BrighterLife.ca asks Canadians to share ideas about money, health and family

New site offers Canadians straight-up information about some of life's most important issues

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2011 /CNW/ - Today we announce the launch of a new site that will help busy Canadians navigate some of life's most pressing challenges - from career choices and family matters to staying healthy and keeping up with finances, Brighter Life is a place for learning, sharing ideas and having conversations about complex issues that go to the heart of building secure, meaningful, healthy futures.

Brought to you by Sun Life Financial, Brighter Life invites all Canadians to get involved - by reading, posing questions to our columnists, contributing ideas and experiences, answering poll questions, and sharing insights with those who face similar challenges. Brighter Life was built on the philosophy that it's real people and real lives that can make the biggest difference when making life's weightiest decisions.

Get started! Here are some of the ways you can connect with BrighterLife.ca:

• Tune in to our topics: The jargon-free articles and tools on the site tackle the issues always on our minds, including money, health, family, working life and retirement.
• Check out what others like: Our most popular and discussed articles and columns appear on every page, featuring tips and ideas you can apply today.
• Find a solution: There's a list of tools and calculators aimed at making planning for the future a little more fun and simple. And a Simply put column provides clear, easy to understand answers to your questions about personal finance.
• Interact with our experts: Read about Dave Dineen's first year of retirement in his column Dave's retirement journey; learn how to navigate Today's economy with Kevin Press; or follow Gerald McGroarty as he discusses career and work-life issues in his column Making it work.
• Follow us elsewhere: We're on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. You can also subscribe to BrighterLife.ca.

BrighterLife.ca is committed to bringing people together to benefit from each other's insights, through personal stories and shared experiences.

So, are you ready to join the conversation? We can't wait to see what you have to say on www.BrighterLife.ca.

BOILERPLATE

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. Chartered in 1865, 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. As of June 30, 2011, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $474 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

QUOTES:

"Brighter Life is all about helping Canadians take control of the things that matter most in life including their family, work and finances. There's a lot of chatter out there and social media is truly a space where we can connect, share solutions and offer some really concrete problem-solving." - Brenda Spiering, Editor, BrighterLife.ca

"Brighter Life is about helping Canadians understand and share ideas about everyday challenges and how they intersect with money, health, and family." - Darin Diehl, Assistant Vice-President, Canadian Websites, Sun Life Financial

"Since retiring a few months ago, I've had to 'relearn' how to work less, listen more, sleep in and adapt to a new jogging schedule … I'm having some of the best experiences of my life. It's great to have a place like Brighter Life where I can share my journey and connect with others on a similar path." - Dave Dineen, columnist, Dave's Retirement Journey

IMAGES:

• Brighter Life logo / SimplementBrillant logo
• Screenshot of site

VIDEOS:

[insertYoutube feed, leading with intro video (also show How to make a will video?]

VISIT US:

BrighterLife.ca (http://www.brighterlife.ca)

On Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BrighterLifeCA)

On Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/brighterlifeCA)

On YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/BrighterLifeCA)

Image with caption: "BrighterLife.ca asks Canadians to share ideas about money, health and family (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110919_C4124_PHOTO_EN_3390.jpg

Image with caption: "BrighterLife.ca asks Canadians to share ideas about money, health and family (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110919_C4124_PHOTO_EN_3392.jpg

Video with caption: "Video: Welcome to Brighter Life". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We_Vvp3LwEA

Video with caption: "Video: Smart ways to cover the cost of university". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfpO3yhyeL8