Want to make the most of your group savings plan? Visit My Canada Life at Work^TM. This is Canada Life’s member site, which can help you: 

1. Set or update your retirement income goal
   Fill out some goal-related information to determine how much you’ll need to retire, then track your progress. You can always update your goal as your life changes.

2. Contribute. Contribute. Contribute
   Put as much as you can toward your group savings whenever you can – and take advantage of employer matching if it’s available.

3. Transfer your individual savings to your group plan
   Your group savings plan typically offers more competitive fees than individual savings plans. When you save on fees, more of your money goes toward your savings for your future.

4. Increase your contributions
   As you progress, you can always increase your contributions through pre-authorized payments or online banking, if your plan allows.

5. Open another savings plan
   If your group plan offers it, consider opening another savings plan so you can benefit from lower fees, tax advantages and more options to help you reach your financial goals.

While you’re on the site, you can also:

• Check your current balance and review your statements
• Add or change your beneficiary
• Enter or update your contact information, including your email address
• View your portfolio and review fund performance
• Make changes to your investments

…and so much more.

Your financial future is at your fingertips! The next time you have a few spare minutes, visit mycanadalifeatwork.com to check in on the money you’ve worked so hard to save!

A budget helps you document all your monthly income, expenses and savings. It identifies where you can save money now so you can spend it later by focusing on a few things:

• Have a budget and stick to it
• Set a weekly allowance
• Document your goals and monitor your progress so you can stay motivated
• Estimate future cash crunches and know how you’ll make up any shortfall
• Understand that the money you save today is the money you can enjoy tomorrow
• Adjust your budget as your income changes
• Consolidate debts to increase cash flow
• If you have a partner, involve them in the planning process

Your net worth reflects how much money you’d be worth if you sold everything you own and paid off all your debts. A net-worth statement is a snapshot of how you’re doing at a specific point in time. Tracking your net worth is a helpful indicator of your financial stability. It can also help you identify areas where you spend too much money. By comparing net worth statements, you can see how you’re progressing, such as year over year.

Many people think a credit report’s only purpose is to secure loans or credit cards. While this is a key factor of credit reports, they’re also an invaluable tool to help people monitor, prevent and fix their personal identity.

Obtaining your own report does not affect your credit score.

Where to get them

There are two main credit bureaus in Canada. These are TransUnion and Equifax.

How much they cost

A basic report is available for free on each site. A complete report with your credit score costs about $25.

You may see offers to retrieve your report with credit score for free from others. These organizations have service agreements with TransUnion and Equifax. They purchase credit information from them and then offer it for free to consumers in the hopes of selling ancillary products or services.

Companies also offer credit monitoring services. For a monthly fee they’ll use software to continuously monitor the activity on your credit report and let you know of any suspicious activity. While these services may seem attractive and can be beneficial, read the fine print of exactly what is being offered and at what cost.

There are ways you can protect yourself for free including:

• Reviewing your credit report annually
• Being selective about who you provide personal information to
• Regularly updating your passwords and never staying signed into websites that contain or ask for sensitive personal data

What they contain

When you receive your credit report, you’ll note that it contains detailed personal information about your:

• Credit score and explanation
• Name, address, SIN, phone numbers, marital status, date of birth, current and past addresses
• Current and past employment
• Other reported income sources
• Credit history and banking information
• Public records like bankruptcies, returned cheques and liens if there are claims against any assets you own
• Consumer statement: If you think a personal statement or comment about something negative on your credit report would help future lenders, you can place a short consumer statement on your file. This may include a brief explanation of why your credit is negative, information about a specific debt or a disclosure if you were a victim of identity theft.
• Credit inquiries: Let’s clarify what credit inquiries are reported. Both soft and hard inquiries are reported, but personal report requests usually aren’t.
  • Hard inquiries to your report are made when you apply for new credit such as credit cards, store financing, a mortgage or any other type of loan or debt instrument.
  • Soft inquiries are when an existing creditor checks your report to update their records. Hard inquiries do affect your credit score, but soft inquiries don’t unless they’re intended for additional lending.

It’s important that you review your report once you receive it – and annually – to:

• Avoid identity theft
• Verify your current and past contact information
• Ensure all inquiries on your report are correct
• Verify the amount, type and name of each creditor
• Ensure that any old and unused credit is cancelled by creditor and reflected as such on your report
• Verify payment history for each creditor reported and total credit limit

It’s also important that you report any discrepancies to Equifax or TransUnion immediately.

How they’re calculated

The main factors involved in calculating a credit score are:

• Your payment history – 35%
• Your used versus available credit – 30%
• The length of your credit history – 15%
• Public records – 10%
• The number of inquiries into your credit file – 10%

Approximately 2/3 of your report revolves around your existing personal finances. This includes the total existing credit you have available to you, how much of it you’re actively using and the debt you manage on an ongoing basis. As a result, it’s important to ensure the payments on all your debts are kept current – even if you’re only paying the minimum amounts.

What they mean

Scores mean you credit is:

• Excellent if 730 or more
• Good/above average if between 700-729
• Good if between 670-699
• Fair if between 585-669
• Poor if between 584 or less

KOHO – A spending account with the perks of a credit card but none of the risk

For more mindful spending and saving, consider this prepaid, reloadable Visa card that draws from money that’s already yours. You also benefit from an app that gives you real-time insights and control over your spending – with added contribution and top-up options.

Learn more at partners.koho.ca/canadalife

Understand your debt

• How much do you owe?
• How long have you owed it?
• How much has it cost you so far?
• What are the terms and interest rates of each debt?
• Which debts are secured versus unsecured?
• Who holds the debt (you, your partner or both)?
• Is any of the interest deductible?
  • Investment loans
  • Student loans

Types of debt

As a Canada Life group savings plan member, you have access to free programs and services to help support your financial goals. If something unexpected happens, our credit counselling partners can help you.

Credit Counselling Society

nomoredebts.org
1-877-636-8999

SolveYourDebts.com (for plan members in Quebec and Atlantic Canada)

solveyourdebts.com
1-888-753-2227

Smart Path lets you explore a range of educational content that’s centred around financial literacy.

NextStep^TM is a great option when you’re leaving your workplace or retiring – but don’t want to lose out on the benefits of a group savings plan.

Canada Life’s investment and retirement consultants can help you create a personal retirement strategy before you retire, help you explore options for health insurance coverage after you retire – and more.

Canada Life health and wealth consultants are licensed and non-commissioned specialists who are available to help you as members understand and utilize your plan.

National education webinars are available annually for group retirement services plan members.

Workplace Strategies for Mental Health provides helpful well-being resources for you and your loved ones.

Health Connected sheds light on your health risks and health skills to show you where you stand and where to focus.

Freedom to Choose^TM health and dental insurance helps you tackle health and dental costs not covered by your provincial health plan – at a price that works for you and your family.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada offers tips and tools to understand your finances.

Videos: Here’s a series of videos you can use to get a better understanding of the products and services available to Canada Life group savings plan members.