Will We Have Enough?

To a person, all of my retired clients start with this goal: 'I do not want to be a financial burden.'  Sure, it is worded differently or coded as, 'Will we have enough?', but most people want the same thing - to be able to take care of themselves financially. 

Here is how to do that...

Retire Debt Free

What Mortgage?

If you can get to retirement without a mortgage, you are almost certainly going to win, so focus your efforts here.

What Savings?

If you don’t have a dime saved to your name, you (and your partner) will still have your CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) and OAS (Old Age Security) coming in, which can be up to $4,000/month. Under this scenario, you would also qualify for Guaranteed Income Supplement, which equates to a few extra thousand dollars a year.

Canadians take care of low income seniors; it is something to be proud of.

If, however, you have an ongoing mortgage payment eating up those government benefits, it’s going to be tough to live comfortably.

Liquidity, Liquidity, Liquidity

When you buy a home, realtors always stress the power of 'Location! Location! Location!' In retirement, liquidity is what matters; your ability to take money out of your investments, whenever you need it, without significant delays or tax consequences. It doesn’t matter how much your net worth is on paper if you can’t turn it into cash and spend it as you need.

The typical culprits of not-so-liquid investments are exempt market investments, private companies that you owned/founded, or locked-in investments like GICs.

Get a Will

If you thought being a financial burden financially when you were still alive could be rough, a poorly planned estate is 10x worse.

Okay, so technically this is a posthumous (that means after death) consideration, and not a retirement problem, but if you want to continue to care for those you leave behind, update your will! It can mean the difference between your estate being distributed to your kids and grandkids within a few weeks, and a few years.

Your family will have enough to deal with when you pass. Having an up-to-date will protects them from the very unpleasant chore of dealing with banks, investment firms, condo boards, and insurance companies for years after you are gone. 

Do something about it… Now

Ask your Financial Advisor about a plan to get your money out of your investments when you need it, so you can take care of yourself, treat your grandkids, and still pay as little tax as possible!