(October 24 – 17:45 ET) – A new loyalty card program let Canadians add to their RRSPs, without changing their spending habits. The Equity Retirement Rewards loyalty program launches today.

Those who register for the Equity Retirements Rewards card receive a cash contribution to a retirement account each time they shop at a participating sponsor or use an Equity MasterCard.

“The Equity program lets people save for their retirement without spending any more of their hard-earned money. Instead, they will accumulate some of the money they spend on items purchased from Equity sponsors in a retirement account that will accumulate, in the case of an RRSP account, a tax-sheltered compound return,” says Dennis Paul, founder and president of Equity Retirement Rewards.

“The Canadian RRSP program is one of the best tax shelters available to every Canadian and nearly 9 out of 10 can not maximize their contributions, while a large number of Canadians do not take advantage of RRSPs at all,” states Terry Zuk, CEO of Equity Retirement Rewards. “It is often hard to find the extra money necessary to contribute to an RRSP, so why not let someone else make that contribution for you? Using the Equity card can get Canadians a little closer to achieving their retirement goals in an extremely simple, easy- to-use way.”

The Equity card is currently available to Canadian residents in each province, except Quebec. The program plans to launch in Quebec in 2001.

Those who register for the loyalty program will receive two cards. The registration fee is $25, plus GST. Each time the Equity card is swiped at a participating sponsor, a portion of the purchase is put into a pooled trust account. Each time a member’s contributions reach $100, the member decides what type of an account she wants and then chooses an investment from a selection of Dynamic Mutual Funds.

“Equity never touches the member’s reward dollars,” explains Paul. “Whether the money is in the trust account or with Dynamic, it belongs to the member and is safe, secure and protected. Once the Equity rewards are transferred to Dynamic, the RRSP account is just like any other and subject to the same benefits and restrictions.”

Consumers who are interested in registering for an Equity card can fill out the online application at www.equity.ca, call 1-866-350-1777, or pick up an application at participating sponsors’ retail locations.
-IE Staff