PRE-RETIREES
Your retirement years are meant to be relaxing and let you pursue everything you had to put off during your working years.
But if you don’t have enough money to sustain your lifestyle, retirement can be stressful and worrisome.
These are three steps every pre-retiree needs to take to help them enjoy financial freedom and remove the financial uncertainty during their retirement years:
- Determine your goals.
- Plan your path.
- Be aware of all your income sources.
Step 1: Determine your goals.
How do you picture your retirement years? Do you want to travel or start a second career? Perhaps you want to downsize, move somewhere the cost of living is lower, and spend your days volunteering or working on a garden.
You may need up to 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income during your retirement years. However, this amount can be significantly impacted by what you plan to do during your retirement years and any other obligations you have, such as debt or family commitments.
You also need to consider inflation and what kind of estate (if any) you wish to leave behind. We will help guide you through this.
Step 2: Plan your path.
Once you know how you want to spend your retirement years, you can determine roughly how much cash you’ll need to support yourself.
Calculating your net worth can give you an idea of your financial health. List everything you own and its value (assets), and then subtract what you owe (liabilities) to determine your net worth. If your net worth isn’t as high as you’d like, here are some tips to increase it:
- Get rid of debt. Debt is even harder to manage if you’re on a fixed income during your retirement years. One option for debt management is consolidating your debts and paying them off with a low-interest line of credit.
- Make the most of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Growth in an RRSP is tax-deferred, and you can split income via spousal RRSPs. Make sure you diversify your RRSP investments to include equity and fixed-income holdings.
- Consider consolidating your investments. This can make it not only easier to manage your portfolio but it can also reduce the overall costs associated with investing.
- Organize your investments to minimize the tax you must pay. For example, capital gains and dividends are taxed lower than interest income.
Step 3: Be aware of all your income sources.
On top of your registered and non-registered assets, you may receive retirement income from the following.
- Government benefits, including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS).
- Company pension. If you participated in an employer-sponsored pension plan, you would be eligible for a payout during your retirement years.
- The sale of a business or a property.
We can help you plan so you can enjoy your dream retirement – call us today!
Latest News for Pre-Retirees
TFSA vs RRSP – 2024
When looking to save money in a tax-efficient manner, Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) can offer significant tax benefits. The main difference between the two is that TFSAs are ideal for short-term goals, such as saving for a down payment on a house or a vacation, as its growth is entirely tax-free, while RRSPs are more suitable for long-term goals such as retirement. When comparing deposit differences, TFSAs have a limit of $7,000 for the current year, while RRSPs have a limit of 18% of your pre-tax income from the previous year, with a maximum limit of $31,560. In terms of withdrawals, TFSAs have no conversion requirements and withdrawals are tax-free, while RRSPs must be converted to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) at age 71 and withdrawals are taxed as income.
What is an RRSP?
Are you looking to save for your retirement and cut down on your tax bill? If this sounds good to you, then a Registered Retirement Savings Plan or RRSP may be the perfect fit for you!
Read our informative article to learn:
• What an RRSP is.
• How an RRSP works.
• What you need to know about the basics of an RRSP.
• Advantages of RRSPs
• Limitations of RRSPs.
Retirement Planning
Most of us understand the benefits of sensible retirement planning but when it comes to actually creating your personal retirement strategy and putting it into effect it doesn’t feel quite as straightforward. The reality is that, while there are lots of variables to consider, it isn’t as difficult to create an effective plan for retirement as you may think.
