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May 15, 2025 – The dividend scales will increase for the Canada Life™ combined open participating (par) account and the Canada Life closed account, effective July 1, 2025. This is a result of Canada Life’s review of the par account experience for all Canada Life par life insurance policies. 

Highlights

The board of directors has approved the following recommendations made by the company. Changes take effect on July 1, 2025.

Par policies Dividend scale interest rate Dividend scale 1
Canada Life policies in the combined open account 2 , issued on or after Jan. 1, 2020 Increased to 5.75% Increase

Policies issued before Jan. 1, 2020:

  • Policies in the combined open account, formerly belonging to the Canada Life open account, issued on or after Nov. 5, 1999. 3  
 Increased to 5.75% Increase
  • Policies in the combined open account,  formerly belonging to the Great-West Life account  4 ,  5
Increased to 5.75% Increase
  • Policies in the combined open account,  formerly belonging to the London Life account. 6 , 7
Increased to 5.75% Increase
  • Canada Life policies in the closed account, issued before Nov. 5, 1999. 
 Increased to 5.65% Increase

The dividend scale for former New York Life policies will also increase. The dividend scale will remain the same for former Crown Life policies.

The 2025 dividend scale is aligned with current experience. Fairness to all policyowners guides every decision we make. Canada Life treats new sales and existing clients equitably and manages the account with this balance in mind.

The key drivers to the 2025 dividend scale interest rate include:

  • Positive equity performance
  • Positive fixed income performance, with our 10-year ladder strategy continuing to invest maturing assets into higher yielding new fixed income investments

Non-investment factors which include favourable mortality experience and negative experience for expenses and terminations, are also being updated with this year’s dividend scale for some policies. The impact of the non-investment factors on overall dividends a policy may receive will vary depending on the dividend grouping the policy belongs to. Find more details in the attached frequently asked questions document.

Recent political actions, like U.S. tariffs and subsequent international and domestic tariffs, have increased economic uncertainty. These actions may impact both the path of interest rates, and the performance of non-fixed income asset classes. Non-fixed income assets tend to be more volatile relative to fixed income. This experience hasn’t been reflected in the 2025 dividend scale.  

We don’t know how this situation will unfold over the course of the year. But all else being equal, if equity markets experience significant pressure throughout the rest of 2025, this could put pressure on the dividend scale in 2026. We’ll consider the actual impact of equity markets, along with all other factors influencing the dividend scale, including the impact of interest rates and non-fixed income returns on all holdings in next year’s dividend scale review.  

The maximums for Additional Deposit Option (scheduled and single) and the maximums for Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) are being updated. There are no changes to the ECO One Year Term rates. Find more details in the attached frequently asked questions document.

These changes will be reflected in Canada Life Illustrations and Product Illustrations (PI) on May 26.  

The following table summarizes the changes to related policy rates. 

Changes 2025 update Effective date
Dividend accumulation interest rate Decreased from 3.75% to 3.0% July 1
Premium deposit account interest rate Decreased from 3.25% to 2.25% May 26
Variable policy loan interest rate Maintained at 7.2% N/A
Delayed claim interest rate Maintained at 0.5% N/A

Browse all marketing resources on the participating life insurance marketing resources tab.

 Dividends for each policy vary, depending on factors such as the year a policy was issued, plan type, basic risk classification, issue age and others. Past results don’t indicate a par account’s future performance. The dividend scale interest rate is only one of many factors that contribute to an individual policy’s performance. The actual cash value growth in any policy varies, depending on factors such as type of product, product features, premium-paying period, issue age, rating, dividend option, dividend scale and others.  On Jan. 1, 2020, the Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life Canadian open par accounts were combined to form the new Canada Life combined open par account.  Wealth Achiever and Estate Achiever policies issued after amalgamation are included with the policies formerly belonging to the Canada Life open account, issued on or after Nov. 5, 1999.  The dividend scale interest rate for policies formerly belonging to the Great-West Life account issued before Sept. 16, 1968, will increase to 5.75%. These policies have a fixed policy loan interest rate. Policies issued on or after this date have a variable policy loan interest rate.  Enhanced Wealth and Enhanced Legacy policies issued after amalgamation are included with the policies formerly belonging to the Great-West Life account.  The dividend scale interest rate for policies formerly belonging to the London Life account issued before Sept. 16, 1968, will increase to 5.75%. These policies have a fixed policy loan interest rate. Policies issued on or after this date have a variable policy loan interest rate.  Wealth Generator and Legacy Generator policies issued after amalgamation, and former Prudential policies, are included with the policies formerly belonging to the London Life account.

This information is for use only by advisors. It provides more information about the dividend scale announcement. It’s not intended for use with clients.

You can find more details on the management of the participating (par) account in Financial facts (form 70-0885) and supporting materials.