Retirement

I’ve long advocated that anyone who expects to live a long life should consider deferring their Canada Pension Plan to age 70. Doing so can increase your CPP payments by nearly 50% – an income stream that is both inflation-protected and payable for life. If taking CPP at 70 is such a good idea, why…

The majority of retirees want to remain in their homes and age in place as long as possible. Indeed, most of the financial plans for my retired clients project them to stay in their home, or a home of equivalent value, for their entire lives. That makes perfect sense if you plan on leaving your…

When should you take your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits? Like many personal finance decisions, the answer depends on your unique circumstances. In general, it makes sense to defer taking CPP until age 70. The caveat is that you need to have other resources to draw from while you wait for your CPP benefits to…

“Will I be OK in Retirement?” “How much do I save this year if I don’t want to have to eat pet food when I’m 83?” “What do most Canadians spend each month after they retire? I don’t even know where to start with this stuff!” In response to questions like this, most mutual fund…

Financial planners need to use assumptions about the future to paint a realistic picture for their clients. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, most rely on the projection and assumption guidelines put forward annually by FP Canada. These assumptions include estimates about inflation, investment returns, life expectancy, wage growth, borrowing costs, etc. Note that…

The transition to retirement can be hard enough without having to deal with a mess of individual stocks, mutual funds, and/or ETFs held across several accounts and institutions. Indeed, one of the most sophisticated moves you can make is to simplify your investment portfolio as you head into retirement. Consider Chris and Liza, a couple…