Frequently asked questions

Home

Most asked questions
Preferred first name
Positive enrolment questions
Dependant Eligibility Verification Program
Annual Student Review Program
Claims

Yes, effective November 1, 2024, your plan number changed. It is based on your month of birth or status as a member, as follows:

Your month of birth	New plan number
January, February, March	92111
April, May, June	92112
July, August, September	92113
October, November, December	92114

If you are an eligible surviving dependant, your new plan number is 92115.

Note: Claims for you and your eligible dependants will be processed under the same plan number.

No, your certificate number has not changed, therefore continue to use the same certificate number for your Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) that you used before the transition on November 1.

You can find your certificate number on your PDSP benefit card, on an explanation of benefits statement or in your PDSP Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work. You can also call the PDSP Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064.

Yes. Once your positive enrolment is completed, you will have access to a new digital PDSP benefit card. The card will be available in your PDSP Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work. Alternatively, you can request that a paper PDSP benefit card be sent to you by mail. Your PDSP benefit card will include your existing certificate number and new plan number.

Note: We do not issue plastic benefit cards for the PDSP. This is a greening initiative supported by the Government of Canada and Canada Life.

No, your dental benefits under the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) did not change after the transition to Canada Life on November 1, 2024.

The award of the new contract only changed who administers and processes claims for the PDSP.

For additional information, please visit Canada.ca/pension-benefits and search “New PDSP administrator” to view frequently asked questions.

No, your dental benefit maximums did not reset after the transition of the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan to Canada Life on November 1, 2024.

Your claim history, including your dental benefits coverage balances are on file with Canada Life.

To access your dental benefits coverage balances:

Sign in to your PDSP Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work.
From the left-hand navigation, Select Benefits, then Coverage and balances.

Claims processed by Sun Life will not be displayed on our Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan Member Services website.

Since November 1, 2024, you are able to see claim information for any claims submitted to and processed by Canada Life.

To view claims processed by Sun Life, please sign into your Sun Life PDSP Member Services account. You will have access to your claims history information until April 30, 2026.

You can also call Canada Life’s PDSP Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

Canada Life cannot confirm eligibility information for the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) at this time. Please reach out to the Pension Centre or your pension office for information on eligibility under the PDSP.

Eligibility information for the PDSP is also available online at Canada.ca by entering “PDSP rules” in the search bar.

A preferred first name is any name a plan member chooses to use other than their legal name such as a nickname or chosen name. For example, a plan member may wish to shorten their first name (e.g. Steven to Steve), be referred to by their middle name, or may choose another name altogether (e.g. Stephanie to Steven) as an act of self-determination.

Yes, PDSP members can use a preferred first name by updating their user profile in their account on the PDSP Member Services website, or by filling out a Positive Enrolment form (paper or online). See question 3 below.

It is important to note that your preferred first name must be updated for each plan of which you are a member. Your preferred first name will only be used in communications for the plan for which it has been provided.

On the PDSP Member Services website through My Canada Life at Work:

Click on the profile icon at the top right corner of the screen.
Select 'Your Profile'.
Before making any updates to your personal information, your consent is required. Please review the information displayed on your screen, and if you consent, click ‘agree’.
Select the ‘Personal information’ tile.
Click 'Edit' beside preferred first name.
Enter your preferred first name and hit 'save'.
Please allow 1-2 business days for the change to display online.

By filling out a Positive Enrolment form:

You can either download the form from the Forms page of the PDSP Member Services Website or request a paper positive enrolment form be mailed to you by calling the PDSP Member Contact Centre. For inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

Once your preferred first name has been updated it will be used for all written or electronic documentation and correspondence, for example on benefit cards, explanation of benefits, as well as on your PDSP Member Services website account. If you have updated your profile for all plans for which you have coverage, your preferred first name will also be used by the Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP), the Pensioners Dental Services Plan (PDSP) and the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) Member Contact Centre agents when addressing you.

Yes, your legal name will still appear on cheques from Canada Life, as it is the name provided to us by the Government of Canada.

Should you wish to have your name changed in your Government of Canada file, please contact your departmental compensation office, Pay centre, pension office or Pension Centre to formally update your name.

If we are completing positive enrolment into the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) on your behalf, you will receive a positive enrolment confirmation notice between August and early September, via your preferred method of communication.

The notice will provide you with the instructions you need to validate and, if applicable, update your positive enrolment information pulled from secure, authoritative sources.

We are completing positive enrolment for as many Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) members as possible. If you have not received your confirmation notice by mid-September, please contact us.

If you are not eligible for Canada Life to complete positive enrolment on your behalf, you must complete it on your own by October 31, 2024. Please check back here in a few weeks for more instructions.

To complete positive enrolment online, you will need to enter your current certificate number, last name and date of birth to begin the process. Please ensure you complete positive enrolment by October 31, 2024, to avoid any disruptions in the processing and reimbursement of your dental claims when the administration of the PDSP will transition from Sun Life to Canada Life on November 1, 2024.

To complete positive enrolment by paper, you can download and print a PDSP Positive Enrolment Form from the Forms page.

Alternatively, you can call the PDSP Member Contact Centre within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or internationally (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm ET to request that a paper form be mailed to you within 2-3 business days.

You must also provide your dental provider with your new plan number.

Since we used the data available to us from authoritative sources, your positive enrolment information may have changed. It’s important that you review and validate that the information is complete and accurate.

Your personal information was provided to us securely from the following authoritative sources, while adhering to privacy and security requirements:

Government of Canada: name, date of birth, gender, language, category of coverage and effective date of coverage
Canada Life PSHCP account (if applicable): contact information
Sun Life: dependant information (if applicable)

Yes, positive enrolment must be completed for both plans.

If you are eligible for us to complete positive enrolment on your behalf, you will receive two separate confirmation notices. If you do not receive a confirmation notice for both plans, you may be required to complete positive enrolment on your own for the plan you did not receive a confirmation notice for.

If you are not a Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP) member, please advise your departmental compensation office, Pay Centre, Pension Centre or your pension office. Once their records are updated, that information will be provided to us.

If you are not a Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) member, please advise your Pension Centre or your pension office. Once their records are updated, that information will be provided to us.

You are receiving this message because you do not need to complete positive enrolment for the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP). We have completed positive enrolment on your behalf with information we have securely received from authoritative sources. A confirmation notice will be sent to members through your preferred method of communication.

If you have not received a confirmation noticed by September 20, please call the Canada Life PDSP Member Contact Centre within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or internationally (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm ET.

You can update your positive enrolment information by signing into your Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™ and going to Your profile.

You can also update your information by paper by completing a PDSP Positive Enrolment Form. Download your PDSP Positive Enrolment Form here. You can also call the PDSP Member Contact Centre to request that a paper form be mailed to you.

If incorrect information appears in the non-editable fields, such as your date of birth or last name, we encourage you to still complete the positive enrolment and consent process to ensure there is no delay in processing your claims. After you complete positive enrolment, you must contact your Pension Centre or your pension office, to have this information corrected in our files.

Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) claim forms will be available to download beginning November 1, 2024.

We encourage you to go paperless and submit your claims by signing in to your PDSP Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™. This is a very easy process and greening initiative that will help reduce paper waste, allow you to receive reimbursement faster through direct deposit, and is supported by the Government of Canada and Canada Life. To submit claims online you must provide us with your banking information.

Positive enrolment must be completed to have access to your benefit card.

Website

To download or print your new benefit card, sign into your Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™. Select the ‘Benefit cards’ tile at the bottom of the Overview page. From there you can download, save or print a copy of your benefit card.

Mobile app

To download or save your new benefit card to your mobile device, download the My Canada Life at Work mobile app from your app store. Sign into the mobile app with the same credentials you use to sign in to your PDSP Member Services account.

Once signed in, you can access your benefit card by selecting the card icon in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Follow the provided instructions to load the benefit card to your Apple or Google wallet.

Paper

Your paper benefit card will be included in your confirmation package. You can call the PDSP Member Contact Centre within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or internationally (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm ET to request that your benefit card be mailed to you within 2-3 business days.

Note: Plastic benefit cards will not be issued for the PDSP. This is a greening initiative that is supported by the Government of Canada and Canada Life.

There will be no change to your dental benefits coverage as a result of the new contract. For additional information, please visit Canada.ca and search ‘New PDSP administrator’ to view frequently asked questions.

Along with a few administrative changes, such as new plan numbers, positive enrolment will now be the member’s responsibility. This means that you will be required to keep your personal and eligible dependant information up to date with Canada Life.

Claims processed by Sun Life will not be displayed on our Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) Member Services website. Starting November 1, 2024, you will only see claim information for claims submitted to and processed by Canada Life. This includes claims for services that occurred prior to November 1, 2024 but were processed under Canada Life.

Canada Life must receive your claim no later than 15 months after the date you incur the expenses.

To view claims processed by Sun Life, please sign in to your Sun Life PDSP Member Services account. You will have access to your claims history information until April 30, 2026.

We will not have access to your PDSP claim history until November 1, 2024. Until that time, please continue to contact Sun Life at 1-888-757-7427 for all dental claim inquiries.

All Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan (PDSP) members are required to create their PDSP Member Services account (through My Canada Life at Work^TM) using two-factor authentication. This is a step established as part of the security requirements of the PDSP contract.

To access your PDSP Member Services account, you will need to complete the two-factor authentication process. Once signed in, you can choose to turn off this additional verification step in the Security settings. However, we strongly recommend that you leave this security feature turned on. Two-factor authentication is a standard security measure used globally by many organizations, including financial institutions.

POA details on your Sun Life account will not be transferred over to Canada Life.

If you have a POA on file with Canada Life under your Public Service Health Care Plan or Public Service Dental Care Plan, you can transfer your POA by calling the Member Contact Centre within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or internationally (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm ET.

Please provide a COPY of the appropriate, signed documentation with your plan and certificate number clearly indicated. Do not submit the original. Please note that only 'general' or 'property' POAs are acceptable. We do not accept personal or healthcare POAs.

To submit through mail:

Please send the copy of your POA document(s), with the plan member’s certificate number to:
Canada Life Assurance Company
Pensioners’ Dental Service Plan (or PDSP) Plan Member Letters
PO Box 99451 Station Main
Winnipeg MB R3C 1E6

To submit digitally:

You can upload your POA documentation by signing in to your PDSP Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™. Once you are signed in, go to the Contact us page, follow the steps to Message us and upload your file to submit to Canada Life.

A child who is not adopted or a step-child but who is financially dependant primarily on the member, the member’s spouse or common-law partner for support and maintenance for whom you (the member) stand(s) in place of a parent (in loco parentis), may be eligible for coverage with the approval of the PDSP Board. To obtain coverage for such a child, you must submit supporting documentation to the PDSP Board such as :

a permanent guardianship (court) order or
a custodial (court) order ora notarized private guardianship agreement, caregiving agreement or
a notarized voluntary surrender of custody and guardianship that indicates that the parent or parents relinquish their parental responsibility to you

The PDSP Board will also consider documentation that demonstrates:

the extent to which you are financially responsible for the child
whether your relationship is that of parent and child
the expected duration of this relationship

Refer to the PDSP Member Booklet for information on where to send this documentation.

The purpose of the Dependant Eligibility Verification Program is to validate that the enrolled dependant(s) are eligible for coverage according to the terms of the Public Service health and dental benefits.

You are being contacted to provide supporting documents to validate that your enrolled dependant(s) meet the eligibility criteria under the Public Service health and dental benefits.

You were randomly selected from the pool of Public Service health and dental benefits plan members who have enrolled dependants.

Once you have validated the eligibility of your dependant(s) for coverage under the Public Service health and dental benefits, you will not be required to validate the same dependant(s) through the Dependant Eligibility Verification for at least five (5) years.

If you do not respond to this request, the processing of claims for your eligible dependant(s) may be suspended or coverage may be terminated until the required documents are received and eligibility is validated.

To validate the eligibility for your child dependant(s), provide one of the following supporting documents for each dependant child:

a copy of their birth certificate (for a biological child)
a copy of their passport
a copy of their legal adoption documentation
a copy of their or your provincial health card showing that your dependant is listed on the card
a copy of your custodial or guardianship documentation for a child

To validate the eligibility for a spouse or common-law partner, provide one of the following supporting documents:

a copy of your marriage certificate
a legal affidavit
a copy of their active driver’s license or their provincial health card showing the same last name or the same residential address (to demonstrate cohabitation)
a copy of joint bank or credit accounts
a copy of jointly signed residential lease or mortgage or purchase agreements
a copy of a utility bill or invoice in their name showing your address

Note: If none of these documents are available to confirm your partner’s status, you must complete and return a Declaration of Marital Status form.

Be sure to send us copies, not the original documents.

Once we receive your supporting documents, we will review them to validate the eligibility of your dependant(s) and advise you of the results. If we determine that a dependant is no longer eligible for coverage, we will advise you and terminate their coverage.

It is possible we received your documents around the same time we sent you the follow-up communication. If you want to confirm that Canada Life has received your documents, please call the Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

If you no longer require your current category of coverage under PDSP, you can change it by contacting your Pension Centre or pension office.

It is possible that, between the time you were selected to participate in the Dependant Eligibility Verification Program and the time you are receiving the request, the dependant(s) listed in the validation request are no longer eligible for coverage. If a dependant is no longer eligible, you must still submit the supporting documents requested so that we can validate the eligibility of the dependant(s) at the time you were selected to participate in the Dependant Eligibility Verification Program. You can then remove them from your plan(s) by updating your positive enrolment information through one of the following methods:

Online: You can sign in or create your Member Services account through My Canada Life at WorkTM to remove the dependant from your plan(s). This is done by selecting the icon on the upper right corner, choose Your profile, then Dependants and other coverage.. OR

By mail: You can remove your dependant(s) by providing the effective date of removal in writing to Canada Life at:

The Canada Life Assurance Company

Eligibility Verification

PO Box 6000 Stn Main

Winnipeg MB R3C 3A5

If the dependant(s) must be removed from multiple plans, update each dependant listing section for all plans that are affected.

To remove the suspension, respond to the Dependant Eligibility Verification Program request by submitting the required documentation to Canada Life. Once we have validated the eligibility of your dependant(s), the suspension will be removed and we will process any claims you submitted during the suspension.

Termination of coverage for an eligible dependant from your PDSP is permanent. Should this/these termination(s) impact the category of coverage required for your PDSP, you are responsible for notifying your respective Pension Centre or pension office. The request will no longer appear in the Immediate action required section of the Overview page of your Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work^TM. Changes in coverage are effective on the first day of the second month following receipt of the PDSP form.

If your eligible dependant(s) still require coverage, you will have to request that their coverage be restored. Before we can restore coverage to your eligible dependant(s), we must validate that they are eligible under the plan(s). To do that, we will require that you submit a completed positive enrolment form along with copies of the supporting documentation required to validate the eligibility of your dependant(s).

As the dependant(s)’ coverage has been terminated and this review is no longer available online, you are not able to respond through the Immediate action required section of your account through the Member Services website. You must submit the completed positive enrolment form and copies of the supporting documentation by mail.

To have your eligible dependant(s)’ coverage restored, you will need to:

Download and print a paper positive enrolment form from the Your forms page of the Member Services website. You can also request a paper form to be mailed to you by calling the Member Contact Centre.
Complete and sign the positive enrolment form, which includes information on your eligible dependant(s).
Gather the supporting documentation required to validate the eligibility of your dependant(s).
Mail the completed positive enrolment form and copies of supporting documentation to Canada Life using the address found at the top of the positive enrolment form.

If you believe an error has occurred or that someone added dependant(s) without your consent, please call the Member Contact Centre at 1-855-415-4414 (toll-free), Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time within North America, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

If you have any questions, please visit your Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™ or call the Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

The purpose of the Annual Student Review Program is to validate that the enrolled dependant(s) are eligible for coverage as a full-time student according to the terms of the Public Service health and dental benefits.

You are being contacted to provide supporting documents to validate your enrolled dependant(s) meet the eligibility criteria under the Public Service health and dental benefits as a full-time student. To be eligible, your full-time student dependant(s) must be between 21 and 25 years of age and attending an accredited school, college or university on a full-time basis.

You were selected to participate in the Annual Student Review because claims have been submitted for your full-time student dependant(s) over the past year.

You will be asked to validate the full-time student status every year that claims are submitted for your full-time student dependant(s) until they are no longer eligible for coverage.

If you do not respond to this request, the processing of claims for your full-time student dependant(s) may be suspended or coverage may be terminated until the required documents are received and the full-time student status is validated.

These are the documents required to validate the status of your full-time student(s):

most recent registration documents from the educational institution
most recent tuition receipts from the educational institution
confirmation of full-time attendance on the letterhead of the educational institution

Please send us copies for 1 of the examples above, not the original documents.

Once we receive your supporting documents, we will review them to validate the status of your dependant(s) as a full-time student and advise you of the results. If we determine that a dependant is no longer eligible for coverage, we will advise you and terminate their coverage.

It is possible we received your documents around the same time we sent you the follow-up communication. If you want to confirm that Canada Life has received your documents, please call the Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

If you no longer require family coverage, you must still submit the supporting documents requested so that we can validate the eligibility of the full-time student(s) at the time you were selected to participate in the Annual Student Review Program.

If you no longer require your current category of coverage under PDSP, you can change it by contacting your Pension Centre or pension office.

It is possible that, between the time you were selected to participate in the Annual Student Review Program and the time you are receiving the request, the full-time student dependant(s) listed in the review request are no longer eligible for coverage as a full-time student.

If a full-time student dependant is no longer eligible, you must still submit the supporting documents requested so that we can validate the eligibility of the dependant(s) at the time you were selected to participate in the Annual Student Review Program. You can then remove them from your plan(s) by updating your positive enrolment information through one of the following methods:

Online: You can go online to sign in or create your Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work^TM to remove the dependant from your plan(s). This is done by selecting the icon on the upper right, choose Your profile, then Dependants and other coverage.

By mail: You can remove your dependant(s) by providing the effective date of removal in writing to Canada Life at:

The Canada Life Assurance Company
Eligibility Verification
PO Box 6000 Stn Main
Winnipeg MB R3C 3A5

If the dependant(s) must be removed from multiple plans, update each dependant listing section for all plans that are affected.

If your dependant(s) no longer require coverage for your PSDCP, there is nothing you need to do. The request will no longer appear in the Immediate action required section of the Overview page of your account through the Member Services website.

If your full-time student dependant(s) still require coverage, you will have to request that their coverage be restored. Before we can restore coverage to your full-time student(s), we must validate that they are eligible under the plan(s). To do that, we will require that you submit a completed positive enrolment form along with copies of the supporting documentation we require to validate the eligibility of your full-time student(s).

As the full-time student(s) coverage has been terminated, you are no longer able to respond through the Immediate action required section of your account through the Member Services website. You must submit the completed positive enrolment form and copies of the supporting documentation by mail.

To have your full-time student(s)’ coverage restored, you will need to:

Download and print a paper positive enrolment form from the Your forms page of the Member Services website. You can also request a paper form to be mailed to you by calling the Member Contact Centre.
Complete and sign the positive enrolment form, which includes information on your full-time student(s).
Gather the supporting documentation required to validate the eligibility of your full-time student(s).
Mail the completed positive enrolment form and copies of supporting documentation to Canada Life using the address found at the top of the positive enrolment form.

If you believe an error has occurred or that someone added a dependant without your consent, please call the Member Contact Centre at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time within North America or at 1-431-489-4064 (collect), Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET, from outside North America.

If you have any questions, please sign in to your Member Services account through My Canada Life at Work™ or call the Member Contact Centre for inquiries within North America (toll-free) at 1-855-415-4414, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, your local time, or for international inquiries (collect) at 1-431-489-4064, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, ET.

A service date is the date that your dental procedure or service was performed. The date your procedure was claimed may differ from the service date and may impact the eligibility of future claims.

A unit is a measurement of time. As an example, one unit of scaling is equal to 15 minutes, and a half unit is 7.5 minutes.

A simple extraction is when the tooth is removed easily and often in one piece.

A complicated or surgical extraction is when the tooth may need to be sectioned into pieces to be removed or requires an incision in the gums or removal of bone to gain access to the tooth (for example, wisdom tooth removal).

Fillings are billed according to the tooth number that notes its location in the mouth and the surfaces repaired. A tooth has 5 surfaces: cheek, tongue, forward facing, backward facing and biting surface. The time required to repair a tooth has no factor in billing.

Sealants are a protective coating placed in the pits and grooves of your teeth to help prevent dental decay.

A bitewing (showing upper and lower back teeth in a single view) or periapical x-ray (showing the whole tooth from root to crown in a single view) is taken by placing a sensor or film into your mouth.

A panoramic x-ray will have you in a machine that will rotate around your head capturing the upper and lower teeth and jaw in a single image.

A CT scan, or Standard Computed Tomography, produces a single detailed image per area scanned.