In tandem with Financial Literacy Month, Great-West Life Assurance Co. is adding Koho’s full-service spending account to select group retirement savings plans.
The accounts are paired with a prepaid, reloadable Visa 0.5 per cent cash-back card and an integrated mobile app, which provides users with real-time insights into their spending habits, prompting real behavioural changes.
In October, GWL Realty Advisors Inc. became the first plan sponsor to offer the account to its employees through their retirement savings plans. The program will be open to additional plan sponsors in January 2020.
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“We know saving for retirement is tough for many people and we want to help Canadians find new ways to achieve this goal,” said Ryan Weiss, vice-president of group customer product and experience at Great-West Life, in a press release.
“What’s really unique about our collaboration with Koho is that members using the prepaid Visa spending card will be able to sweep their 0.5 per cent cash-back rewards into their employer-sponsored retirement savings account. They can also choose to round-up every purchase to the next dollar and save the difference. It’s a great way to make saving for retirement an everyday event.”
Ryan Tevel, director of partnerships at Koho, noted, as an organization, the company is focused on improving the financial lives of Canadians and reducing the complexity around finances. “We were pleased to work with Great-West Life to bring this unique solution to the Canadian group retirement market. Plan sponsors who add Koho to their Great-West Life retirement savings plans will be able to offer their members access to cash-flow management tools to support their financial wellness in the short term, while also helping them to boost their longer-term savings for retirement.”
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