Foremost Health Care and Employee Benefits Experts Examine Affordable Care Act and Changing Benefits Landscape at Sun Life Wake Up Summit 2013

The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF, TSX: SLF) will host its first Sun Life Wake Up Summit, a live studio and webcast event designed to provide insights and inform insurance brokers, human resources professionals, and business owners about health care reform and its impact on the employee benefits landscape.

The in-depth program features the foremost benefits and health care policy experts, who will lead thought-provoking discussions about the changing U.S. workplace and provide insurance brokers and employers with practical advice on how to prepare for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Moderated by Fox News’ Juan Williams, the summit brings together leading voices in health care reform and employee benefits from the academic, business, insurance, and health care policy arenas. The program will kick off with a keynote address by Dr. Jonathan Gruber, MIT professor of economics, renowned health care expert, and key advisor on both Massachusetts’ health care reform legislation and the ACA.

“The Affordable Care Act is the most comprehensive reform of American health care in two generations, and we know that many brokers and employers still have an unclear picture of the road ahead and what to expect as this legislation goes into effect,” said Wes Thompson, president of Sun Life Financial U.S. “This program provides a forum for much-needed discussion, and presents a 360-degree view of the ACA from a diverse group of stakeholders.”            

The Sun Life Wake Up Summit will take place on Tuesday, October 1, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast in front of a live studio audience from WCVB TV-5 studios in Needham, Massachusetts, and streamed live from Sun Life’s U.S. website. Brokers, HR professionals, third-party administrators, and business owners interested in attending the Sun Life Wake Up Summit can register for the entire program or individual segments at www.sunlife.com/wakeup.

The agenda is as follows, with all panels moderated by Juan Williams.

·         1:00–2:00 PM ET. Keynote: “Health Care Reform Now: Facts, Rumors, True Stories”

Dr. Gruber will speak about the Affordable Care Act and provide an overview of the U.S. health care system. Following the keynote, there will be a brief Q&A with Dr. Gruber.

·         2:00–3:00 PM ET. Panel: “Health Care Reform: A Practical Guide for Your Company”

Panel discussion with leading industry experts about what brokers, employers, and employees must do in the near term to navigate the Affordable Care Act’s upcoming 2014 requirements. The panel will be followed by a Q&A.

·         3:00–4:00 PM ET. Panel: “Health Care 2020: What Will Tomorrow's Health Care Look Like?”

Panel will focus on the long-term vision for the future of health care and the opportunities that lie , followed by a Q&A.

“Sun Life wants to change the way people think and talk about employee benefits and spark a conversation,” continued Thompson. “The Sun Life Wake Up Summit is one part of this strategy—bringing together some of the smartest minds in the fields of insurance and health care reform to have thoughtful and thought-provoking discussions about one of the most defining issues of our time.”

Juan Williams is a host and commentator for Fox News Channel and is the network’s main political analyst. He served as senior news analyst for National Public Radio from 1999 until October 2010. Williams is a frequent contributor to leading newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, where he spent 23 years as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, White House correspondent, and national correspondent.

In addition to his role at MIT, Dr. Gruber serves as director of the Health Care Program at The National Bureau of Economic Research and was called upon to advise the Obama administration and Congress during the formulation of the ACA.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, and Bermuda. In the United States and elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the Sun Life Financial group that are insurance companies. Sun Life Financial Inc., the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. In the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and services to employers and their employees, including Group and Voluntary Life, Disability, Dental, Critical Illness, Accident, and Stop-Loss insurance products. Product offerings may not be available in all states and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.