For anyone, including the 2SLGBTQ+ community, the family planning process can take many twists and turns. Since we know the road to parenthood can have some bumps, it can be helpful to smooth out what you can in advance — like financial conversations. Consulting a personal banker in advance can help set you up to improve your financial situation on your journey to family life. Martine Roy, Regional Manager, Business Development 2SLGBTQ+ for Quebec and Eastern Canada at TD Bank Group, shares how below.
Find an advisor who understands you and your concerns
Historically, it often has been difficult for women, queer, trans and racialized customers to feel trust with financial institutions. This is why the 2SLGBTQ+ segment team at TD is committed to making sure there’s a comfort level for those communities, as they are integral members of our social fabric.
As a lesbian who has faced significant discrimination in my life, I am deeply committed to helping equity-deserving communities as much as possible. And increasingly, that means 2SLGBTQ+ customers. I have my own family now — my wife and I have two kids — and it’s amazing. We fought so hard for these rights.
Laying the groundwork can be key
For many people, creating a family can involve third-party reproduction assistance. It can be an expensive endeavour and it’s something that requires preparation. Often that can include financial support.
Even if you’re not ready to have children just yet, there are steps you can take. For example, I recently helped two women customers, a same-sex couple, for example. While they don’t want to have kids at this point in time, they want to start planning and are interested in egg retrieval and freezing. So, we discussed different ways to financially prepare for that and whether the best solution would be a savings plan, or other products and services the bank can provide.
Regardless of life stage or age, it’s important to have a financial plan
My wife is 44 years old, but I’m 59 and we have two children under the age of 10. I would have loved to have had them when I was younger, but in many ways, society wasn’t ready. Now queer families are a growing segment of society and our team wants to assist as many 2SLGBTQ+ individuals as we can, including older ones like me, who want to build and support a family.
If you do already have children, you may want to consider how to provide for your family while simultaneously planning for your retirement. Another financial goal could be setting up an education fund for your children, like a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). Our personal bankers can help you figure out what the best financial tools are for your situation. We’ll look at how much you’re able to put aside for the future, and what you require in the days and weeks ahead to help find financial balance for your family.
TD has a long history of diversity and inclusion, including being the first bank in Canada to provide same-sex spousal benefits for employees and to cover gender affirmation surgery for our employees and their family members. We know that 2SLGBTQ+ family planning is often a significant financial commitment.
Since March 2022, TD has provided benefits coverage for treatment, medication and surrogacy expenses. My wife and I went through fertility treatments, so I really do understand how tough they can be and how having support in the workplace can be a gift — like days off for fertility-related appointments
