Sun Life Financial Launches Enhanced Wealth Transfer Program to Facilitate Estate Planning Strategies

The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF, TSX: SLF) today announced the launch of its enhanced Wealth Transfer Program and advanced markets calculators to assist producers in using life insurance for estate planning. The Program covers four estate planning strategies – including Annuity Maximization, the Leveraged Credit Shelter Trust, Muni-Bond Alternative and Stretch IRAs – providing valuable tools, information and marketing materials to help advisors meet the needs of the Boomer and affluent markets.

"Estate planning is becoming increasingly important to the aging Baby Boomer population as they prepare to transfer their wealth to the next generation,” said Janet Whitehouse, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Individual Life Insurance. "Life insurance is a key vehicle for distributing wealth. Sun Life’s program offers strategies to best address each client’s specific needs while maximizing wealth for intended heirs in the most tax efficient manner.”

The Wealth Transfer Program includes sales ideas, client guides and fact finders to assist producers as they help clients:

• Choose a wealth transfer plan that can make a difference to them and their heirs;
• Avoid wealth erosion from taxation;
• Maintain flexibility and control over assets; and
• Maximize the transfer of assets to heirs through a life insurance death benefit.

In addition, Sun Life provides the following calculators for use with each planning strategy.

• Annuity Max Calculator - Analyzes the income and estate tax impact on a deferred annuity versus using all or a portion of the current annuity’s values for the purchase of life insurance.
• Municipal Bond Alternative Calculator - Illustrates the taxation impact on municipal bonds at death and demonstrates a strategy repositioning municipal bonds to effectively maximize the transfer of wealth to heirs.
• Leveraged Credit Shelter Trust Calculator - Analyzes the benefit of leveraging trust assets with life insurance to maximize the amount of wealth available to heirs.
• Stretch IRA Calculator - Analyzes the estate and income tax impact of a client’s IRA at death. It also demonstrates a planning technique that extends the distribution of an IRA asset, supplemented with life insurance to offset tax consequences and pass down the remaining proceeds of the account to a child or grandchild.

For more information or to request a Wealth Transfer Program kit, please contact the Sun Life Financial Sales Desk at 800-786-5433 ext. 7253, or the Advanced Markets Group at 800-432-1102 ext. 1756, 1838, 2450 and 1817.

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 December 31, 2008, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of US $313.3 billion.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol SLF. Visit Sun Life Financial’s website at www.sunlife-usa.com.

SLPC 20243 (4/09)

Exp. 4/11