FAQ Type: Employers

Who will oversee and manage the Common Good Plan?

There are a few different roles when it comes to managing the Common Good Plan:

Common Wealth is the plan provider. This means they provide and maintain a self-service platform, provide administration and recordkeeping services in respect of the Common Good Plan, support member communication and education sessions, and respond to member and employer inquiries.

Canadian Western Trust (CWT) is the custodian and trustee for the plan. They are responsible for holding and safeguarding the assets of plan members, as well as maintaining the registration of the plan with the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).

BlackRock is the investment provider and fund manager for the plan. Plan members can invest their contributions by selecting one of BlackRock’s nine target date funds.

What if we want to join the Common Good Plan, but are currently offering a group retirement program through someone else? Can you help us switch?

Our team can definitely help you with that. We can work with your team to understand your current plan and come up with a strategy for switching.

Do we need a minimum number of employees participating in the plan in order to be able to join as an employer?

No.

Is the plan beneficial for employees at all ages and earnings levels?

Yes! The Common Good Plan is designed for all Canadians. The plan makes it as easy as possible for every member, regardless of their age or income level, to get on a path to retirement success and stay on track. The plan supports this goal through saving and investment strategies and options, low fees, plan portability, and tax and government benefit optimization.

Is the plan only available to employees? What about non-standard workers (e.g., contractors, gig workers) or spouses/common-law partners of members?

The plan is available to all full- and part-time employees of an employer. Non-standard workers are eligible to join the plan through an association, not an employer, and would cover their own monthly membership fee. The plan is also open to spouses/common-law partners of an employee, and they would cover their own membership fee.

Can employees over age 71 still enroll in the Common Good Plan?

Yes! The benefit of the Common Good Plan is that members have the option of contributing to a TFSA. There is no age restriction for contributing to a TFSA, which allows members over the age of 71 to contribute to the Common Good Plan. Even if employees are drawing down their RRIF contributions, they can still contribute to their TFSA. In addition, unlike RRIF requirements, there is no obligation to draw down TFSA funds.

What happens to a member’s existing TFSA and RRSPs?

The government allows people to hold multiple TFSA and RRSP accounts. This means that it’s up to each member to determine what happens to any other TFSA or RRSP accounts they hold. They can choose to transfer all of their funds into their new Common Good account (done directly within the platform) or keep them where they are.

If a member wishes to consolidate their RRSP and TFSA savings in the Common Good Plan, they can initiate a transfer from their online account, and our team will take care of the rest. A direct transfer has no impact on your contribution limits or tax implications.

Do members get a tax deduction for their contributions to the Common Good Plan?

Contributions to an RRSP are tax deductible.

We will issue tax receipts for all ongoing and one-time contributions to the RRSP. Members will receive two tax receipts, one for all contributions made during the first 60 days of a taxation year and one for all contributions made during the last 10 months of the taxation year.

Contribution receipts are available in a member’s online account in the “My Document” section.

What happens when an employee leaves our organization?

You can let us know when an employee has left the plan through an updated employee info file. One of the unique features of the Common Good Plan is portability. This means that members actually have options if/when they leave their employer:

Members can keep their accounts with Common Good and even continue to contribute to them directly from their bank accounts. There would be a change in the fees and who pays them: members who leave their employer but continue with the plan would be responsible for a $3/month membership fee + 0.7% of assets under management. If there are any employer matching contributions, those would stop at this time.
Members can also decide to cash out of the plan and move their money to another TFSA or RRSP account. Once a member initiates a withdrawal of all of their plan assets, they are no longer eligible to participate in the plan, and there is a transaction fee of $75 to complete each transfer.

How are the Common Good Plan funds invested?

Plan members can select from one of a series of BlackRock target date funds, which provide a mix of equities, fixed income, and real assets. The fund is matched to each plan member’s expected retirement date, and the asset mix is automatically adjusted to become more conservative as they get closer to that date.