Those who are nearing retirement age or have already retired should be interested in a new retirement fund product which was recently launched by Canada Life.
Unusually for Approved Retirement Funds, this product comes with an income guarantee for life, backed by an international insurer with a AA rating from Standard & Poors .
The Canada Life “Lifelong Income Benefit” ARF plan has the following features:
- Guaranteed minimum income
- Income lock-in potential
- Access to fund
- Choice of funds
- Enhanced death benefit compared with traditional ARFs
So you know what you are getting now, not just for the next five years, but for the rest of your life. This is a new concept in ARFs and eliminates the uncertainty about future income which is a feature of ARFs to date. Where the fund performs well, there is potential for the initial guaranteed income to increase.
The performances of each of the three funds are as follows from inception (29th September 2011) to 23rd February 2012:
- LIB Conservative Fund 3.8%
- LIB Moderate Fund 7.9%
- LIB Advanced Fund 12.0%
People with existing ARFs can choose to transfer their full ARF, or a portion of it, to this Canada Life guaranteed income ARF.
The value of your investment can go down as well as up, but given Canada Life’s financial strength and investment track record we have no hesitation in recommending this product to our clients.
If you would like to receive further information, or to arrange a meeting with a Canada Life advisor, please contact either Declan Long or Claire Condron at this office.