There are plenty of retirement plan options in Canada! Stay on top of the best plans right here.
Latest News
CPPIB grows presence in Hong Kong logistics real estate with Goodman partnership + MORE Dec 9th
TORONTO _ The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is investing $320 million in a partnership with more than a dozen modern logistics properties in Hong Kong.
The Goodman Hong Kong Logistics Partnership, created in 2006, has assets worth about C$4.7 billion including a 50 per cent interest in Goodma.... More »
Are Canadians Getting the Most From Their Retirement System? + MORE Sep 17th
Depending on where you live and work, the answer to this question will vary. In addition to potentially having a workplace pension plan, Canadians have private options such as RRSPs and TFSAs, as well as several government products to navigate such as CPP, OAS and GIS. Depending on which province yo.... More »
Common risks to retirement, investing and financial freedom Oct 11th
No matter what stage of financial planning you are in, it is important to be aware of and understand the common risks to your retirement plan and financial stability. The Toronto Star published the following chart showing reasons why Canadians delay their retirement:
While enthusiasm may be nece.... More »
Why the $35,000 RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan won’t be much help Mar 31st
It’s been about a week since federal budget day and I still have questions about some of the things the government announced. For instance, why did they introduce a deferred annuity, which will allow Canadians to put 25% of their RRSP or RRIF into an annuity that must start paying out by 85 at the.... More »
Reduce tax brackets by organizing where you hold investments + MORE Jun 11th
(Getty Images / Peter Dazeley)
Nobody likes to pay taxes.
But while they are inevitable, you can minimize the amount you pay.
Brent Vandermeer, a portfolio manager with HollisWealth, says to build a tax efficient portfolio you need to pay attention to what you hold and where it’s held.
“A lot of.... More »
Reducing capital gains on the sale of a cottage
– moneysense.ca
Q: My mother leases an apartment in a retirement community, but also has a cottage. Can she declare the cottage as her principal residence? How can she avoid or minimize the taxes on the sale of the cottage to her children?—Fredlut2
A: Every Canadian can have one principal residence for tax purposes. It doesn’t have to be your home. It can be your cottage. If you only have one property, selling it generally has no tax implications. Your mother owns a cottage, like many Canadians, so the result is that there are likely capital gains tax to pay in the future.
In your case, Fred, you’ll need to look into the past to get your answer. If your mother had a home that she owned previously, it is likely that when she sold it, she didn’t report a capital gain or pay income tax on that sale. If that’s the case, if we assume she sold it in, say, 2010, the cottage will qualify as her principal residence for subsequent years, but not prior.
If she bought the cottage in, say, 1990 and she sells it in 2014, she will have owned it for 25 years upon the sale…
A: Every Canadian can have one principal residence for tax purposes. It doesn’t have to be your home. It can be your cottage. If you only have one property, selling it generally has no tax implications. Your mother owns a cottage, like many Canadians, so the result is that there are likely capital gains tax to pay in the future.
In your case, Fred, you’ll need to look into the past to get your answer. If your mother had a home that she owned previously, it is likely that when she sold it, she didn’t report a capital gain or pay income tax on that sale. If that’s the case, if we assume she sold it in, say, 2010, the cottage will qualify as her principal residence for subsequent years, but not prior.
If she bought the cottage in, say, 1990 and she sells it in 2014, she will have owned it for 25 years upon the sale…
The $1,000-a-month rule for retirement
– moneysense.ca
Here’s an interesting rule of thumb that most retirees and would-be retirees would do well to adopt. Developed by U.S.-based financial planner Wes Moss, it’s called “The 1,000-Bucks-a-Month Rule.” It means that for every thousand dollars in monthly income you want in retirement, you need to have saved $240,000.
So if you want $2,000 a month from your investment portfolio, this rule suggests you’d need to amass $480,000, which just happens to be close to the minimum amount ($500,000) that “happy retirees” in the U.S. tend to have saved up. Note this rule is to generate investment income that is above and beyond pension income, government pensions like Social Security (in the U.S.) or the combination in Canada of CPP/OAS.
This guideline suggests that if you want $4,000 a month from investment income, in addition to the usual alternative sources of income, then you need to have saved almost a million in liquid investments: $240,000 times four is $960,000. If you wanted $10,000 a month, then you’d need $2…
So if you want $2,000 a month from your investment portfolio, this rule suggests you’d need to amass $480,000, which just happens to be close to the minimum amount ($500,000) that “happy retirees” in the U.S. tend to have saved up. Note this rule is to generate investment income that is above and beyond pension income, government pensions like Social Security (in the U.S.) or the combination in Canada of CPP/OAS.
This guideline suggests that if you want $4,000 a month from investment income, in addition to the usual alternative sources of income, then you need to have saved almost a million in liquid investments: $240,000 times four is $960,000. If you wanted $10,000 a month, then you’d need $2…
