How business owners should time CPP and OAS + MORE Apr 29th

Graham Moysey is a force to be reckoned with.

The 47-year-old Toronto-based media executive, who, as head of international at AOL runs all of the business units for the company apart from the U.S., is known to colleagues, friends and family as a hard-working, hard-playing guy who scarcely stops moving for a minute. (Note: HuffPost Canada is owned by AOL.)

So when he announced in March that he would be leaving the company on May 1, the speculation began immediately. Snapchat? Facebook? Some new start-up?

But the answer, it turned out, was: Nowhere.

“I am entering into the great abyss,” he tells HuffPost Canada with a laugh. “I still consider myself to be a fairly young grasshopper in the field of life, as much as I’ve got lots to do. And so this is not by any stretch thinking about retirement, it’s just a small break.”

Watch the video above or click on this link to see how Moysey broke the news to his boss, and his advice for employees starting out now.

Moysey has worked his way up through a number of media industries in Canada in the past two decades, serving as Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Digital Media at Canwest Global Communications, and Vice-President of Sales and Business Development for Sympatico…

(iStock/Qvasimodo)
Q: My sister is 57 years of age and a Canadian citizen who got married and moved to the United States over 20 years ago. She has an RRSP investment account left in Canada which has mutual funds in it. What are the best least-taxable options for her to consider? Can she wait until 71 years of age and create a RRIF and draw each year? How will CRA treat her situation? If she cashes out now, how much tax will she pay? Any advice would be most appreciated.
—Nancy
A: You sister should definitely enlist the help of a U.S.-Canada tax expert to assist with this planning and in calculating any taxes to be paid in either and/or both countries. This can be affected by her income level, what state she lives in and whether she is filing jointly with her husband.
Broadly speaking: You are not required to file a Canadian income tax return as a non-resident of Canada unless you have specific income that requires a return to be filed, owe taxes or elect to file a return. Therefore, if the income you receive has the proper amount of withholding tax taken on it, no return is required in Canada as Canada Revenue Agency has already received their tax allotted under the treaty…

Q: I retired recently, having just turned 65 years of age. I have not applied for CPP or OAS as yet because I had sufficient income in 2016 and did not need the additional income.
I do not have a private pension, but I do have the ability to draw dividends from a holding company which I own.
I do not need CPP or OAS at this time and I am able to live comfortably on what I draw from my holding company.
At what point would it be considered advisable to apply for OAS and CPP?
—Peter
A: Government pension planning is an important part of retirement planning for everyone, but particularly business owners. There are considerations that apply during the accumulation and the decumulation phases.
In the accumulation phase, Canadians with a corporation need to be drawing sufficient salary to contribute to and increase entitlement to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension. In 2017, the year’s maximum pension earnings (YMPE) limit is $55,300. So taxpayers need to have $55,300 of salary or self-employment income to make the maximum CPP contribution for the year and earn a full year of CPP pensionable service…