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Check out this video for a quick overview of the Universal Program.

What is the Universal Program?
What are the advantages of joining the Universal Program?
Who can join the Universal Program?
When and how can I join the Universal Program?
What are my investment choices?
What are the fees?
Important notice
Questions?

What is the Universal Program?

The LifeWorks Universal Program is a complete and flexible group investment solution specially designed to receive the amounts you have accumulated under your former employer’s plans and to help you consolidate your registered savings under one program. It includes the following components:

Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) – locked-in and non locked-in
Spousal registered retirement savings plan (spousal RRSP)
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
Life Income Fund (LIF) – available from age 55
Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) – available from age 55

What are the advantages of joining the Universal Program?

It is the easiest and most convenient way to transfer your savings out of your former employer's plans. You save yourself time since you don't need to search for an individual RRSP, TFSA, LIF or RRIF provider.
You could benefit from lower investment fees than those normally charged for an individual retail RRSP, TFSA, LIF or RRIF.
You can invest in a wide range of segregated funds, which have different risk and return characteristics to suit a variety of investment needs or styles.
Most transfers to the Universal Program are treated as “direct transfers” and as such, they can be completed without tax implications.
You can contribute to your RRSP and/or TFSA through preauthorized debit payments or by cheque. You can also contribute to a spousal RRSP.
You have access to innovative Web tools that will help you manage your personal account, estimate your total retirement income and, in the case of a LIF or RRIF account, select the amount of retirement income to be withdrawn each year.

Who can join the Universal Program?

If you are a former member of a pension or savings plan administered by LifeWorks and you have an entitlement that is eligible, as outlined in the package provided to you, you can join the Universal Program. Your former employer’s plans may also provide for the automatic transfer of your savings to the Universal Program after a certain period of time.

When and how can I join the Universal Program?

You can enroll in the Universal Program at any time by submitting your completed transfer forms to LifeWorks, the Universal Program Administrator. Upon receipt of the documents, we will:

open your personal Universal Program account;
handle the transfer of your savings to your account; and
mail your Universal Program website access ID to you so you can manage your account online.

What are my investment choices?

Under the Universal Program, you are responsible for building your own investment portfolio by choosing from a variety of segregated funds offered by an insurance company. You are also responsible for monitoring your investments to make sure the investment decisions you make continue to be right for you.

When you join the Universal Program—You have the choice between the following two options, which are in the form of segregated funds from an insurance company:

An à la carte portfolio where the proceeds will initially be invested in the GWL TDAM Canadian Bond Index Fund, a segregated fund that mainly invests in federal, provincial and municipal government bonds, along with some corporate bonds. This fund aims to reproduce as closely as possible the returns of the FTSE TMX Canada Universe Bond Index.
A lifecycle portfolio, an investment approach that allows you to build your own investment portfolio and to gradually shift your asset allocation to a lower proportion of equity investments and a higher proportion of fixed income investments based on your age and time to retirement (assuming you will retire at age 65).

After the transfer of your savings to the Universal Program—You will be able to invest in any of the other available à la carte investment options or choose the lifecycle portfolio option if you did not elect this option initially. Please note that the lifecycle portfolio option is available only within the RRSP and TFSA; it is not available within the LIF or RRIF.

If you do not select an investment option—The transferred amounts will be invested in the GWL TDAM Canadian Bond Index Fund or in any other default investment option selected by your former employer.

Choosing your investment options is an important decision. When deciding which investment options are right for you, be sure to consider your retirement goals, your risk tolerance and the length of time until you retire or need to start drawing a retirement income.

We recommend that you consult your financial advisor before making your selections to ensure your investment strategy is in line with your objectives and risk tolerance.

The investment options available under the Universal Program are subject to market volatility and will fluctuate in value. Rates of return and account balances are not guaranteed. The amount you will have available in your account when you choose to withdraw your savings will depend both on the amount you transfer to the plans and how the investment options you select perform.

Lifecycle portfolio option (available under the RRSP and TFSA only)

A Universal Program lifecycle portfolio is not an investment fund, but rather a collection of segregated funds holding stocks and/or fixed-income securities that are grouped together in different asset mixes depending on the investor.

When you choose the lifecycle portfolio option, your portfolio’s asset mix varies according to your age, gradually shifting to a more conservative investment allocation as you near age 65 in order to help reduce your exposure to risk. This means that as you near retirement, your portfolio will include a lower proportion of higher-risk investments, such as stocks, and a higher proportion of lower-risk investments, such as bonds.

The model mix of investments for you would be determined based on your age and time to retirement, assuming you will retire at age 65.

Type of investments—The Universal Program includes the following segregated funds that can be used by you to construct a lifecycle portfolio.

Segregated fund name	Asset class	Management style
GWL TDAM Canadian Bond Index Fund	Fixed income	Passive
GWL TDAM Canadian Equity Index Fund	Canadian equity	Passive
GWL TDAM Global Equity Index Fund	Global equity	Passive
GWL Global Equity Fund Setanta	Global equity	Active

Management style: An active fund manager aims to produce returns that exceed the benchmark index by researching, hand-picking and actively trading the individual securities that make up the fund. A passive fund manager typically holds the same securities, in the same general weightings, as the benchmark index.

The following are examples of lifecycle portfolios based on age and time to retirement, assuming retirement at age 65, using segregated fund investments available in the Universal Program.

Figure 1 – January 2017

Age	GWL TDAM Canadian Bond Index Fund	GWL TDAM Canadian Equity Index Fund	GWL TDAM Global Equity Index Fund	GWL Global Equity Fund (Setanta)
30 or under	0.00%	33.33%	44.45%	22.22%
31	1.00%	33.00%	44.00%	22.00%
32	2.00%	32.67%	43.55%	21.78%
33	3.00%	32.33%	43.11%	21.56%
34	4.00%	32.00%	42.67%	21.33%
35	5.00%	31.67%	42.22%	21.11%
36	6.60%	31.13%	41.51%	20.76%
37	8.20%	30.60%	40.80%	20.40%
38	9.80%	30.07%	40.09%	20.04%
39	11.40%	29.53%	39.38%	19.69%
40	13.00%	29.00%	38.67%	19.33%
41	14.40%	28.53%	38.05%	19.02%
42	15.80%	28.07%	37.42%	18.71%
43	17.20%	27.60%	36.80%	18.40%
44	18.60%	27.13%	36.18%	18.09%
45	20.00%	26.67%	35.55%	17.78%
46	22.00%	26.00%	34.67%	17.33%
47	24.00%	25.33%	33.78%	16.89%
48	26.00%	24.67%	32.89%	16.44%
49	28.00%	24.00%	32.00%	16.00%
50	30.00%	23.33%	31.11%	15.56%
51	31.60%	22.80%	30.40%	15.20%
52	33.20%	22.27%	29.69%	14.84%
53	34.80%	21.73%	28.98%	14.49%
54	36.40%	21.20%	28.27%	14.13%
55	38.00%	20.67%	27.55%	13.78%
56	39.40%	20.20%	26.93%	13.47%
57	40.80%	19.73%	26.31%	13.16%
58	42.20%	19.27%	25.69%	12.84%
59	43.60%	18.80%	25.07%	12.53%
60	45.00%	18.33%	24.45%	12.22%
61	48.00%	17.33%	23.11%	11.56%
62	51.00%	16.33%	21.78%	10.89%
63	54.00%	15.33%	20.45%	10.22%
64	57.00%	14.33%	19.11%	9.56%
65 or over	60.00%	13.33%	17.78%	8.89%

When you choose the lifecycle portfolio option, you are building your own portfolio and directing LifeWorks to rebalance your lifecycle portfolio quarterly to match the target asset mix for your age according to the examples in Figure 1. You are also instructing LifeWorks to adjust the target asset mix according to your time horizon schedule which is based upon the difference between your current age and the date you reach age 65.

Even if you select the lifecycle portfolio option, you should still regularly monitor your investments.

The information contained in this lifecycle portfolio solution is based on the information available as at the date indicated in the Profile, and does not necessarily reflect subsequent changes in market conditions. The information has been drawn from sources believed to be reliable. Where such statements are based in whole or in part on information provided by third parties, they are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. The lifecycle portfolio solution does not provide individual financial, legal, tax or investment advice and is for information purposes only. The lifecycle portfolio solution is not an investment fund. It is a collection of segregated funds that you purchase individually. You should consult your own advisors to determine if the lifecycle portfolio solution is right for you. Charts are used for illustrative purposes only. Particular investment or trading strategies should be evaluated relative to each individual's objectives and risk tolerance. LifeWorks is not liable for any errors or omissions in the information or for any loss or damage suffered. Historical rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns for the period indicated including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would have reduced returns.

À la carte investment options

Every à la carte investment option in the Universal Program follows a specific risk/return philosophy. Generally, the higher the potential returns on an investment, the higher the potential risk.

Though the amount you invest in each of the investment options is up to you, the total percentage must add up to 100%. The table below lists the investment options available under the Universal Program for each asset class. It also indicates the management style for each fund. To learn about a fund's past performance, objectives and top holdings, click the fund name.

Segregated fund name	Asset class	Management style
GWL TDAM Canadian Bond Index Fund	Fixed income	Passive
GWL TDAM US Equity Index Fund	US equity	Passive
GWL TDAM Canadian Equity Index Fund	Canadian equity	Passive
GWL TDAM Short-Term Investment Fund	Fixed income	Passive
GWL TDAM Global Equity Index Fund	Global equity	Passive
GWL Global Equity Fund Setanta	Global equity	Active

What are the fees?

For a summary of the applicable fees, refer to the package provided to you or logon to this website if you are currently a member of the Universal Program.

Important notice

The LifeWorks Universal Program is neither managed nor sponsored by your former employer. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Universal Program design, features and investment options are appropriate for you. LifeWorks does not provide any financial, investment, tax or legal advice. You should consult your independent financial advisor before making important decisions about your savings for retirement.

Questions?

If you have specific questions or need more information about the Universal Program, contact the Universal Program Call Centre at 1.877.878.7960, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Eastern Time), or send an e-mail at universal@lifeworks.com.