Sales process tips and reminders

A collection of tips and helpful reminders to help you with the application process for Sun Life GIFs

Questions?

• Email: Sun Life Wealth Sales Team
• Call Sun Life GIFs client service team - 1-844-753-4437 or email gifs@sunlife.com

General reminders/tips

• New applications - An application is required for the initial purchase of Sun GIF Solutions, in any series.
  • If you’re adding Income or Estate Series to an existing contract an application is not required. Complete the applicable section on the Order ticket (4610)
• The application contains pages at the back titled ‘What you understand and agree to when you sign this application’. Ensure the Client reads these pages before signing.
• The information folder and contract and the applicable fund facts must be provided to the Client at the time of sale. The Client can choose to have these documents sent to them by email, which you can easily do from the Fund facts page.
  • For Clients residing in Quebec, a French version of the application and information folder & contract must be provided to the Client even if their preferred language is English. Once they receive the French version, the Client whose preferred language is English may then complete the application and request the information folder & contract in English.
• All products have minimum deposit and a maximum age in which deposits will be accepted. Refer to the Products-at-a-Glance (810-4315) for details.

Product information and Registration type

• An application must be submitted for each contract (use the same form for all) and only one registration type can be selected.
• For locked-in contracts:
  • Indicate the pension jurisdiction.
  • If the owner has a spouse, and the contract is a LIF, LRIF, PRIF, or RLIF: complete the appropriate consent or waiver form as required by the applicable pension jurisdiction.

Owner information and identity verification

• If purchasing Sun GIF Solutions Income Series or Sun Lifetime Advantage GIF, completing the Assigned sex at birth field on the application is mandatory.
• If the contract is non-registered (excluding corporate, estate or trust), the entire Owner information and identity verification section (AML and identity verification) must be completed. Corporate, estate, trust contracts must complete and submit the applicable AML/Identity Verification and Tax classification forms as well as corporate documents. See the list of Corporate documents below.
• While photo identification is the preferred method of identity verification, the dual process method can be used. Complete sections, 1, 6, and 7 of the 4830 (Identity verification, third party determination and politically exposed persons (PEP) form and submit it with the application.

Joint, in trust for, or spousal registered plan information and identity verification

• For joint owner contracts, if you want the contract to continue after the death of the annuitant, the Successor annuitant information section MUST be completed. One owner should be the annuitant and the other the successor annuitant.
• If the annuitant dies and there’s no successor annuitant named, the contract will be paid to the named beneficiaries.

Annuitant information

• If this section is not completed, the annuitant will be the same as the owner (primary owner, not the joint owner).
• If the contract is non-registered, this section needs to be completed only if the annuitant is different than the owner (primary owner, not the joint owner).
• If the contact is registered, the annuitant must be the owner.
• The annuitant must be a resident of Canada at the time of issue.

Successor annuitant information

• If you want the contract to continue after the death of the annuitant, the Successor annuitant information section MUST be completed.
• RRIF contracts: the successor annuitant must be the annuitant’s spouse and if they’re still the spouse when the annuitant dies, they’ll become the owner of the contract. There’s no need to name the spouse as beneficiary.
• The successor annuitant cannot be named as a beneficiary on the contract.
• The successor annuitant must be a resident of Canada at the time of issue.
• A person acting under a power of attorney/mandate cannot name a successor annuitant.

Successor owner information

• If the owner is also the annuitant, a successor annuitant must be named for the contract to continue after the death of the annuitant. 
• The successor owner must be a resident of Canada at the time of issue.
• A person acting under a power of attorney/mandate cannot name a successor owner.

Lifetime guaranteed income option

• The income option must be selected at the time of the application and it can’t be changed.
• If the contract is locked-in, at some point the maximum annual payment may be less than the guaranteed income. See ‘What you need to know about LIF maximums and Sun Life GIFs contracts with lifetime guaranteed income’ to understand what the Client can do.
• If the joint life income option is selected:
  • The joint life must the owner’s spouse.
  • The joint life must sign the application.
  • For the income to continue after the death of the annuitant, the joint life must also be the successor annuitant.  Exception: for RRSPs or locked-in contracts, name the spouse as sole beneficiary.

Beneficiary designation

• For Sun GIF Solutions, beneficiaries are named at the contract level and apply to all series held in the contract. For example: You can’t name different beneficiaries for Income Series and Estate Series within the same contract.
• Naming an irrevocable beneficiary on a contract means the owner must get the consent of the beneficiary for certain transactions. See the Contract Structure Guide (810-4301) for more information.
• The Legacy Settlement Option form (4633) gives owners the opportunity to customize how money is paid to their beneficiaries. They can provide different instructions for each beneficiary and instruct the payment to be made in a lump sum, a payout annuity, or a combination of both.
• Reminder:  A person acting under a power of attorney/mandate cannot name a beneficiary on a contract.

Dollar cost average fund (DCA) switch instructions

• Money must be allocated to the receiving funds within a 12-month period from the time of deposit to the DCA fund.
• Ensure you enter the DCA fund code in this section. The fund codes entered here are the codes for the receiving funds.
• Note: If fund allocation instructions are not received within 90 days of the deposit to the DCA fund, we may move the money to the Sun Daily Interest Fund or a substantially similar fund.

RRIF/LIF/LRIF/RLIF/PRIF and SWP payment details

• If purchasing an Income Series or Sun Lifetime Advantage GIF RRIF contract:
  • Selecting the lifetime guaranteed income payment option ensures the owner receives the greater of the RRIF minimum amount or the lifetime guaranteed income amount (called the adjusted lifetime guaranteed income).
  • If the annual RRIF minimum changes, the income amount could also change.

Acknowledgement/authorization

• The city and province where signed is mandatory.
• For Clients of third party advisors: To grant Transaction authorization, ensure you check the box. No additional forms are required. Ensure the Client reads the back page titled: ‘What you understand and agree to when you sign this application’, so they know what transactions they’re authorizing.

Legacy Settlement Option form (4633)

• Submitting this form replaces all previous beneficiary designations. Ensure all beneficiaries are included on this form, even if they are only receiving lump sum payments.
• A beneficiary can receive a lump sum, a payout annuity or a combination of these options. Each beneficiary can have different options.
• If selecting a deferral option:
  • The maximum deferral term is 10 years.
  • If the Client selects ‘begin payments at age’, ensure the age of the beneficiary doesn’t exceed 10 years from the date the form is signed. For example, if the beneficiary is age 15, you can only defer payments to age 25 (or under).
  • Beneficiaries receive a tax slip for any interest earned during the deferral period.
• The beneficiary of the Sun Life GIF contract is allowed to name a beneficiary on the annuity. If the Sun Life GIF contract owner does not want to allow this, they will need to check the box and the beneficiary on the annuity will be Estate.
• If naming contingent beneficiaries:
  • The contingent beneficiary is only valid while the Sun Life GIFs contract is in force, it doesn’t carry over to the annuity. Once the death benefit is paid out to the primary beneficiaries, all contingent beneficiaries named on this form become invalid.
  • Remember to indicate which primary beneficiary the contingent beneficiary is for.

After the sale

• Once the application is submitted, we’ll send the Client transaction confirmations:
  • For the initial purchase into the contract, and
  • Following each subsequent transaction including lump sum deposits, withdrawals and transitions (Sun GIF Solutions).
• Contract statements are sent semi-annually in January and July.
• Tax slips are sent between January and March.
• To access up to date contract information Clients can contact the Sun Life GIFs client service team at 1-844-753-4437 to set up their secure access to MySunLifeGIFs.

Corporate documents

• When completing an application for corporate, not-for-profit, or non-corporate entity contracts the following documents must be submitted along with the application:
  • Identity verification and third party determination for entity owners form (4831)
  • International tax classification for an entity form (4545)
  • Certificate of incumbency from (4207)
  • Articles of incorporation or articles of association (corporations and not-for-profit only)
  • Board resolution or corporate bylaw evidencing authority of signing officers (corporations and not-for-profit only)
  • Partnerships agreements (if applicable)
  • Copy of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registration (not-for-profit only)
  • Copy of trust agreement for trust (non-corporate entity only)
  • Copy of the will for estate (non-corporate entity only)
  • Copy of the formation document of the organization (all other non-corporate legal entities)
  • Evidence of signing authorities of the signing officers (all other non-corporate legal entities)