Articles

[IN THE NEWS] Universal Life Insurance may trump RRSP in some cases

0 Comments

Can universal life insurance be a retirement savings tool, more effective than the RRSP? In this Advisor.ca article, my colleague Asher Tward offers up his views on when and how life insurance policies can be used to save for retirement:

UL May Trump Life Insurance, In Some Cases”

By: Al Emid for Advisor.ca (March 19, 2010)

“The RRSP may be the most familiar retirement saving strategy, but it might no longer be the automatic choice. The popularity of the RRSP mushroomed http://www.montauk-monster.com/pharmacy when investors had few other tax shelters available, but the financial landscape has changed, and the well-rounded advisor knows there are other options.

Tax-Free Savings Accounts are an obvious tool for generating tax-advantaged retirement income, but other strategies might rely on various insurance products that now offer tax-planning options.

Under certain circumstances, universal life insurance may offer a more effective tax-advantaged strategy than RRSP contributions, suggests Asher Tward, vice-president, estate planning at Toronto-based TriDelta Financial Inc.” READ MORE AT SOURCE…

 

[IN THE NEWS] Newly Conservative Investors Pull on the Reins

0 Comments

In this article, Marjo Johne interviews myself and many other financial advisors, and we all agree: if you have a diversified portfolio, you’re protected against the recession. Scared investors should not be pulling their money out of the markets right now. Read more to find out why:

Newly Conservative Investors Pull on the Reins”

By: Marjo Johne, special to the Globe and Mail (November 25, 2009)

“…While she advocates prudent investing, Ms. Talavera-Siao says Canadians who have become too cautious with their money risk losing out on growth opportunities and paying too much for the privilege of putting their money in capital-preserving vehicles.

Ted Rechtshaffen, president and CEO of TriDelta Financial, agrees. He cites three reasons why investors should be more confident today” READ MORE AT SOURCE…

 

[IN THE NEWS] How to Manage Your Finances After Losing Your Job

0 Comments

In this Globe and Mail article, Rob Carrick interviews myself to provide tips on how to manage your finances after losing your job. Read on to find out the four step to managing your finances during unemployment:

What to Do When the Axe Falls

By: Rob Carrick at the Globe and Mail (April 7, 2009)

The monthly report on unemployment is the recession’s casualty list, but with numbers instead of names.

We’ll get a fresh dose of numbers later this week when the March unemployment rate is announced. What should you do if your job was just cut – or if you foresee this happening soon? Let’s get some advice from financial planner Ted Rechtshaffen, who has had to counsel some of his clients lately about job loss. READ  MORE AT SOURCE…

[IN THE NEWS] Don’t Let Your Nest Egg Get Fried

0 Comments

After saving for years in your RRSP, you might lose half of it to the taxman when you start to withdraw. In this Globe and Mail special report, I was interviewed by Marjo Johne and we discuss better tax strategies for RRSP withdrawal.

Don’t Let Your Nest Egg Get Fried

By:  Marjo Johne, Special to the Globe and Mail- March 2, 2007

You’ve spent years contributing to an RRSP and now you’re retired and ready to start dipping into your nest egg. Unfortunately, so is the taxman, who can take as much as half of the RRSP money you withdraw, depending on your total income each year and where you live.

While you can’t avoid paying taxes on pension income, financial experts say there are ways to minimize the portion Canada Revenue Agency takes from your RRSP money.READ  MORE AT SOURCE…

 

[IN THE NEWS] Five Retirement Planning Gaffes to Avoid

0 Comments

In this article in the National Review of Medicine, reporter Sam Solomon speaks to me about the five retirement planning mistakes many make, and how to avoid them:

Five Retirement Planning Gaffes to Avoid

By:  Sam Solomon, National Review of Medicine (Volume 4, No 4), February 28, 2007

Planning for retirement can be a full-time job — but good planning means you won’t have to keep your other full-time job into your retirement years. “When it comes to retirement planning,” laughs Fred Bowie, CEO of Canada Retirement Information Centre, “it’s the lack of planning that’s the biggest problem.”

No big surprise — retirement planning isn’t easy. In fact, it can be downright scary. Once you start looking at all the arcane tax laws and frighteningly large spreadsheets, feelings of abject terror can set in. But don’t despair. Here’s how you can recognize the five biggest retirement planning mistakes, to learn what pitfalls you may encounter in your journey and how to leap over them gracefully.  READ  MORE AT SOURCE…

[IN THE NEWS] The Richest Folks in the Graveyard

0 Comments

Classic Canadian Retirees, who have been used to saving all their lives may die with millions due to their frugal habits. Jonathan Chevreau interviews me on this demographic. Read on to find out if you’re a Classic Canadian Retiree, and what you should do about it.

The Richest Folks in the Graveyard

By:  Jonathan Chevreau, the Financial Post

 

As we have related in recent columns, too many “working Joes” are not taking full advantage of RRSPs. This means that if they can’t envisage living on the standard government pensions, they may need to work full- or part-time well into their 60s.

 

But at the other extreme are a minority of “super savers” so accustomed to being frugal they may die with millions. Call them classic Canadian retirees, or CCRs. READ  MORE AT SOURCE…

 

↓