McGill Group LIF

Eligibility

Active and inactive members of the McGill University Pension Plan (MUPP) and the McGill University Pension Plan for Members of the Service Employees' Union (SEU Pension Plan):

• inactive members who are 55 years or over;
• active and inactive members who are age 71 and must convert their pension holdings into a retirement income;
• members (retired or terminated who are 55 years or more) who recently settled their holdings with an external financial institution and whose funds continue to be administered under the Quebec Supplemental Pension Plans Act.

Investment options

You may invest your savings in any combination of the available investment options. There are two methods when selecting investments:

1. you can select to invest in a target date balanced options, “Help me do it approach” where you are pointed toward an easy fund based on your investor profile and you make one decision, or
2. you can construct a personalized portfolio using one or a combination of the investment options offered “Let me do it approach”.

*FMFs (as at December 31, 2023) = include investment management fees (IMFs) and operating expenses. IMFs pay professional investment managers to research, select, and manage a fund’s investments. Operating expenses cover fund management costs like legal, audit, transaction, administration and regulatory filing fees. In addition, FMFs pay for keeping records of employee accounts and member servicing costs. The FMFs you see here don’t include the applicable taxes, but we do charge these to employees’ accounts.

If you don't make an investment selection, your holdings will be invested in the McGill VSP Moderate Profile.

Beneficiary

In Quebec, it is not possible to designate a beneficiary for a LIF/RIF. Instead these assets are payable to your spouse, if you have one, unless they have waived their entitlement. If you do not have a spouse, the LIF/RIF balance will be paid to your estate.

Under the Quebec Supplemental Pension Plans Act, the term "spouse" is defined as the person who, on the day preceding your death:

1. is married or in a civil union with you; or
2. has been living in a conjugal relationship with you and you are neither married nor in a civil union whether the person is of the opposite or same sex, for a period of not less than three years, or for a period of not less than one year if:

• at least one child is born, or is to be born, of your union; or;
• you have adopted jointly at least one child while living together in a conjugal relationship, or;
• one of you has adopted at least one child of the other, while living together in a conjugal relationship.

For the purpose of item (2), the birth or adoption of a child prior to a period of conjugal relationship existing on the day preceding your death may qualify a person as a spouse.

Members are urged to consult their legal advisor with respect to any questions regarding their spousal status and beneficiary designation.

Fees

Fund management fees: In your group plan, you pay fund management fees (FMFs). We include these fees in the unit price of each fund you’re invested in. FMFs include investment management fees (IMFs) and operating expenses. IMFs pay professional investment managers to research, select, and manage a fund’s investments. Operating expenses cover fund management costs like legal, audit, transaction, administration, and regulatory filing fees. FMFs also pay for keeping records of your account and member servicing costs. FMFs will be charged to your account on a monthly basis. The FMFs in the Group LIF/RIF range between 0.20% - 0.36% which offer a significant savings relative to similar retail fund offerings which are in the range of 1% - 2.5%.

Annual member fee: $60/per annum (2024). The annual member fee is charged to your account quarterly.

Withdrawal fees:  No charge for scheduled withdrawals.  $25 per unscheduled withdrawal (wiring fees apply for scheduled and unscheduled withdrawals by the receiving institution)

For illustrative purposes only, the table below provides the estimated fees based on a net rate of return of 5.5% and maximum LIF payment stream over a 25-year period: 

Payment frequency

You can schedule to receive monthly, quarterly, annual in addition to ad‐hoc lump sum payments. All cash withdrawals from your GLIF account are paid directly to your Canadian bank account through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) by Sun Life Financial. All or a portion of your money in the GLIF account can be transferred out (tax‐deferred) at any time to another eligible registered retirement plan.

• Scheduled payments are made directly to your bank on the 1st, 15th or last business day of the month.
• Payment instructions remain in effect until you notify Sun Life of any changes.
• To make changes to your payment schedule, contact Sun Life at 1-888-444-2023

Suspending withdrawals from the GLIF

Prior to attaining age 71, you may suspend the required withdrawals from your Group LIF/RIF and transfer your GLIF/RIF balance to a LIRA/RSP.

How do I elect the GLIF?

If you are eligible, login to the McGill University Savings Program website and go to: my financial centre -> requests -> retiring soon and complete and return the “LIF/RIF enrolment form”.

If you don’t have access to the secure site, you may contact the McGill University Savings Program Customer Care Centre at 1-888-444-2023 to inquire on how to obtain access and/or to request a settlement package.

Transfers from personal LIF/RRIFs to the GLIF

If you would like to transfer amounts from a personal LIF and/or RRIF held under Quebec pension legislation into the McGill University - Group Life Income Fund, please contact the Customer Care Centre for the McGill University Savings Programs at 1-888-444-2023 and request the appropriate transfer forms. Your financial institution may restrict transfers from LIF/LIRA/RRIF/RRSP accounts whose investments have not yet matured or levy transfer fees and/or penalties. You are encouraged to consult with your financial institution prior to completing a transfer request.

You will not be permitted to make a withdrawal from a personal LIF that has been transferred to the Group LIF until the beginning of the following year (e.g. if you make a transfer to the Group LIF/RRIF in 2021, you will only be able to make a withdrawal from it in 2022). Prior to requesting a transfer from a personal LIF/RRIF, you should withdraw all the amounts you will need for the rest of the year in which the transfer is being made.