Standard Life offers a wide range of immediate and deferred annuities - on both a registered and non-registered basis - to choose from.
Life Annuity
Single Life Annuity
- Provides annuity payments for your lifetime
- Options available
- Guaranteed Period
- Life Cash Refund
- Installment Refund
Joint Life Annuity
- Provides level or increasing annuity payments for your lifetime and that of your spouse
- Income continues in full or at a reduced amount to the surviving spouse
- Income can be reduced by a fixed amount or by a percentage; on prime or first death
- Options available
- Guaranteed Period
- Installment Refund
Term Certain Annuity
Provides guaranteed income payments for a specified period
Temporary Annuity (Non-Registered policies only)
- Provides level or increasing payments for a specified period as long as you are alive
- Options available
- Single or Joint Life
- Guaranteed Period
Lump Sum Annuity (Non-Registered policies only)
- You customize your annuity as a series of lump sum payments
- Option available:
- Guaranteed or Life Contingent payments
Deferred Annuity (Prepaid RRIF)
- You purchase a deferred annuity policy (term certain to age 90) with the option of converting to a RRIF at the earlier of age 71 and within 7 years of the annuity purchase date; an interest rate and term are selected for the RRIF
- The single premium accumulates at the annuity policy's interest rate
- If you convert to a RRIF, the accumulated value of the policy is transferred to the RRIF while maintaining the RRIF interest rate for the balance of the term selected
- If you choose not to convert to a RRIF, annuity payments automatically start at the annuity policy's commencement date
Payment Types
Level Income
- Income payments are the same for the duration of the annuity
Increasing Income
- Income payments increase each year by a fixed percentage
- Maximum increase per year
- 4% for registered annuities
- 6% for non-registered annuities
Indexed Income
- Income payments increase each year according to the level of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Payments can be fully or partially indexed to the CPI
- Payments will never decrease or be subject to clawbacks
- Payments can be indexed during the deferral period (from the date of the single premium payment to the annuity commencement date) to a maximum of 10 years
Snowbird feature
- Payments can be converted to U.S. dollars and deposited in client's U.S. bank account
- "Snowbirds" can receive payments in a Canadian bank account in Canadian dollars, or in a U.S. bank account in American dollars
Frequency of income
- Monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually
- Direct deposit to client's bank account
Taxation
Registered
- The annuity payment is fully taxable
Non-registered
- Only the interest portion is taxable
- The taxable portion can be reported on a "prescribed" or "non-prescribed" basis
- Prescribed: level taxable portion each year
- Non-prescribed: taxable portion changes each year (interest reported each year reduces)
The prescribed taxation basis is attractive to taxpayers as it allows for the deferral of taxes. It is regulated and can only be used with specific types of annuities. All other annuities must be on a non-prescribed taxation basis.
Security benefits
- Both The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and Standard Life Assurance Limited are members of Assuris - the insurance industry's equivalent of CDIC. For more information, visit their Web site at www.assuris.ca
- Creditor protection4 may be available in certain circumstances with a "preferred class" beneficiary designation
- Opportunities to bypass probate fees5 and delays upon death, if a beneficiary other than the estate is named.
4 Since there are some circumstances where creditor protection may not apply, it is recommended that policyholders consult a legal advisor to find out if they are eligible for this kind of protection.
5 Not applicable in Québec as notarial wills do not need to be probated by the court and, for holograph wills and wills made in the presence of witnesses, probate fees are minimal.
