More Canadians to access innovative retirement solution through best-in-class DC plan platform
Purpose Investments is expanding the reach of its innovative Longevity Pension Fund through a partnership with LifeWorks, a pioneer in retirement recordkeeping and consulting services.
The Longevity Pension Fund was unveiled in June last year as Canada's first income-for-life mutual fund for retirees. Longevity, which resembles a defined benefit pension in concept, sets itself apart from other mutual funds by utilizing longevity risk pooling to give Canadian retirees lifetime income.
Read more: Purpose unveils world’s first income-for-life mutual fund
From accumulation through decumulation, its distinctive strategy accompanies investors through every step of their retirement planning journey.
“The challenge of turning financial assets into lasting retirement income is considerable and only growing larger as fewer Canadians have defined benefit pension plans through their employers,” Fraser Stark, president of Purpose’s Longevity Retirement Platform, said.
“Purpose Investments built Longevity with the idea of achieving outcomes similar to a defined benefit plan but democratized so that it’s accessible to everyone. Today marks an exciting milestone for us, as through our partnership with LifeWorks, we’re excited to bring this innovation to even more people,” he added.
Due to a recent acquisition, LifeWorks, a fully owned subsidiary of TELUS, is now a part of TELUS Health. They are a pioneer in developing and implementing wellness policies, including retirement programs, and are one of Canada's biggest record-keepers.
Idan Shlesinger, executive vice president and president, Retirement & Financial Solutions, said: “Longevity protection is one of the toughest challenges for defined contribution pension plans to solve.”
With this collaboration, LifeWorks and Purpose reached another milestone in their continued relationship.
LifeWorks performed actuarial studies on the fund prior to Longevity's launch on June 1, 2021, as well as in the beginning of 2022. The evaluations' findings supported Longevity's ability to reach the initial lifetime income rates and showed that, for the most part, those rates should rise over time.
Read more: Purpose’s Longevity fund gets thumbs up from LifeWorks
Plan sponsors will find it simpler to seamlessly implement a decumulation solution for their plan members who do not have access to a defined benefit pension now that LifeWorks' platform offers Longevity as an option.
The fund will be incorporated into numerous plan sponsor programs as the next step in Purpose's strategy to redefine retirement for Canadians without access to a defined benefit pension.
