Canada Life Awarded Public Service Dental Care Plan and Pensioners’ Dental Service Plan Contract

Starting Nov. 1, the Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP) and Pensioners’ Dental Service Plan (PDSP) services will be processed by the Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life).

This move comes more than one year after the Government of Canada announced that Canada Life was awarded the Administrative Services Only (ASO) contract for the PSDCP and PDSP.

Canada Life takes over from Sun Life. Canada Life has administrated the Public Service Health Care Plan since July 2023.

Transition Period

Although the date is set as Nov. 1, the government notes that there will be a period of transition. Until further notice, PSDCP members will continue to send their claims and requests to Canada Life, while PDSP members will continue to send their claims and requests to Sun Life.

Military families, Veterans and their families should have received an email or mail from Canada Life by early October. If they did not they are advised to contact Canada Life’s PSDCP Member Contact Centre to ensure they are enrolled, and that their dental benefits will not be disrupted. See link below.

According to information on the Government of Canada website, plan members should expect regular updates on the transition. However, to prepare, they can ensure their contact information is up-to-date with their pay centre, departmental compensation office, pension centre, or pension office.

The government explicitly states that the transition to the new dental administrator will not impact dental benefits or the cost of the dental plan.

“The award of the new contract to Canada Life changes who will administer and process claims for the PSDCP and PDSP only,” states the website.

Expected Changes

In fact, dentists will still be able to send claims to the insurance company on behalf of their patients.

Determining the benefits provided under the government’s plan is a completely separate process that does not concern the ASO.

“All PSDCP benefit changes happen after negotiations between the employer and the Boards of Management. These Boards are the National Joint Council (NJC) Board, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Board, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Board and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Board,” says the government.

The change from Sun Life to Canada Life is simply part of the “continuous life cycle of a public service benefit plan,” says the government.

For more complete information on the process of choosing Canada Life and other facts related to the contract, click here.  To contact Canada Life to confirm positive enrolment visit here.