#601 - 110 9th Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 0T1View on Map »

Financial Library

The Quick Start RRSP

Posted on: November 2, 2009

Maureen, age 20, figures she can save $325 each month; or she can keep frittering it away at the mall. She lives with her parents and they think she should save it. Dad says, 'Put it into an RRSP and get a tax break as well.' Her friends think RRSPs are for old fogies and she doesn't need to start thinking about retirement savings until she's 30.

Tags: 
rrsp

Proposed Changes to the Canada Pension Plan

Posted on: July 1, 2009

On May 25, 2009 Finance Canada announced some proposed changes to how Canada Pension Plan will work.

If approved, the changes will take effect over a period of time from
2011 to 2016, so they will affect anyone planning to retire after 2010.

Below is a brief summary of some of the most important changes:

Early retirement (before age 65) will result in a reduction in CPP benefits by 7.2% per year, which is up from the traditional 6%. This means that if you
begin to take your pension at age 60, your payments will be cut by 36%, not 30%.

Tags: 
retirement planning

Fuzzy Retirement Goals

Posted on: April 5, 2009

Retirement funding is a complex machine, with several moving parts. For many Canadians employer pensions and government benefits will make up the core of their retirement income.

A recent RBC survey found 54% of Canadians expect their pension will be the largest source of income, but when asked what kind of pension they have, 19% do not know.

Personal savings, whether in the form of an RRSP or non-registered savings, help pad out the post-career lifestyle, but only 18% of Canadians said personal investments would be their largest single source of income.

Tags: 
retirement planning

Is a reverse mortgage the way to go?

Posted on: January 3, 2009

Ralph and Louise have seen the TV commercials featuring Gordon Pape, the financial author, as the spokesman for Canadian Home Income Plan Corp. (CHIP) reverse mortgages. They were wondering if it would be a good way to go to help ease their current financial situation.

Tags: 
retirement planning

Cooler heads will prevail

Posted on: December 2, 2008

The newspaper headlines read: 'Roller coaster stock markets have investors feeling queasy' (The Globe and Mail; 'The stock market crash: History repeating itself?' (The Calgary Herald); 'Uncertainty continues to pummel stock markets' (Sudbury Star); 'The next market boom may be a lifetime away' (Financial Times). Interestingly enough, these headlines are from November 2002. One year later, the S&P/TSX Equity Index was up 20.8%; and two years later had soared by 40.7%.

Tags: 
investment planning

Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit

Posted on: November 3, 2008

Roger and Linda are approaching their retirement. With continuing volatility in the markets, they are concerned about what effect a market downturn in the few years leading up to or just after retirement would have on their income. They also think that GIC investments would not protect their retirement income very well from inflation.

Tags: 
retirement planning

Pages

© Copyright 2024 AdvisorNet. All rights Reserved.