Winnipeg-based Great-West Life Assurance Company has introduced a product for Quebec’s voluntary retirement savings plan (VRSP).

VRSPs are Quebec’s version of pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs).

The VRSP product is issued by London Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Great-West Life.

Quebec has mandated that businesses located in the province with five or more eligible employees will be required to offer a VRSP unless they already have another group retirement savings plan in place that allows members to make contributions through payroll deduction.

While VRSP legislation took effect July 1, the requirement for employers to offer a VRSP will be phased in over several years depending on the size of the company.

The introduction of the VRSP coincides with recent survey data from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) that indicates about half of Quebeckers are not properly planning for retirement.

“The AMF survey reinforces the need for this legislated product because it offers key mechanisms to enable retirement reform in Canada without disturbing existing employer-sponsored retirement plans – key mechanisms like universal access, early enrolment, age-adjusted investment options, locked-in employer contributions for retirement, and portability,” says Anthony Cardone, regional vice president of Group Retirement Services for Great-West Life.

Great-West Life says itsVRSPs provide access to comprehensive harmonized asset class funds that are multi-manager, multi-investment style and well-diversified among specific asset classes.