Retirement Planning Wisdom

Why won’t Canadians pay for investment advice?

  Great article in Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick. The media has been heavily anti-advice for years. The focus has been mainly on low fees, rarely mentioning that the fees pay for advice or attempting to evaluate the cost/benefit of advice. Evidence shows this has been a disaster for Canadians. The comprehensive study by…

Read More

“Your Home is the Best Investment” – True or False?

Many people believe that growth of the value of their home has been phenomenal over the last few decades. The common belief is that growth is similar to the stock market and much less risky. Is this actually true? This is important, because believing a home is the best investment leads you to: Feel you…

Read More

Case Study: Figuring Out Your Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contribution

In the last article, Ed Rempel discussed the steps to creating your optimal RRSP/TFSA contribution. Here is a case study to help put the steps into practice. Case Study: Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contributions for John and Mary Smith To understand the interplay between these six factors, lets look at an example. John Mary Income $100,000 $60,000 Marginal…

Read More

The Optimal RRSP Contribution

In RRSP season, you may wonder “How much should I contribute to my RRSP?” The proper way to figure this out is to identify your “optimal RRSP/TFSA contribution”. Understanding how to figure out the very best RRSP contribution to make is a vital concept. It is a key factor in every retirement plan. This article was…

Read More

The Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contribution

Now that we are in RRSP season, you may be wondering “How much should I contribute to my RRSP?” The proper way to figure this out is to identify your “optimal RRSP/TFSA contribution”. This is a key factor in every retirement plan.

Read More

Converting Income to the Right Type with Corporate Class Funds

Investing for income can mean that you have to chose between the most appropriate investment and the most tax-efficient one. You can convert investment income into the right type using corporate class funds. The most highly taxed income is interest. There is a significant benefit for you if you can convert interest income into dividends…

Read More

TFSA, RRSP or Both?

Ever since tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) were introduced, there has been a debate about which is the best for retirement investments – TFSAs or RRSPs? To fully understand this debate, you need to consider your tax rates before and after retirement, including the clawbacks on seniors. I have seen no other articles anywhere that properly…

Read More

Clawback Strategies

In Canada, government benefits are often paid only to those with lower incomes and then “clawed back” based on your income. Clawbacks are really additional income tax. Understanding clawbacks is a critical part of knowing whether to invest in RRSPs or TFSAs. The correct answer depends on your tax bracket while working compared to your…

Read More