Sun Life Financial set to offer innovative firsts to group retirement plan members

TORONTO, Dec. 13 – Sun Life Financial announced today new, innovative service enhancements for members of employer-sponsored retirement plans, including multi-language call centre service. Launching in January 2002, the Group Retirement Services division of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies, will be the first in Canada to offer employees, who are members of group retirement or savings plans, immediate access to live language interpretation in more than 150 languages.

Additionally, group plan members will also be able to enjoy extended call centre hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, and the implementation of Web-Assist, a service which provides 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week assistance to employees accessing their group retirement plan. The new bilingual Web-Assist Service, also an industry first, provides personal identification number (PIN) resets and browser support to plan members anytime. The multi-language call centre service and extended call centre hours will be available as of Jan. 2, 2002. The Web-Assist service will be available as of Jan. 14, 2002, just in time for RRSP season.

“These service enhancements are examples of our commitment to provide group plan members with innovative services and establish a new benchmark in the direct member services industry,” said Mary De Paoli, Vice-President, National Sales and Marketing, Group Retirement Services. “The multi-language call centre service, extended call centre hours and Web-Assist, enable members to manage their plans more effectively and efficiently, be it from work or home.”

These new features complement the existing robust functionality of the plan member Web site. The site enables plan members to enroll online, access detailed account information, conduct transactions, as well as make online RRSP lump sum contributions with direct debit, online RRSP tax receipts, and gain access to Morningstar for detailed daily fund information.

Group retirement plans are administered by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc.

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada has more than 50 years of experience in pension plan administration, and is a leading provider of Defined Contribution Pension Plan, Group RRSP and Deferred Profit Sharing Plan services in Canada.

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Tracing its roots back to 1871, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2001 the Sun Life Financial group of companies has total assets under management of CDN $299 billion.

Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSE), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol “SLC”, and on the London Stock Exchange under Ticker symbol “SFC”.

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