As you reach your mid to late 50s and early 60s (and as you look in the mirror), you begin to realize you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning. You start to take a closer look at your finances and wonder if you will be able to retire at some point in the future.
To help with the big transition, I have assembled the below resources/links that may be helpful to you to kickstart the process.
Resource: The Four Pillars to a Successful and Happy Retirement
When helping clients and their families make the transition to retirement or work optional years, I have discovered there are four key pillars to a happy and successful retirement:
- Health
- Relationships
- Reliable and Consistent Income
- Retirement Road Map
Resource: The Three Stages of Retirement Spending
When retirement planning, you may want to view your spending in three different phases. Michael Stein, who wrote The Prosperous Retirement, divided retirement into three decades: the GO-GO years, SLOW-GO years, and the NO-GO years.
When discussing retirement income planning, Frank Jasek, CPA, CA, and I rephrased those terms based on our experience and have named them the ATM Years.
Resource: Six Unique Risks to Retirement Income Planning
As part of the retirement income planning puzzle, there are several unique risks or challenges that you must account for in planning for retirement that is different from the risks when simply saving for retirement.
Resource: How do you Create a Retirement Road Map?
Once you have found a financial advisor that specializes in retirement income planning, they should be able to guide you through the process using a series of meetings that will:
- Identify your values and what is important to you.
- Determine what your retirement goals and income requirements are.
- Discuss your other goals that require planning and money to achieve.
- Benchmark your current reality.
- Establish a plan to close the gap to meet those goals.
- Act as a guide to help you stay on track by being able to adjust and adapt your plan and strategies as required.
Resource: Retirement Income Withdrawal Strategies
In our conversations with people making the transition from their working years to retirement, many have done a great job of saving over time. They end up with many potential retirement-income sources but are unsure of how to put it all together.
As a result, retirement income planning has been compared to playing chess, where each piece has different options on how to move, and you have to coordinate all potential moves together to create a cohesive strategy.
Resource: Canada Penson Plan (CPP) Retirement Pension Overview
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension is a monthly, taxable benefit that replaces part of your income when you retire. If you qualify, you’ll receive the CPP retirement pension for the rest of your life. To qualify you must:
- be at least 60 years old
- have made at least one valid contribution to the CPP
Resource: Old Age Security (OAS) Overview
The Old Age Security (OAS) pension is a monthly payment you can get if you are 65 and older.
Resource: What are the Retirement Income Planning Options?
There are five main options to achieve the cash flow you desire from your own assets:
- Income-only investing.
- Income-focused investing.
- Guaranteed income: life income annuity/guaranteed income products.
- Total return investing: diversified portfolio.
- A combination of the above.
Resource: 4 Things Retirees Should Know About the 4% Rule
When people are looking to make the transition to retirement, they want to know how much they can spend each year without running out of money. The amount of capital you can safely withdraw from your portfolio each year without running out of money has been called the “Safe Withdrawal Rate.”
Resource: RRSP Maturity Options: What you Need to Know
If you are turning 71 (born in 1952) by the end of 2023, you can no longer have an RRSP, and it must be converted to an income plan. It should be noted that you can convert your RRSP to an income plan at any age.
Resource: How Do You Develop a Diversified Portfolio?
A common question people have when we initially meet is, “How do you develop an investment portfolio?”
Many people have a basic understanding of the difference between income and equities but are unsure of how to put it all together.
When approaching retirement or in retirement, there are six key factors to developing a globally diversified portfolio.
Resource: How to Navigate a Market Downturn for Retirees
With the market decline this year, people want to know what they can do. The following are suggestions and actions you can take to help navigate a market downturn.
Resource: The Four Types of Income in Retirement
Planning for taxes in retirement is like putting together a puzzle that is specific to each retiree. The type of income determines how it is taxed.
Each year in retirement, this must be reviewed to determine what is the best strategy that balances your current year’s income and your long-term legacy plan.
It is a puzzle that must be put together each year.
Resource: Nine Strategies to Pay Less Tax in Retirement
Income tax is one of the largest expenses any retiree has. The Fraser Institute Report indicated that Canadians paid 45% of income as taxes in 2019.
Your goal in retirement should be to organize your income stream to:
- reduce the amount of tax you may have to pay
- preserve any government tax credits
- preserve government income plans such as Old Age Security
The result will be greater spending for you today and potentially greater wealth for the next generation.
Resource: Paying Your Taxes in Retirement
When making the transition from your working years to retirement, a common concern or question that comes up is, “How do I pay my taxes in retirement?” I had this conversation with two clients recently, as many retirees are unsure of how taxes work in retirement.
Resource: Medical and Health Care Options for Retirees
While working, many Canadians have medical and health insurance as an employee benefit. Their company often pays for a substantial portion of the coverage, and most often, medical and health insurance expires when you retire.
So, a common question or concern as people approach retirement is, “What should they do about medical and health care coverage when they retire?”
Resource: 10 Reasons to Consolidate your investments and financial advisors as you approach retirement
In a recent conversation, I was asked if there are any advantages to consolidating investments and financial advisors as they approach retirement.
This is a very common question as many families tend to collect different investment types (TFSAs, RRSPs, LIRAs, non-registered investments, and group savings plans) at different financial institutions over their working years.
Some great books that may help you with your planning are:
The Four Phases of Retirement: What to Expect When You’re Retiring
Values-Based Financial Planning
Download our White Paper: Your Retirement Road Map: How to make the Transition to Retirement HERE
For more information, you can refer to Preserving Wealth: The Next Generation – The definitive guide to protecting, investing, and transferring wealth by Jack Lumsden, MBA, CFP®
For your FREE E-Copy of Preserving Wealth, CLICK HERE
This material is provided for general information and is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to compile this material from reliable sources however no warranty can be made as to its accuracy or completeness. Before acting on any of the above, please make sure to see me for individual financial advice based on your personal circumstances. The information provided is for illustrative purposes only. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses, may all be associated with mutual fund investments. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Please read the Fund Facts and consult your Assante Advisor before investing.
Insurance products are services provided through Assante Estate and Insurance Services Inc.
