Retirement is closer than you think – as long as you can work until age 65 + MORE Sep 30th

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I recently read a MoneySense article acknowledging you might not have to save as much as you think for retirement.
This article is encouraging if…

You have no significant debt at the time of retirement.
You intend to spend less in your retirement years than during your working years.
You intend to work every year, in a decent paying job, for at least 40 years until age 65 to maximize government benefits.

The article cites this Statistics Canada table as its foundation, the average Canadian household spent just under $80,000 in 2013.
Assuming our Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) will remain intact and kick in about $30,000 per year per couple, the article suggests a low-fee investment portfolio of $750,000 using the 4% withdrawal rule should do the trick for “enough” retirement income to cover what government benefits don’t. That $750k figure might be true, certainly very true for those lucky couples that have contributed to a workplace pension plan for decades…

The Important
In Stephen Harper’s pitch to keep his family living at 24 Sussex Drive, the Prime Minister visited the Toronto suburb of Vaughan on Tuesday morning to announce his party’s target to create 700,000 new homeowners by 2020.
Stephen Harper is set to appear this morning at this half-built suburban subdivision. pic.twitter.com/Klhpuva5bp
— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) September 29, 2015

Harper didn’t unveil any new policies to go with his announcement, saying this target could be achieved with the government’s previous tax breaks and new incentives, such as the home renovation tax credit. In Vaughan, the average price for a single-family detached home is more than $800,000, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, spent Tuesday in Winnipeg, where Liberal support has nearly doubled since 2011 and some polls have the Grits ahead of the Tories. Trudeau talked of boosting high-tech innovation with his pledge of $200 million annually for the next three years for research facilities, small business incubators and exporters…

VANCOUVER – A new Vancouver-based think-tank says it has conducted a performance review of 80 premiers since 1981 and former Ontario premier Mike Harris, a Tory, was rated the best while Quebec’s PQ premier Pauline Marois was the worst.
Aha! Insights Inc. has produced its inaugural report, called “Premier Class: Canada’s Best and Worst Leaders.”
The study only assesses four current premiers but concludes that of those, Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall of the right-wing Saskatchewan Party is at the top while Ontario’s Kathleen Wynne, a Liberal, takes last place.
Co-author Mark Mullins, CEO of Aha!, says the study used 11 fiscal and economic outcomes, such as job growth, balanced budgets, and business investment.
He says the conclusion is that “leadership and fiscal and economic policies really do matter.”
Overall, the study suggests Alberta has had the best set of premiers since 1981, followed by British Columbia and Ontario; Quebec’s premiers as a group were in last place…

ATLANTA – Radio station giant Cumulus Media Inc. says former magazine association head Mary Berner will replace founder Lew Dickey as CEO, citing the need get its traditional and emerging platforms working together more effectively.
The change happens Oct. 13.
Chairman Jeffrey Marcus, whose Crestview Partners controls 27 per cent of Cumulus stock, cited Berner’s experience growing digital brands, including as CEO of Reader’s Digest Association where she built Allrecipes into a huge food website.
Atlanta-based Cumulus, the nation’s second largest radio station owner, has 460 stations in 90 cities. It also built the Nash brand of country music content and took a stake in music streaming service Rdio.
Cumulus shares are down 84 per cent this year, closing at 68 cents Tuesday. They fell to 65 cents in after-hours trade.
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