Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP)
A newsletter for members of the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP)
IN THIS ISSUE
• Preparing for the transition to Canada Life
• Continue to send dental claims to Sun Life for now
• Canada Life will be completing positive enrolment on your behalf
• Submitting claims to Sun Life before the November 1, 2024, transition to Canada Life
As previously announced, the Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life) was awarded the contract to administer the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) (canada.ca/pension-benefits) following a competitive procurement process. Effective November 1, 2024, Canada Life will begin processing all PDSP claims.
Teams from the Government of Canada, Sun Life and Canada Life have been working together to ensure the transition goes smoothly, with no disruption in dental claims processing.
To ensure Canada Life can communicate with you during the transition, you are asked to keep your contact information up to date with the plan's current administrator, Sun Life:
• if you have an online account, you can visit Sun Life's PDSP Member Services website (sunlife.ca/pdsp) and update your contact information, including mailing address
• if you don't have an online account, you can call the Sun Life PDSP Contact Centre at 1‐888‐757‐7427 (toll‐free in North America), Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST, to confirm your contact information
If you need to update your dental coverage (canada.ca/pension-benefits), you must contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre (https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/remuneration-compensation/services-pension-services/pension/cn-cu-eng.html) or your pension office to ensure that:
• your records are up to date
• you are paying the contribution rate (canada.ca/pension-benefits) for the appropriate category of coverage
Until Canada Life takes over administration of the PDSP on November 1, you must continue to send all dental claims and requests to Sun Life.
The new contract with Canada Life requires that positive enrolment be completed. Positive enrolment is when:
• information about yourself, including address and banking and dependant information is provided
• consent is given for Canada Life to use your personal information to process benefits and manage the PDSP
As part of the lessons learned with the transition of the Public Service Health Care Plan in 2023, Canada Life will be completing the initial positive enrolment to the PDSP for almost all existing members. This will ensure that there is no interruption in the processing of dental claims for you and your eligible dependants as of November 1, 2024.
Canada Life has already started sending information by mail and email out to members, about the process of completing positive enrolment on their behalf. Canada Life will complete your positive enrolment between August and September 2024. However, if you don't receive a direct email or letter from Canada Life by September 20, please contact the Canada Life PDSP Member Contact Centre at 1‐855‐415‐4414 (toll‐free within North America), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., your local time or 1‐431‐489‐4064 (international, collect).
For more information, you can:
• visit the new dental administrator frequently asked questions web page (canada.ca/pension-benefits)
• visit the Canada Life PDSP Member Services website (canadalife.com/pdsp)
• contact the Canada Life PDSP Member Contact Centre
To ensure the prompt reimbursement of your dental claims before November 1, continue to submit your claims to Sun Life by the following dates:
Claim type |
Submission dates |
|
Electronic submission directly from your dental office |
Until 11:59 p.m. EST on October 31, 2024 |
|
Online, through your Sun Life PDSP Member Services Website (sunlife.ca/pdsp) |
Until 11:59 p.m. EST on October 24, 2024 |
|
Paper claims mailed to: |
Received by October 24, 2024 Paper claims received after this time will be forwarded to Canada Life for processing starting on November 1, 2024. |
• Fully complete and sign the claim form if you are submitting your dental claims by mail.
• Include original invoices and personalized receipts. Photocopies will not be processed. Note that cash receipts are not considered acceptable proof of payment.
• Keep copies of your receipts, your completed claim form and any other documentation for one year, should they be needed for future audits or appeals. Originals will not be returned.
Sun Life's commitment to providing you with support will continue after November 1, 2024, in the following ways:
• Individual Claim Statements will remain available to you for 18 months from the date your dental claim is processed. The Sun Life PDSP Member Services website will be decommissioned on December 1, 2024. However, you will still have access to your information through the generic Sun Life website until May 1, 2026, by signing in to mysunlife.ca and navigating to "Benefits centre", then to "Claims", and selecting "my claims".
• Sun Life Call Centre support will remain available until May 1, 2026, for website issues, like User ID and password resets. To speak to a Sun Life representative, call the Call Centre at 1‐888‐757‐7427 (toll‐free from anywhere in North America) or 613‐247‐5100 (in the National Capital Region), Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.
The PDSP is administered by Sun Life on behalf of the Government of Canada. Sun Life's role is to adjudicate claims and answer benefit‐related inquiries. For questions about your PDSP benefits or claims, consult your Member Booklet at www.sunlife.ca/pdsp or contact the Sun Life Call Centre: 1‐888‐757‐7427 (toll‐free in North America) or 613‐247‐5100 (in the National Capital Region). Call Centre Representatives are available from Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.