Is an income property right for you? + MORE Jun 26th

If you are among the minority of private sector employees covered by an employer-sponsored pension plan, you need educate yourself about how this benefit fits into your overall financial plan for retirement. Depending on whether your employer offers a defined benefit (DB) or a defined contribution (DC) plan, your plans for your future may look very different.
1. DB and DC Contribution Plans Provide Different Levels of Benefits in Retirement
A DB (defined benefit) pension plan will pay you a guaranteed level of income in retirement, no matter how much you contributed to the plan during your years of employment. The formula is based on your income and years of service. With a defined contribution (DC) plan, your contributions, along with your employer’s matching amount, grows into a lump sum nest egg for your retirement. There is no guarantee of a specific amount that you will receive when you are ready to start receiving your pension.
2.Read the pension statement carefully.
Each pension plan is different, and you need to understand exactly what you can expect to receive in retirement…

Mandatory contribution increases to the Canada Pension Plan would likely result in reductions to RRSP contributions, according a new study from the Fraser Institute. The think-tank studied CPP and RRSP contributions over the last two decades and found that the percentage of tax-filers contributing and the amount they contributed to their RRSPs in each age and income group decreased as the CPP contribution rate increased.
Navigating the banking sector can be tough for anyone let alone new Canadians.  According to a poll from TD Canada Trust, most newcomers said they did not know how to open a bank account (47%), apply for a credit card (58%) or mortgage (87%) or send money to family overseas (72%) in their first three months in Canada. The biggest surprise new Canadians encountered setting up their finances was the credit rating system (24%) and not having access to credit right away (23%). The bank suggests immigrants apply for a secured credit card at their local branch and get into the habit of paying all their bills on time in order to quickly establish a favourable credit score…

Many of us make the same investing mistakes over and over. A good guide is the basic philosophy of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

You have to appreciate that—unlike investing in stocks and bonds—this kind of investment isn’t passive. You’ll need to do your homework, stay on top of the real estate market, and master all the details of managing your property to get a good return, even if you hire someone else to do much of the day-to-day work. “It’s not hands-off,” says Don Campbell, author and senior research analyst at the Real Estate Investment Network, an educational and research company. “You’re in essence buying a small business.”
You also want to consider that you probably already have a big stake in the real estate market through the equity in your house. That may not matter much if you consider your home primarily a place to live and you don’t intend to sell it to realize your retirement objectives. But it can be a factor if you consider your home an investment you may need to cash out of at some point. In that case, if you buy a rental property—particularly in the same city—that means a lot of your wealth will be riding on real estate’s good fortune…