Smart Tax Strategies for Retirees: Avoid the OAS Recovery Tax
It’s smart tax planning for retirees to arrange their income to avoid this clawback if possible. Some strategies to review are: Income split with your spouse/CLP (Common Law Partner) Tax effective non-registered investments Review the start date of your RRIF Use the younger spouse/CLP’s age for RRIF payments Use TFSAs Trigger large capital gains prior […]
Smart Tax Strategies for Retirees: Keep Track of Health & Medical Expenses
A smart tax strategy during retirement is to keep track of your medical expenses and take advantage of any credits that may be available.
Avoid a huge $$$$ mistake. Check your beneficiary designations now!
A recent article from CBC, Halifax women calling for more protections on RRSPs after husband’s sudden death by Emma Davie, reviews what can happen if you don’t have correct beneficiary designations on your registered plans. The article explained that the husband in the story had named his mother as the beneficiary of his RRSP when […]
Smart Tax Strategies for Retirees: Income Splitting
Income tax is one of the largest expenses any retiree has. A smart tax strategy to reduce a family’s overall tax burden is to split the income. This means to shift income from a spouse or common law partner (CLP) who is in a higher tax bracket to one who is in a lower tax bracket.
Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
My kids are 18 and 20, does setting up a new Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) still make sense? Excerpts from the Book – Preserving Wealth – written by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP® A new client asked if it still made sense to set up a new RESP for his kids, who were aged 18 […]
Who should you name as Executor?
Excerpts from the Book – Preserving Wealth – written by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP® A common question I received as an advisor is whom should we name as executor in our Wills? The true answer is that it depends on your situation. It usually ends up based on how complicated your estate may be, the […]
Questions to Ask When Interviewing a Financial Planner
Excerpts from the Book – Preserving Wealth – written by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP® Deciding on which financial planner to hire is a particularly important decision for families to make. The following are key questions that FP Canada has designed to help in the selection process. How to Interview a Financial Planner Financial planners can […]
Why Probate may be a good thing!
Excerpts from the Book – Preserving Wealth – written by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP® Much has been written about the various strategies to avoid probate fees or the estate administration tax. The reason is simple, in Ontario, probate fees are 1.5% of the estate over $50,000. This fee is applied to assets that are transferred […]
COVID-19 and the Essential Family Conversations You Should be Having
COVID-19 has brought family planning and care issues to the forefront for many families as concerns for their loved ones and their economic well being have become top of mind. Everyone’s life has been impacted, regardless of age. As a result, families realize they should focus more on these concerns, but are often unsure where […]
If you are within 5 years of retirement, do this now!
Excerpts from the Book – Preserving Wealth – written by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP® Track your expenses!! If you are thinking about retiring within the next 5 years, you need to determine how much you spend in a year. Your day to day living expenses is the starting point to determine if you are on-track, […]
