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The best RRSPs in Canada for 2024 + MORE May 2nd
RRSPs
The best RRSPs in Canada for 2024
We’ve rounded up the best RRSP rates on savings accounts and GICs, as well as the best RRSP investment accounts.
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Mapping out a clear path for your investments at retirement May 11th
Q. I retired last year at age 60 and am fortunate to have defined benefit pension, which I can live off comfortably.
I have accumulated some savings, which I am now looking to invest more productively. My risk tolerance is on the low end—a 2 out of 5 based on an online survey I completed. My goal .... More »
Why “unretirement” may be the fate of so many Canadians Mar 14th
The idea of “unretirement” seems to be making a comeback as more Canadians find themselves under economic stress. Even before the tariff threats emerged under Trump 2.0, seniors and near-retirees were finding the economic uncertainty and rising cost of living becoming uncomfortable. No surprise .... More »
Is AI the ultimate retirement hack? Jun 13th
There’s an interesting new book just published called I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything. The author is Joanna Stern, who was a personal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal for 12 years. As the subtitle of her book reveals, she spent a year using ar.... More »
More Canadians are pressing pause on retirement savings to pay for things now. Just how long should you do that? The answer may surprise you + MORE Jun 1st
Be aware of the setbacks of putting saving for the future on the back burner in the face of high inflation, experts caution..... More »
Q. This fall, I will celebrate my 65th birthday, and plan to reduce my work hours to three days a week, from my current full-time hours now. I also plan to begin collecting my Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits—but, at the same time, I want to avoid being taxed on my income if possible. What would you suggest I do?
– Rose
A. From a lifestyle perspective, Rose, I think the phased retirement you’ve opted for is a great way to make the transition from full-time work. Not everyone has the option to go from full- to part-time, but if you can, it’s worth considering.
There is a common misconception that you can’t work while receiving your government pensions, or that there is some sort of reduction or clawback. You can, in fact, receive your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension and your Old Age Security (OAS) pension while still working, but there are some important considerations.
You can start CPP as early as age 60; if you’re still working at that point, you need to keep contributing to CPP…
– Rose
A. From a lifestyle perspective, Rose, I think the phased retirement you’ve opted for is a great way to make the transition from full-time work. Not everyone has the option to go from full- to part-time, but if you can, it’s worth considering.
There is a common misconception that you can’t work while receiving your government pensions, or that there is some sort of reduction or clawback. You can, in fact, receive your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension and your Old Age Security (OAS) pension while still working, but there are some important considerations.
You can start CPP as early as age 60; if you’re still working at that point, you need to keep contributing to CPP…
Two of the more promising measures in the recent federal budget could pave the way for deferred annuities and pooled-risk pension products designed to prevent retirees from outliving their money.
The budget proposed two new types of annuities that can be used for registered plans. The headline-grabber was ALDA: an acronym for Advanced Life Deferred Annuity. As of 2020, ALDAs could become an investment option for those with registered plans like RRSPs or RRIFs, Defined Contribution (DC) Registered Pension Plans and Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs).
The other proposal is for Variable Payment Life Annuities (VPLAs), which would pool investment risk in groups of at least 10 people within defined-contribution RPPs and PRPPs. This, to me, rings of a relatively obscure academic concept called a “tontine,” which, in its most extreme form—famously depicted in The Wrong Box—pools investments by a group, with the single survivor “winning” the whole pot by outliving all the unfortunates who die sooner…
The budget proposed two new types of annuities that can be used for registered plans. The headline-grabber was ALDA: an acronym for Advanced Life Deferred Annuity. As of 2020, ALDAs could become an investment option for those with registered plans like RRSPs or RRIFs, Defined Contribution (DC) Registered Pension Plans and Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs).
The other proposal is for Variable Payment Life Annuities (VPLAs), which would pool investment risk in groups of at least 10 people within defined-contribution RPPs and PRPPs. This, to me, rings of a relatively obscure academic concept called a “tontine,” which, in its most extreme form—famously depicted in The Wrong Box—pools investments by a group, with the single survivor “winning” the whole pot by outliving all the unfortunates who die sooner…
Beyond financial planning: How to achieve the lifestyle you want
– moneysense.ca
Q. I have just turned 40, am single, and earn $86,000 a year. I also have zero debt. I just finished paying off my house, worth $315,000, and I would like to continue to put away my mortgage payment of $1,000 every two weeks as savings.
Because all money went to debt repayment, I’ve never really invested before, but I do have $20,000 in my RRSP that a family member manages for me. I also have a small amount in my TFSA. I will receive a pension upon retirement, but as I would like to retire early, I won’t receive the full amount, and the pension payments will not fully sustain my lifestyle. So some advice on how I should invest the $26,000 in annual disposable income would be appreciated.
– Mara
A. Despite your lack of investing experience, Mara, your instincts are right on target. Most of us don’t want financial independence, which can easily be achieved by selling everything we own and buying a hut in an impoverished country; we want to achieve and maintain our desired lifestyle…
Because all money went to debt repayment, I’ve never really invested before, but I do have $20,000 in my RRSP that a family member manages for me. I also have a small amount in my TFSA. I will receive a pension upon retirement, but as I would like to retire early, I won’t receive the full amount, and the pension payments will not fully sustain my lifestyle. So some advice on how I should invest the $26,000 in annual disposable income would be appreciated.
– Mara
A. Despite your lack of investing experience, Mara, your instincts are right on target. Most of us don’t want financial independence, which can easily be achieved by selling everything we own and buying a hut in an impoverished country; we want to achieve and maintain our desired lifestyle…
