The administration of the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan will move from Sun Life to Canada Life as of Nov. 1, 2024.
The transition of the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) to Canada Life is set to take place Nov. 1, 2024.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Treasury Board) has confirmed the new PDSP contract requires a positive enrolment process.
Positive enrolment is how plan members provide their personal information, including address, banking and dependent information and give consent for Canada Life to use personal information to process benefits and manage their dental plan.
Learning from the Public Service Health Care Plan transition experience, for this transition, Canada Life will complete the initial positive enrolment for as many PDSP members as possible. Treasury Board advises that this will help ensure that there is no interruption in the processing of dental claims for members and their eligible dependants as of Nov. 1.
Treasury Board has given notice that, starting mid-June, Canada Life will send information to plan members, by mail and email, about the process of completing positive enrolment on their behalf.
Canada Life will complete positive enrolment for members between August and September.
If a PDSP member hasn’t received this information by mid-September, it means that Canada Life couldn’t complete positive enrolment for that member. In that case, the member must complete positive enrolment manually online by visiting the Canada Life PDSP member services website and clicking on the link to complete positive enrolment.
Plan members who prefer to complete positive enrolment by paper form can download the form on the Canada Life PDSP member services website or call Canada Life to request a copy in the mail.
Things to keep in mind
- Transition date: The administration of the PDSP will transition from SunLife to Canada Life as of Nov.1, 2024.
- Keep your information up to date: Be sure your contact information with SunLife is up to date to ensure that Canada Life can communicate with you during the transition. You can update your contact information using SunLife’s member services website or calling SunLife’s PDSP contact centre at 1-888-757-7427 (toll-free in North America), Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.
To update your level of coverage under the PDSP, contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre.
- Positive enrolment process: Canada Life will complete positive enrolment on behalf of as many members as possible. Canada Life will send plan members information about this starting mid-June. If you have not received information by mid-September, Canada Life was unable to complete your positive enrolment. Visit the Canada Life Member Service website to complete positive enrolment manually or contact Canada Life for support, including to request a paper copy of the form be mailed to you.
- Contact information: For more information, refer to the Government of Canada update, or members can:
- Visit the new dental administrator frequently asked question web page.
- Visit the Canada Life PDSP member services website.
- Contact Canada Life PDSP member Contact Centre at 1-855-415-4414 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., your local time) and, internationally, at 1-431-489-4064 (collect).
The transition of the PSHCP to Canada Life was challenging for many members. The government has pledged to leverage lessons learned and is working to ensure a smooth PDSP transition, with no disruption of claims processing.
The Association expects sufficient call centre capacity and resources to support members during this change. Federal Retirees will continue to monitor the transition experience and is committed to keeping you informed and up to date as information is available.