Today, Jean-Luc Racine, Chief Executive Officer of the cooperative Econocoop, Joel Santos, Strategic Client Manager for Co-operators, and Josée Brisson, Insurance and Financial Advisor for Co-operators, launched the first pension plan for childcare workers in Canada.

Until now, daycare staff, including educators, kitchen managers, supervisors and centre managers, did not have access to a pension plan allowing them to plan their future and enjoy a comfortable retirement. The new pension plan will be available to all childcare services across Canada, who are members of Econocoop.

“Today’s announcement is much anticipated news for all childcare employees in Canada. The new pension plan, made possible through a partnership between Econocoop and Co-operators, will allow daycare services to promote the financial health of their staff upon retirement,” said Jean-Luc Racine, Chief Executive Officer of Econocoop. “It is also a key benefit for attracting and retaining workers in childcare services across the country, while improving the working conditions of employees in the sector”.

“At Co-operators, we work every day to support the unmet needs of all Canadians, helping them build a better future”, said Joel Santos, Strategic Client Manager at Co-operators. “We are so pleased to be able to build on the suite of insurance and financial solutions we currently offer to Econocoop members and offer a pension plan to childcare workers nationwide who are members of Econocoop to help them fund their retirement goals”.

The new pension plan is in addition to the services and programs already offered by Co-operators to Econocoop members, such as insurance services and a group insurance plan. This pension plan will come into effect at the beginning of 2023.

“The intention to professionalize the early childhood sector inevitably involves offering a solid and profitable pension plan that reflects the contribution of the important work of early childhood educators in our society. This will facilitate the process of recruiting and retaining our workforce. In Ontario, this was the number 1 wish of employers when we asked them their priority regarding the initiatives to be put in place to reduce the shortage of educators… we can say “finally!”,” adds Martine St-Onge, Executive Director of the Association francophone à l’éducation des services de l’enfance en Ontario.

Childcare services interested in learning more about the new pension plan can contact Econocoop at info@econocoop.com or 1-844-810-0888.

 

For more information, media can contact:

Jean-Luc Racine
Chief Executive Officer
Econocoop
613-627-2605
1-844-810-0888 (toll free)
presidence@econocoop.com
Follow us on Facebook
Web: https://www.econocoop.com/

Co-operators
Media requiring further information and/or interviews from Co-operators, please contact: media@cooperators.ca

Martine St-Onge
Executive Director
Association francophone à l’éducation des services de l’enfance en Ontario
613-741-5107
martinestonge@afeseo.ca
Web: https://afeseo.ca/

Backgrounder

About the pension plan:
The new pension plan announced today is offered for the staff of Econocoop members across the country. It can be adapted to each member, regardless of the size of their organization.

About Econocoop:
Econocoop is a cooperative organization that was created in 2020 to maintain, solidify and create childcare spaces in Canada. They specialize in the management of childcare services across the country.

Econocoop is comprised of 13 member-owners, each representing a Canadian province or territory. In total, these members bring together over 750 childcare services representing more than 50,000 children. By working together and consolidating the purchases necessary for the operation of a daycare service, everyone benefits from significant discounts on multiple products and services. Ultimately, all Econocoop members benefit from considerable economies of scale to maximize their long-term viability.

Econocoop offers the following programs and services:

• Group buying: This allows childcare services to benefit from significant discounts on food products, educational materials, office materials, telephone services, and other items they need.
• The Calculator: It is a specialized online financial diagnostic service for childcare services. This tool allows them to enter their financial data and develop multiple financial scenarios that will help them make their operations more profitable.
• Insurance services and group insurance plan: These services are offered by our partner, Cooperators, a Canadian cooperative in existence for more than 75 years. This company was selected by Econocoop based on common values ​​and the quality of their services.

About Co-operators:
Co-operators is a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, offering multi-line insurance and investment products, services, and personalized advice to help Canadians build their financial strength and security. The company has more than $61.5 billion in assets under administration. Co-operators has been providing trusted guidance to Canadians for the past 76 years. The organization is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability.

Achieving carbon neutral equivalency in 2020, the organization is committed to net-zero emissions in its operations and investments by 2040, and 2050, respectively. Co-operators is also ranked as a Corporate Knights’ Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada and is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Kincentric. For more information, please visit: www.cooperators.ca.