There are plenty of retirement plan options in Canada! Stay on top of the best plans right here.
Latest News
Strategies to make taxable investing easier + MORE Feb 3rd
In Episode 4 of the Canadian Couch Potato podcast, I answered the following question from a listener named Jakob:
I’m currently investing with all my ETFs in RRSP and TFSA accounts. This year, however, I’ll finish paying off my mortgage, so I will have more surplus cash and will have to start us.... More »
Near retirement with no defined benefit pension? Here’s what you need to know Oct 26th
If you’re a typical reader of this column, I’m guessing retirement is on the near-term horizon for you, or already arrived in the form of “semi-retirement.” And if you’ve diligently saved in registered and taxable plans all these decades but lack an employer-sponsored defined benefit (DB) .... More »
Sears looking to close all stores, 12,000 to lose jobs + MORE Oct 14th
TORONTO — Sears Canada Inc. is seeking court approval to liquidate its roughly 130 remaining stores, leaving approximately 12,000 employees without a job.
The embattled retailer, which has been operating under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act since June, said Tuesday that it had fail.... More »
This 30-year-old freelancer makes $125,000 a year and pays modest rent living with his parents. Should he invest in retirement or buy a home? + MORE Feb 3rd
Jeremy says his main goal is to save for retirement, but after looking at condos online, he’s trying to decide if that will be a worthy investment..... More »
How to change a past tax return Apr 11th
Ask MoneySense
I have non-registered investment management fees from 2021 and 2022 that were not claimed on my returns for those years. Can they be deducted on my 2023 return? If not, is there another way to utilize those deductions now?
—Ian
How to change a tax filing to claim investment m.... More »
Should you wait out an investment loss?
– moneysense.ca
Q: My $50,000 investment in gold is now worth $27,000. Over the last three years I haven’t had the stomach to invest in anything more. I’m 50 and my earning power is running out. Do I stick with the gold to prevent locking in a big loss or sell and try to make it up?
—Jordan, Canmore, Alta.
A: It’s hard for any of us to admit when we’ve made a mistake, and it’s even more difficult when a blunder costs us a big chunk of our retirement savings. But don’t compound your error by hanging on to an investment you never should have bought in the first place. Doing so is what gamblers call throwing good money after bad.
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As it stands, you’ll need an 85% return to turn your $27,000 back to $50,000. That’s just over 13% compounded annually for five years, or about 6…
Am I on track to retire in 10 years?
– moneysense.ca
(Photo by Amanda Skuse)The current situation
Shannon Jimenez, 47, lives in Chilliwack, B.C. with her husband Hector, 55. She’s a part-time customer service rep while Hector is a manager. “We’ve spent the last 25 years building up the equity in our home and in our Mexican rental property so savings are slim,” says Shannon. Right now, the couple has $45,000 in RRSPs earning 3.5% annually after fees. Neither has an employer pension but they are saving $1,000 a month from their $95,000 household income (which includes $10,000 in rental income). They also put $1,400 per month towards their mortgage—an amount that will be reduced to $700 in two years, allowing them to increase their savings to $1,700 per month for the next eight years. “We hope that by beefing up our savings in two years we can retire in 10 years on $40,000 net per year,” says Shannon.
The verdict
Janet Gray of Money Coaches Canada says the couple is on track to retire in 10 years, but only if they sell their Mexico rental property when
Hector reaches age 75…
7 tips to plan a smarter retirement
– moneysense.ca
This cheat sheet on retirement planning tips is part of our series on the basics of personal finance as part of Financial Literacy Month. On Friday, MoneySense will have a special Facebook Live testing other magazine editors on their money sense. Tune in live at 3 p.m. on our Facebook page to watch us put them to the test. Follow us and participate if you think you know your stuff.
1. Face the facts
Saving for retirement is always a challenge. But a number of factors have added up in recent years that make it even tougher on those entering or preparing to enter retirement. Jonathan Chevreau, Retired Money columnist for MoneySense, says the strength and predictability of defined benefit pensions (which pay out until death based on your earnings) is disappearing, as corporate plans move to defined contribution pensions (which build wealth based on employee and corporate contributions but do not pay out based on guaranteed formulas). That’s hard enough, Chevreau argues, but where “financial oppression” really takes hold is that retirees are stuck with bond yields that are sitting close to zero, which means nest eggs stop growing as fast and have to be drawn down a lot faster than they were for past generations…
