Retirement planning getting you down? There are always smart ways to plan the financial aspects of your retirement.
Latest News
What do to with a spousal RRSP at age 71 Jun 15th
Ask MoneySense
My question is in regards to a spousal RRSP that I have set up for my wife years ago. When she turns 71, do we have to turn it into something like a RRIF, which I did for my RRSP (I am older than her) and then withdraw from it annually? Or, could it be directly transferred to her TFSA.... More »
Reducing risk in an RESP: How to invest as your kid approaches college or university + MORE Oct 5th
If you’ve opened a registered education savings plan (RESP) for your child or grandchild, congratulations. You’ve taken the first step towards financing their future college, university or trade school education. And now your family can start benefiting from generous government grants worth thou.... More »
TFSA contribution room calculator + MORE Jan 11th
Find out your current tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution limit by using this calculator.
TFSA is a bit of a misnomer. While you can use it for straightforward savings, think of it more accurately as an investment holding account to store things like exchange-traded funds .... More »
Financial hardship withdrawal exceptions and increasing income in retirement + MORE Apr 4th
Ask MoneySense
I am in B.C., Canada. I moved my LIRA into a LIF two years ago. I have taken the maximum annual withdrawals for each year. I thought it’d be smart to start taking it. How can I get more out of it? I need the funds to help deal with bill payments. All my monthly i.... More »
Making sense of the markets this week: December 10, 2023 Dec 14th
Kyle Prevost, creator of 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement, Canada’s DIY retirement planning course, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.
Interest rates stay the same—bank accounts, not so much
As was widely anticipated, the Bank of Canada (BoC) chose to k.... More »
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) pension plan, you may be greeting the prospect of foregoing continued employment income with some trepidation.
Interest rates have never been lower, meaning your safe fixed-income investments (like GICs) pay you practically nothing in terms of real, inflation-adjusted retirement income. Dividend-paying stocks pay better, especially after taxes if they’re Canadian stocks, but after stock-market scares of 2008 and March 2020, an overweight position in stocks is hardly going to let you sleep at night the way a taxpayer-guaranteed, inflation-indexed DB pension is going to.
Sadly, such pensions are increasingly rare in the private sector. So what to do? I’d consult the newly revised edition of his book Retirement Income For Life by retired actuary Fred Vettese…
Interest rates have never been lower, meaning your safe fixed-income investments (like GICs) pay you practically nothing in terms of real, inflation-adjusted retirement income. Dividend-paying stocks pay better, especially after taxes if they’re Canadian stocks, but after stock-market scares of 2008 and March 2020, an overweight position in stocks is hardly going to let you sleep at night the way a taxpayer-guaranteed, inflation-indexed DB pension is going to.
Sadly, such pensions are increasingly rare in the private sector. So what to do? I’d consult the newly revised edition of his book Retirement Income For Life by retired actuary Fred Vettese…
