Retirement planning getting you down? There are always smart ways to plan the financial aspects of your retirement.
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When to consider extra RRIF withdrawals Apr 4th
I am in my 91st year and for my age, in reasonably good health. I drew down a significant extra sum in 2025 from my RRIF. Fortunately, due to some good earlier decisions, my RRIF remains with a very strong market value. I use this drawdown for two purposes: to reinvest in my non-registered accounts.... More »
Working to live better, longer + MORE Mar 19th
(Corbis)
Whenever I suggest in a blog that investors might want to rethink early retirement, I usually hear from a few readers who insist that after 30 or 40 or more years in the workforce, they have a “right” to spend their last decade or so in the pursuit of leisure.
Readers are of course perf.... More »
Strong stock markets continue to lift pension plans + MORE Apr 3rd
The survey of more than 275 plans found a median solvency funded ratio of 95.4 per cent at March 27, up two percentage points last year and 21 points higher than a year ago..... More »
How to boost your retirement income by 50% + MORE Nov 18th
Flickr
If you were told there was a way to boost your income in retirement by 50% it would no doubt get your attention. It certainly got my attention, in a paper in a recent issue of the Journal of Retirement. The paper was co-authored by one of MoneySense’s panelists for the annual ETF All Stars.... More »
The new rules of retirement + MORE Sep 30th
If you’re anything like my dear departed father, you may not need to read any of my new “Retired Money” columns, which are dedicated to solving money management challenges for retirees. You see, my dad was an Ontario high-school teacher and the fortunate beneficiary of the famous defined bene.... More »
High interest savings accounts at discount brokers
– moneysense.ca
[Note: This post has been updated to note a couple of additions to high interest savings accounts offered by Scotia iTrade and BMO InvestorLine. Feel free to have it bookmarked.]
It turns out that Renaissance High Interest Savings Account (ATL5000) is not the only high interest savings account (HISA) available through a discount broker. HISAs are savings accounts that can be purchased in a discount brokerage account just like a mutual fund. These accounts typically pay much higher interest rate than money market funds and are ideal for parking cash in Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and investment accounts. Just like online HISAs, Canadian dollar discount broker HISAs are eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) insurance.
First a note of caution: first check with your broker that no fees of any kind are charged for buying or selling HISAs and no fees are applied for early redemptions. For example: Scotia iTrade charges an early redemption fee of 1 percent (minimum of $38…
It turns out that Renaissance High Interest Savings Account (ATL5000) is not the only high interest savings account (HISA) available through a discount broker. HISAs are savings accounts that can be purchased in a discount brokerage account just like a mutual fund. These accounts typically pay much higher interest rate than money market funds and are ideal for parking cash in Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and investment accounts. Just like online HISAs, Canadian dollar discount broker HISAs are eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) insurance.
First a note of caution: first check with your broker that no fees of any kind are charged for buying or selling HISAs and no fees are applied for early redemptions. For example: Scotia iTrade charges an early redemption fee of 1 percent (minimum of $38…
Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Family Finances, Retirement and RRSPs#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-12143{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-12143,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-12143{width:453px;height:411px;display:block}
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By Matt Brownell
Daily Finance
Medical science hasn’t conquered death, but it’s making some progress.
The number of centenarians has increased by 66 percent in the last 30 years. The Census Bureau projects that 400,000 Americans will be over the age of 100 by 2050. And advances in medical science mean that lifespans of 120 — and beyond — are within reach.
But not everyone is thrilled with our increased longevity. A recent survey by Pew Research found that 83 percent of Americans put their “ideal lifespan” at 100 years or less, and just 4 percent said they’d actually want to live to 120. It’s possible to live longer and longer, but so far, the vast majority of Americans just aren’t that interested in sticking around more than a century…
Pay less for pension credit
– moneysense.ca
If you have a defined benefit (DB) pension, the more years you have in the plan—known as credited service—the higher your pension or the earlier you can retire. It’s why one reader, a Toronto daycare worker, forked out $45,000 to buy back time she’d taken off 20 years ago when she had children. The lump sum buy-back allows her to retire at 55, rather than 60, with a full pension. The incentive: you’ll get guaranteed income in retirement, usually at a better return. But she could have avoided such a large payment. If she’d purchased her missing service time right after taking maternity leave it would have cost her only $4,000. “The earlier you buy back the cheaper it is,” explains pension consultant Brian FitzGerald. That’s because the longer you wait, the more you need to pay to make up for the money that would have accumulated had you invested at the time of your work absence.
