Why CPP may be underpaying some Canadians + MORE Dec 4th

Barrick Gold Corp. holds a board meeting today that could clarify the retirement plans of chairman Peter Munk.

Lifestyle planning in retirement may be a bit easier when there is only one of you. It’s very simple to create a bucket list for exactly what you’d like to do during retirement. There are no arguments if you decide that travel just isn’t for you – or if travel means spending a month in Italy or six months touring the country in an RV.
Although the decision-making process for single retirees is a lot simpler, financing retirement years without a partner may be a bit more of a challenge. It’s a different  strategy.
Reduce Expenses as You Approach Retirement
Whether single or part of a couple, we all have pretty much the same fixed or basic expenses in our working years and in retirement. We have to pay mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, taxes, food, personal hygiene and other debt repayment. When you have a regular pay cheque coming in, presumably we have learned to keep these essential costs within our means. As you get closer your retirement years, you should be aiming to reduce your or eliminate some of these fixed costs (such as our mortgage and other debt repayments)…

Creative Commons / John Ward
Norbert’s Gambit remains the least expensive way to convert Canadian and U.S. dollars at a discount brokerage. For investors looking to buy U.S.-listed ETFs, learning this technique can save hundreds of dollars by sidestepping the wide currency spreads charged by brokerages.
With the 2013 launch of excellent unhedged foreign equity ETFs from Vanguard and iShares, there’s less incentive to use U.S.-listed ETFs than there used to be. In fact, in a non-registered account or a TFSA it may not even be worth the added cost and inconvenience if the only difference is a few basis points of MER. But in an RRSP, there’s a significant benefit: using U.S.-listed ETFs can dramatically reduce the impact of foreign withholding taxes, which can add an additional cost of 0.30% to 0.70% to U.S. and international equity holdings.
The problem with learning to pulling off Norbert’s Gambit, however, is that there’s no simple set of instructions that works at every brokerage…

Features
Editor’s Letter: What should we do with Canada’s rich?
Canada’s 100 Wealthiest People: Canada’s super-wealthy are 15% richer this year, thanks to a worldwide market rally and some canny business moves
David Mirvish’s Unfortunate International Art Adventure: How did the son of ‘Honest Ed’ Mirvish end up at the centre of the most shocking art forgery scandal of the decade?
The Concierge Diaries: Inside the expanding business of personal concierge assistants, where no request is too mundane…or too odd

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Briefing
The Problem With ‘Big CPP‘: It’s a shotgun solution that would cost business dearly
A Government Office That Does Almost Nothing: Mining mediation counsellor resigns with little to show for her efforts
Building a Bigger ‘Super Lab’: Health professionals fear a monopoly in medical testing
The Bitumen Bubble’s Back: Alberta oil discount hits $40 a barrel
Here Are the Keys—Don’t Break Anything: Can Fed nominee Yellen end QE and save the housing recovery
Hot Topic: Most overestimate how rich the richest Canadians really are

British Columbia
Slow Train to China: Does CN have a secret agenda to transport oil by rail to the West Coast?
Biotech’s Next Stars? Two companies step up to fill the hole left by QLT and Angiotech

Investing
Private Equity for Everyone: How to capture private firms’ superior performance using publicly traded stocks
Take That Bonus to Your Broker: Lump-sum investing beats dollar-cost averaging most of the time
The Unlikely Commodity Stock That Soared: Methanex has doubled this year, and there’s more to come

Comment
James Cowan: What’s sinking our battleships?
Bruce Philp: Luxury ain’t what it used to be
Richard Branson: How to conquer your fear

Winners & Losers
You’d think people associated with yoga and frozen yogurt would be pretty chill…

If you started your Canada Pension Plan pension recently, the government may owe you money.