What is Sun Life’s new decumulation product? + MORE Oct 30th

Like many people in Ontario, I got swept up in the “Alberta Is Calling” campaign and left Toronto to buy a condo in Calgary last year. Home prices in the prairie province were barely half those of comparable properties in the Greater Toronto Area and it was the only way I could see to own one. But I quickly realized just because I qualified for a mortgage didn’t mean I could afford it.

Now, almost a year in, I find myself struggling to keep up with all the monthly expenses of owning a home, with little left over for savings, debt repayment or fun. 

Here are some things I’d wish I’d known before buying my first home and some advice from a financial planner on preparing for such a big purchase and what to do if you find yourself in over your head.

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Late in September, Sun Life joined a small group of Canadian financial firms offering would-be retirees a decumulation product designed to help pensioners make the often-tricky transition from saving and accumulating wealth to drawing it down. It’s called MyRetirementIncome.

In doing so, it joins Guardian Capital’s Glidepath and the Purpose Longevity Fund, among others. Even so, Sun Life describes MyRetirementIncome as “a first of its kind in Canada” that “fills a gap in our industry in Canada.” It also resembles asset allocation ETFs (exchange traded funds), like Vanguard’s VRIF (Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio).

There appears to be a market in Canada for these kinds of products, despite tepid initial sales of some of the above-named pioneers. In Sun Life’s press release, it says that 5 million Canadians are “turning 65 this decade,” so there’s “growing demand for retirement solutions that help Canadian retirees transition from saving to drawing income…

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