there too if you read the fine print. If inflation stays as high as it is now, it is likely to exceed the cap on the cost of living increase. For the "sister" BC Municipal Pension plan, their COLA is capped at 2.1%. Better than nothing, but not enough to keep up with inflation at present. I've been unable to find out what the cap on COLA is for BCCPP, but I'm sure that there is one, and that it will be lower than current inflation.
Today, one can get a 5 year GIC paying 5%. That's looking pretty good for moving Sun Life funds into an RRSP with at least some long term GICs in it.
Anthony
From: Ralph Mistlberger <mistlber@sfu.ca>
Sent: July 28, 2022 4:15 PM
To: Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
Sent: July 28, 2022 4:15 PM
To: Lyn Bartram; Nicky Didicher
Cc: Lucas Herrenbrueck; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB plan using an app?
re, 'permanently removed from my estate', explain that to your kids! not
a minor consideration...
On 2022-07-28 4:08 p.m., Lyn Bartram wrote:
> Exactly .Nicky. We did the math, and I think for someone like me on the
> cusp of retirement it’s just not worth it. And any money I move out to
> BCCPP is permanently removed from my estate
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Jul 28, 2022, at 3:09 PM, Nicky Didicher <didicher@sfu.ca> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm still wanting to consult an advisor before deciding, but I don't
>> think the buyback is that attractive for the close-to-retirement
>> people (such as I). It will cost me $50,000 per year for the buyback.
>> If I buy 5 yrs for $250,000, it adds $1,100 per month to my payout
>> pension. That means 17 years before I've gotten back as much as I put
>> in. Yes, I could live a long time past age 82, but I might not. And
>> meanwhile, I could be earning interest on that $250,000 placing it
>> somewhere else.
>>
>> Nicky
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Lucas Herrenbrueck <herrenbrueck@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:55:28 PM
>> *To:* Gerardo Otero; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>>
>> Hi Gerardo and everyone,
>>
>>
>> To provide the perspective of someone early(ish) in their career: I
>> strongly prefer leaving my money at Sunlife, i.e. buy 0 years of BCCPP
>> service. Why? If I stay at SFU for decades more, then my pension will
>> be plenty to cover the needs of life. (If I leave next year, then
>> whether I have 1 or 9 years with the BCCPP doesn't matter that much
>> for my eventual retirement.) As we discussed on this group prior to
>> the pension plan decision, pensions have advantages (you won't outlive
>> your savings) and lump sum funds have advantages too (you can access
>> more of your wealth more quickly, eg if you want to fund a house
>> purchase or someone's college education). Why give up that
>> flexibility? For me, I feel like BCCPP buyback is most advantageous
>> for someone fairly close to retirement, actually, but this will depend
>> on the price offered. (Please consult your actual financial advisor.)
>>
>>
>> Will Sunlife fees continue to be advantageous after the APP ends? (For
>> that matter, are we sure they are now?) I don't know the answer but it
>> will probably involve the process of "shopping"... 😉 If you've been
>> at SFU for a good while and have an appreciable amount in your APP,
>> you might even be able to get financial institutions to /bid/ for the
>> right to manage your money.
>>
>>
>> Lucas
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Gerardo Otero <otero@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:31:39 PM
>> *To:* academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>>
>> Dear Colleagues:
>>
>>
>> I've found this exchange illuminating but still have a question. Let
>> me first say some of the things I think I understand properly, and
>> then I'll raise my question:
>>
>>
>> First, whether to buy service years depends primarily on one's stage
>> in the career. For someone like me, very close to retirement, it's
>> probably best to just take your money and manage it at some
>> institution. For someone early in the career, it's probably best to
>> fully move to the BCCPP.
>>
>>
>> Second, for many years, I've been depositing my RRSP funds in my own
>> banking institution, not at Sunlife. So, at this point, I have similar
>> amounts at both places.
>>
>>
>> Third, if I leave what I accumulated through SFU at Sunlife, I do
>> understand that the funds will continue to be invested and produce
>> yields, etc. But here's where my question emerges: will the fees for
>> these funds at Sunlife continue to be charged at lower groups rates,
>> as they were for SFU? If not, then it's probably indifferent whether I
>> leave them there or merge them with those from my other institution at
>> which I have a personal investment advisor with whom I can meet in
>> person, etc. I like this relationship but I'm not sure what is more
>> advantageous. Any thoughts on this?
>>
>>
>> Best, Gerardo
>>
>>
>>
>> Professor Gerardo Otero
>> School for International Studies
>> Simon Fraser University
>> 7200-515 West Hastings Street
>> Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 5K3
>> Tel. Off: +1-778-782-4508
>> Website: http://www.sfu.ca/people/otero.html
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Dai Heide <dheide@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:17:21 PM
>> *To:* Steve DiPaola
>> *Cc:* Ronda Arab; Anke Kessler; Dylan Cooke; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>> Current SunLife accounts (your legacy pension account, your group
>> RRSP) are /not/ frozen. Assuming that your current balances will
>> “never grow” is a recipe for potentially making some very poor
>> financial decisions. Your balances are still invested in whatever
>> funds you instructed them to be invested in, whether that is the SFU
>> Balanced Fund or some other mix of available funds. You are also able
>> still to contribute to them and balances will rise and fall in
>> accordance with your contributions and the gains and losses of your
>> investments. It’s easy enough to figure this out by logging in to your
>> account and noticing your gains or losses over the last ~13 months
>> that you have been a member of the CPP.
>>
>> Whether or not SunLife will require those plans ultimately to be
>> closed is a different question, one I have heard different answers to.
>> It is clear from the foregoing that if you choose to move money out of
>> one of your current accounts in order to buy service in the CPP, then
>> you must move /all/ the money from that account. But if you are
>> choosing not to buy service from the CPP, then your account remains as
>> described above unless and until SunLife decides to close all legacy
>> accounts and requires you to put your money elsewhere.
>>
>> DH
>>
>>
>> ***************
>> Dr. Dai Heide
>> Senior Lecturer
>> Dept. of Philosophy
>> Simon Fraser University
>>
>>> On Jul 28, 2022, at 2:05 PM, Steve DiPaola <sdipaola@sfu.ca
>>> <mailto:sdipaola@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Question for the group.
>>>
>>> If you are not doing any fund transfers ( buy backs - even if you
>>> are) and simply want to understand the current state/amount of your
>>> SFU retirement plan. My understanding is, it is the combination of:
>>> your current frozen Sunlife amount ( now closed will never grow) plus
>>> your CPP amount which is based on and will grow on years at SFU.
>>> That said there are huge questions about if the amounts can be
>>> calculated correctly now and other issues :
>>>
>>> - How long will this money sitting in your SunLife account be
>>> maintained by SFU (is there guarantees the amount and service center
>>> will stay).
>>> - I was told that the CPP calculator (estimator) is not accurate but
>>> will it be one day - is it now?
>>> - Sun Life and CPP have very different policies on many things like
>>> how your spouse is treated, issue if you die, ...
>>> These are hard to reconcile.
>>> - There is now clear tool or place to get accurate answers as
>>> Sunlife/CPP sites/call center reps are given different answers to us
>>> all about the same policy or deferring answer and saying look elsewhere.
>>> - We were told this was all in flux because of bargaining/final
>>> amounts/etc , so just wait till SFU clean it up including this like
>>> tg CPP calculator - When is that?
>>>
>>>
>>> So is this still in flux - that even without buybacks - is there a
>>> clear way to know the current details / amounts of your
>>> retirement benefits.
>>>
>>> Am I wrong - can we have a clear way to know. Would love a new info
>>> page or workshop. Or your best guess.
>>>
>>> - Steve DiPaola, PhD - -
>>> - Prof: Sch of Interactive Arts & Technology (SIAT);
>>> - Past Director: Cognitive Science Program;
>>> - - Simon Fraser University - - -
>>> research site: ivizlab.sfu.ca <http://ivizlab.org/>
>>> art work site: www.dipaola.org/art/ <http://www.dipaola.org/art/>
>>> our book on: AI and Cognitive Virtual Characters
>>> <http://www.igi-global.com/book/integrating-cognitive-architectures-into-virtual/146983>
>>> At Simon Fraser University, we live and work on the unceded
>>> traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the
>>> xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ
>>> (Tsleil-Waututh) and in SFU Surrey, Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem
>>> (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Qayqayt, Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Tsawassen, and numerous
>>> Stó:lō Nations.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 28, 2022 at 11:31 AM Ronda Arab <ronda_arab@sfu.ca
>>> <mailto:ronda_arab@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>
>>> One more thing that might be useful to people:
>>>
>>>
>>> If you are transferring RRSP funds from Sun Life to the College
>>> Pension Plan (as opposed to DCP funds), you have to fill out a
>>> T2033. Sun Life sent one to me, and I've attached it here.
>>>
>>>
>>> Since the T2033 is a CRA form, I assume you have to use it to
>>> transfer RRSP funds from any financial institution you have them
>>> in, not just Sun Life.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Ronda
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Ronda Arab
>>>
>>> Associate Professor of English
>>>
>>> Simon Fraser University
>>>
>>>
>>> pronouns: she/her
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> *From:* Anke Kessler <akessler@sfu.ca <mailto:akessler@sfu.ca>>
>>> *Sent:* 27 July 2022 13:01
>>> *To:* Dylan Cooke
>>> *Cc:* academic-discussion@sfu.ca <mailto:academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
>>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College
>>> DB plan using an app?
>>> Dylan, thanks for the detailed info, very helpful.
>>>
>>> Note everyone that Dylan is doing a full buyback.
>>>
>>> For partial buyback, I was told from multiple independent sources
>>>
>>> 1. You *must* close your SFU DCPP account.
>>>
>>> 2. You do*not* need the form T2151
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> A
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Anke Kessler (she/her)*
>>> Professor and Chair | Department of Economics
>>> Simon Fraser University | West Mall Complex
>>> 8888 University Dr.. Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6
>>> T: +1-778-782-3443 | http://www.sfu.ca/~akessler/
>>> <http://www.sfu.ca/~akessler/>
>>> <sfu-horizontal.png>
>>> /Located on territories of the Tsleil Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ),
>>> Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and
>>> Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations./
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Jul 25, 2022, at 4:32 PM, Dylan Cooke <dfcooke@sfu.ca
>>>> <mailto:dfcooke@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi All,
>>>>
>>>> I started this process a few weeks ago. Below is some of what
>>>> I've been told by Sun Life, BCCPP, CRA, and a financial
>>>> advisor. Please check important details with your own
>>>> tax/financial advisor! Based on my specific circumstances, my
>>>> advisor recommended maximizing my purchase of service.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Dylan
>>>> --
>>>> Dylan Cooke, PhD, Assistant Professor
>>>> Dept. of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
>>>> Simon Fraser University
>>>> 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6
>>>> 778.782.7667 | dfcooke@sfu.ca <mailto:dfcooke@sfu.ca>
>>>>
>>>> First to Steve's question: Can you buy fewer years than the
>>>> statement of cost lists?
>>>> Yes. This is a maximum number of years. I have to buy somewhat
>>>> less than the maximum because I'm limited by my RRSP
>>>> contribution room (see below).
>>>>
>>>> RRSP room limits for cash purchase of years of service
>>>> My understanding is that there are no tax consequences of using
>>>> RRSP or Sun Life DCP $ to buy years of service. If you want to
>>>> maximize your purchase amount and your DCP + RRSP balances total
>>>> less than that cost of buying maximum years of service, then you
>>>> can also use cash to do this, but how much cash you can use is
>>>> limited by your RRSP contribution room. To find your
>>>> contribution room, log into your CRA account > tax returns >
>>>> 2021 notice of assessment, then look for "available contribution
>>>> room for 2022". I was told by BCCPP and the CRA that this was
>>>> the maximum amount of cash that could be used for service
>>>> purchase. Apparently if you contribute cash over your RRSP
>>>> limit, the CRA can reject the purchase. You should eventually
>>>> receive a tax slip from BCCPP for any cash used to purchase
>>>> years of service (it's perhaps equivalent to an RRSP contribution).
>>>>
>>>> Submitting forms
>>>> Both BCCPP and Sunlife said that digital signatures on forms are
>>>> fine.
>>>> I submitted forms to BCCPP through their website,
>>>> https://myaccount.pensionsbc.ca/
>>>> <https://myaccount.pensionsbc.ca/> > mail icon (envelope in
>>>> circle) left of your name at top right.
>>>> I submitted forms to Sun Life using their app. For Sun Life I
>>>> think you can only submit images and not PDFs. You can either
>>>> take photos with your phone or on a computer, open the PDF in
>>>> acrobat > file >export to > image.
>>>>
>>>> Which forms?
>>>> This was confusing at first.
>>>> I called BCCPP and was told that Sun Life would ask me to have
>>>> BCCPP fill out a form but that that wasn't possible. Then I
>>>> called Sun Life and indeed they wanted form T2151 filled out
>>>> before they sent a cheque. After some more back and forth,
>>>> BCCPP said they could fill out T2151 after receiving the cheque
>>>> from Sun Life and Sun Life said they could send the cheque
>>>> /before/ receiving the form. I hope the messaging by agents is
>>>> clearer now...
>>>> So I ended up filling out and sending form T2151 (supplied by
>>>> Sun Life) and the entire statement of cost document (which
>>>> includes the "Invoice" form and the "RRSP/RPP Transfer" form).
>>>> I sent all of that to both BCCPP and Sun Life. Not sure if this
>>>> was overkill.
>>>>
>>>> Dollar amount to enter on BCCPP RRSP/RPP Transfer form
>>>> If your Sun Life RPP is invested, the value varies daily, so the
>>>> exact number you enter on the Transfer form is not important.
>>>> Just specify that you want the whole balance transferred (if
>>>> that's what you want).
>>>>
>>>> Latency for Sun Life cheque
>>>> I submitted forms on July 8 and was told that the check should
>>>> be sent to BCCPP by about July 28. BCCPP said that their system
>>>> will show the cheque received after 1-2 weeks. BCCPP encouraged
>>>> me to check that they received $ from Sun Life. After BCCPP
>>>> gets all $ from Sun Life and you, they begin a process with CRA
>>>> verifying that the amount is allowed - this takes many weeks, so
>>>> don't delay starting the process.
>>>>
>>>> Contacting BCCPP and Sun Life
>>>> I've had pretty short wait times each time I've called BCCPP and
>>>> Sun Life
>>>> BCCPP: 1-888-440-0111 x1(member of CPP) x4 (buy back), then
>>>> enter your "person ID #" (from your statement of cost)
>>>> 8-4:30p M-F PT
>>>> Sun Life: 1-866-733-8612 x1 x3. 8a-8p ET
>>>> You can also message BCCPP the same place where you submit
>>>> documents (see above). Latency for written response is 1-2 days
>>>> in my experience.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2022-07-25 2:20 p.m., Steve Kates wrote:
>>>>> Hello colleagues.
>>>>>
>>>>> I just spoke to a Sunlife representative and she told me that
>>>>> if we do nothing, SFUs arrangement with Sunlife continues until
>>>>> we retire or leave SFU.
>>>>>
>>>>> Anke, I was careful to specify our situation but this sounds
>>>>> like different advice than what you received.
>>>>>
>>>>> Comments?
>>>>>
>>>>> Also - will the College pension allow us to buy fewer years
>>>>> than what they specify in their communications to us, or do we
>>>>> have to buy exactly the amount they state? Does anyone know?
>>>>>
>>>>> who would be a good person to talk to at the college pension
>>>>> plan to answer this question?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks. Take care, everyone.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve
>>>>>
>>>
>>
--
Ralph Mistlberger, PhD
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC Canada V5A 1S6
a minor consideration...
On 2022-07-28 4:08 p.m., Lyn Bartram wrote:
> Exactly .Nicky. We did the math, and I think for someone like me on the
> cusp of retirement it’s just not worth it. And any money I move out to
> BCCPP is permanently removed from my estate
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Jul 28, 2022, at 3:09 PM, Nicky Didicher <didicher@sfu.ca> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm still wanting to consult an advisor before deciding, but I don't
>> think the buyback is that attractive for the close-to-retirement
>> people (such as I). It will cost me $50,000 per year for the buyback.
>> If I buy 5 yrs for $250,000, it adds $1,100 per month to my payout
>> pension. That means 17 years before I've gotten back as much as I put
>> in. Yes, I could live a long time past age 82, but I might not. And
>> meanwhile, I could be earning interest on that $250,000 placing it
>> somewhere else.
>>
>> Nicky
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Lucas Herrenbrueck <herrenbrueck@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:55:28 PM
>> *To:* Gerardo Otero; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>>
>> Hi Gerardo and everyone,
>>
>>
>> To provide the perspective of someone early(ish) in their career: I
>> strongly prefer leaving my money at Sunlife, i.e. buy 0 years of BCCPP
>> service. Why? If I stay at SFU for decades more, then my pension will
>> be plenty to cover the needs of life. (If I leave next year, then
>> whether I have 1 or 9 years with the BCCPP doesn't matter that much
>> for my eventual retirement.) As we discussed on this group prior to
>> the pension plan decision, pensions have advantages (you won't outlive
>> your savings) and lump sum funds have advantages too (you can access
>> more of your wealth more quickly, eg if you want to fund a house
>> purchase or someone's college education). Why give up that
>> flexibility? For me, I feel like BCCPP buyback is most advantageous
>> for someone fairly close to retirement, actually, but this will depend
>> on the price offered. (Please consult your actual financial advisor.)
>>
>>
>> Will Sunlife fees continue to be advantageous after the APP ends? (For
>> that matter, are we sure they are now?) I don't know the answer but it
>> will probably involve the process of "shopping"... 😉 If you've been
>> at SFU for a good while and have an appreciable amount in your APP,
>> you might even be able to get financial institutions to /bid/ for the
>> right to manage your money.
>>
>>
>> Lucas
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Gerardo Otero <otero@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:31:39 PM
>> *To:* academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>>
>> Dear Colleagues:
>>
>>
>> I've found this exchange illuminating but still have a question. Let
>> me first say some of the things I think I understand properly, and
>> then I'll raise my question:
>>
>>
>> First, whether to buy service years depends primarily on one's stage
>> in the career. For someone like me, very close to retirement, it's
>> probably best to just take your money and manage it at some
>> institution. For someone early in the career, it's probably best to
>> fully move to the BCCPP.
>>
>>
>> Second, for many years, I've been depositing my RRSP funds in my own
>> banking institution, not at Sunlife. So, at this point, I have similar
>> amounts at both places.
>>
>>
>> Third, if I leave what I accumulated through SFU at Sunlife, I do
>> understand that the funds will continue to be invested and produce
>> yields, etc. But here's where my question emerges: will the fees for
>> these funds at Sunlife continue to be charged at lower groups rates,
>> as they were for SFU? If not, then it's probably indifferent whether I
>> leave them there or merge them with those from my other institution at
>> which I have a personal investment advisor with whom I can meet in
>> person, etc. I like this relationship but I'm not sure what is more
>> advantageous. Any thoughts on this?
>>
>>
>> Best, Gerardo
>>
>>
>>
>> Professor Gerardo Otero
>> School for International Studies
>> Simon Fraser University
>> 7200-515 West Hastings Street
>> Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 5K3
>> Tel. Off: +1-778-782-4508
>> Website: http://www.sfu.ca/people/otero.html
|
www.sfu.ca
|
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Dai Heide <dheide@sfu.ca>
>> *Sent:* July 28, 2022 2:17:21 PM
>> *To:* Steve DiPaola
>> *Cc:* Ronda Arab; Anke Kessler; Dylan Cooke; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College DB
>> plan using an app?
>> Current SunLife accounts (your legacy pension account, your group
>> RRSP) are /not/ frozen. Assuming that your current balances will
>> “never grow” is a recipe for potentially making some very poor
>> financial decisions. Your balances are still invested in whatever
>> funds you instructed them to be invested in, whether that is the SFU
>> Balanced Fund or some other mix of available funds. You are also able
>> still to contribute to them and balances will rise and fall in
>> accordance with your contributions and the gains and losses of your
>> investments. It’s easy enough to figure this out by logging in to your
>> account and noticing your gains or losses over the last ~13 months
>> that you have been a member of the CPP.
>>
>> Whether or not SunLife will require those plans ultimately to be
>> closed is a different question, one I have heard different answers to.
>> It is clear from the foregoing that if you choose to move money out of
>> one of your current accounts in order to buy service in the CPP, then
>> you must move /all/ the money from that account. But if you are
>> choosing not to buy service from the CPP, then your account remains as
>> described above unless and until SunLife decides to close all legacy
>> accounts and requires you to put your money elsewhere.
>>
>> DH
>>
>>
>> ***************
>> Dr. Dai Heide
>> Senior Lecturer
>> Dept. of Philosophy
>> Simon Fraser University
>>
>>> On Jul 28, 2022, at 2:05 PM, Steve DiPaola <sdipaola@sfu.ca
>>> <mailto:sdipaola@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Question for the group.
>>>
>>> If you are not doing any fund transfers ( buy backs - even if you
>>> are) and simply want to understand the current state/amount of your
>>> SFU retirement plan. My understanding is, it is the combination of:
>>> your current frozen Sunlife amount ( now closed will never grow) plus
>>> your CPP amount which is based on and will grow on years at SFU.
>>> That said there are huge questions about if the amounts can be
>>> calculated correctly now and other issues :
>>>
>>> - How long will this money sitting in your SunLife account be
>>> maintained by SFU (is there guarantees the amount and service center
>>> will stay).
>>> - I was told that the CPP calculator (estimator) is not accurate but
>>> will it be one day - is it now?
>>> - Sun Life and CPP have very different policies on many things like
>>> how your spouse is treated, issue if you die, ...
>>> These are hard to reconcile.
>>> - There is now clear tool or place to get accurate answers as
>>> Sunlife/CPP sites/call center reps are given different answers to us
>>> all about the same policy or deferring answer and saying look elsewhere.
>>> - We were told this was all in flux because of bargaining/final
>>> amounts/etc , so just wait till SFU clean it up including this like
>>> tg CPP calculator - When is that?
>>>
>>>
>>> So is this still in flux - that even without buybacks - is there a
>>> clear way to know the current details / amounts of your
>>> retirement benefits.
>>>
>>> Am I wrong - can we have a clear way to know. Would love a new info
>>> page or workshop. Or your best guess.
>>>
>>> - Steve DiPaola, PhD - -
>>> - Prof: Sch of Interactive Arts & Technology (SIAT);
>>> - Past Director: Cognitive Science Program;
>>> - - Simon Fraser University - - -
>>> research site: ivizlab.sfu.ca <http://ivizlab.org/>
>>> art work site: www.dipaola.org/art/ <http://www.dipaola.org/art/>
>>> our book on: AI and Cognitive Virtual Characters
>>> <http://www.igi-global.com/book/integrating-cognitive-architectures-into-virtual/146983>
>>> At Simon Fraser University, we live and work on the unceded
>>> traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the
>>> xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ
>>> (Tsleil-Waututh) and in SFU Surrey, Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem
>>> (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Qayqayt, Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Tsawassen, and numerous
>>> Stó:lō Nations.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 28, 2022 at 11:31 AM Ronda Arab <ronda_arab@sfu.ca
>>> <mailto:ronda_arab@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>
>>> One more thing that might be useful to people:
>>>
>>>
>>> If you are transferring RRSP funds from Sun Life to the College
>>> Pension Plan (as opposed to DCP funds), you have to fill out a
>>> T2033. Sun Life sent one to me, and I've attached it here.
>>>
>>>
>>> Since the T2033 is a CRA form, I assume you have to use it to
>>> transfer RRSP funds from any financial institution you have them
>>> in, not just Sun Life.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Ronda
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Ronda Arab
>>>
>>> Associate Professor of English
>>>
>>> Simon Fraser University
>>>
>>>
>>> pronouns: she/her
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> *From:* Anke Kessler <akessler@sfu.ca <mailto:akessler@sfu.ca>>
>>> *Sent:* 27 July 2022 13:01
>>> *To:* Dylan Cooke
>>> *Cc:* academic-discussion@sfu.ca <mailto:academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
>>> *Subject:* Re: Transferring Funds from Sunlife DC plan to College
>>> DB plan using an app?
>>> Dylan, thanks for the detailed info, very helpful.
>>>
>>> Note everyone that Dylan is doing a full buyback.
>>>
>>> For partial buyback, I was told from multiple independent sources
>>>
>>> 1. You *must* close your SFU DCPP account.
>>>
>>> 2. You do*not* need the form T2151
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> A
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Anke Kessler (she/her)*
>>> Professor and Chair | Department of Economics
>>> Simon Fraser University | West Mall Complex
>>> 8888 University Dr.. Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6
>>> T: +1-778-782-3443 | http://www.sfu.ca/~akessler/
>>> <http://www.sfu.ca/~akessler/>
>>> <sfu-horizontal.png>
>>> /Located on territories of the Tsleil Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ),
>>> Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and
>>> Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations./
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Jul 25, 2022, at 4:32 PM, Dylan Cooke <dfcooke@sfu.ca
>>>> <mailto:dfcooke@sfu.ca>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi All,
>>>>
>>>> I started this process a few weeks ago. Below is some of what
>>>> I've been told by Sun Life, BCCPP, CRA, and a financial
>>>> advisor. Please check important details with your own
>>>> tax/financial advisor! Based on my specific circumstances, my
>>>> advisor recommended maximizing my purchase of service.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Dylan
>>>> --
>>>> Dylan Cooke, PhD, Assistant Professor
>>>> Dept. of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
>>>> Simon Fraser University
>>>> 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6
>>>> 778.782.7667 | dfcooke@sfu.ca <mailto:dfcooke@sfu.ca>
>>>>
>>>> First to Steve's question: Can you buy fewer years than the
>>>> statement of cost lists?
>>>> Yes. This is a maximum number of years. I have to buy somewhat
>>>> less than the maximum because I'm limited by my RRSP
>>>> contribution room (see below).
>>>>
>>>> RRSP room limits for cash purchase of years of service
>>>> My understanding is that there are no tax consequences of using
>>>> RRSP or Sun Life DCP $ to buy years of service. If you want to
>>>> maximize your purchase amount and your DCP + RRSP balances total
>>>> less than that cost of buying maximum years of service, then you
>>>> can also use cash to do this, but how much cash you can use is
>>>> limited by your RRSP contribution room. To find your
>>>> contribution room, log into your CRA account > tax returns >
>>>> 2021 notice of assessment, then look for "available contribution
>>>> room for 2022". I was told by BCCPP and the CRA that this was
>>>> the maximum amount of cash that could be used for service
>>>> purchase. Apparently if you contribute cash over your RRSP
>>>> limit, the CRA can reject the purchase. You should eventually
>>>> receive a tax slip from BCCPP for any cash used to purchase
>>>> years of service (it's perhaps equivalent to an RRSP contribution).
>>>>
>>>> Submitting forms
>>>> Both BCCPP and Sunlife said that digital signatures on forms are
>>>> fine.
>>>> I submitted forms to BCCPP through their website,
>>>> https://myaccount.pensionsbc.ca/
>>>> <https://myaccount.pensionsbc.ca/> > mail icon (envelope in
>>>> circle) left of your name at top right.
>>>> I submitted forms to Sun Life using their app. For Sun Life I
>>>> think you can only submit images and not PDFs. You can either
>>>> take photos with your phone or on a computer, open the PDF in
>>>> acrobat > file >export to > image.
>>>>
>>>> Which forms?
>>>> This was confusing at first.
>>>> I called BCCPP and was told that Sun Life would ask me to have
>>>> BCCPP fill out a form but that that wasn't possible. Then I
>>>> called Sun Life and indeed they wanted form T2151 filled out
>>>> before they sent a cheque. After some more back and forth,
>>>> BCCPP said they could fill out T2151 after receiving the cheque
>>>> from Sun Life and Sun Life said they could send the cheque
>>>> /before/ receiving the form. I hope the messaging by agents is
>>>> clearer now...
>>>> So I ended up filling out and sending form T2151 (supplied by
>>>> Sun Life) and the entire statement of cost document (which
>>>> includes the "Invoice" form and the "RRSP/RPP Transfer" form).
>>>> I sent all of that to both BCCPP and Sun Life. Not sure if this
>>>> was overkill.
>>>>
>>>> Dollar amount to enter on BCCPP RRSP/RPP Transfer form
>>>> If your Sun Life RPP is invested, the value varies daily, so the
>>>> exact number you enter on the Transfer form is not important.
>>>> Just specify that you want the whole balance transferred (if
>>>> that's what you want).
>>>>
>>>> Latency for Sun Life cheque
>>>> I submitted forms on July 8 and was told that the check should
>>>> be sent to BCCPP by about July 28. BCCPP said that their system
>>>> will show the cheque received after 1-2 weeks. BCCPP encouraged
>>>> me to check that they received $ from Sun Life. After BCCPP
>>>> gets all $ from Sun Life and you, they begin a process with CRA
>>>> verifying that the amount is allowed - this takes many weeks, so
>>>> don't delay starting the process.
>>>>
>>>> Contacting BCCPP and Sun Life
>>>> I've had pretty short wait times each time I've called BCCPP and
>>>> Sun Life
>>>> BCCPP: 1-888-440-0111 x1(member of CPP) x4 (buy back), then
>>>> enter your "person ID #" (from your statement of cost)
>>>> 8-4:30p M-F PT
>>>> Sun Life: 1-866-733-8612 x1 x3. 8a-8p ET
>>>> You can also message BCCPP the same place where you submit
>>>> documents (see above). Latency for written response is 1-2 days
>>>> in my experience.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2022-07-25 2:20 p.m., Steve Kates wrote:
>>>>> Hello colleagues.
>>>>>
>>>>> I just spoke to a Sunlife representative and she told me that
>>>>> if we do nothing, SFUs arrangement with Sunlife continues until
>>>>> we retire or leave SFU.
>>>>>
>>>>> Anke, I was careful to specify our situation but this sounds
>>>>> like different advice than what you received.
>>>>>
>>>>> Comments?
>>>>>
>>>>> Also - will the College pension allow us to buy fewer years
>>>>> than what they specify in their communications to us, or do we
>>>>> have to buy exactly the amount they state? Does anyone know?
>>>>>
>>>>> who would be a good person to talk to at the college pension
>>>>> plan to answer this question?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks. Take care, everyone.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve
>>>>>
>>>
>>
--
Ralph Mistlberger, PhD
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC Canada V5A 1S6