Sheila was advised by her U.S. based financial planner to withdraw her RRSP, and bring it to the U.S. She thought it was a reasonable request. At only $100,000, the RRSP represented only a small part of her total retirement…
Read More The 5 Biggest Cross-Border Planning Mistakes to Avoid In 2022
When Bob and Sally came into the office, their finances were a mess. They had recently retired and were withdrawing nearly 10% annually from their retirement savings. At their current withdrawal rate, they would be out of money by the…
“As soon as the stock market has another dip, I will be ready to get more aggressive”. I hear this from almost every investor during the good times when the market is heading higher. Then, we get the downfall and...crickets.…
Read More 5 Things You Should Never Do When The Stock Market Goes Down
Buying an annuity is not that different from buying a home. Let’s break it down: Both involve pretty high fees (6% realtor commissions don’t pay themselves)Both involve long time commitments as annuities have high surrender fees, and most homes aren’t…
An interesting question came up the other day while meeting with a family. Will my wife get part of my CPP benefit now or if I were to die first? Here in the U.S., typically if you qualify for a…
I’ve got a little good and bad news for you when you reach retirement. The good news is that there is a really good chance that your taxes will go down in retirement! The bad news is that these taxes…
Jeannie thought withdrawing her full RRSP and moving the money to the states made the most sense. Her U.S. financial advisor even told her it was a good idea. However, when she finally received the money, she realized that she…
Your withdrawal strategy in retirement shouldn’t just focus on maximizing your income. It should maximize the amount of income that ends up in your pocket. This can be tricky when considering many people have a combination of pre-tax, Roth, and…
Read More Retirement Withdrawal Strategy: Which Accounts First?
Does it make sense that most financial advisors charge more just because you have saved more? It doesn't to me, so I did something about it.
For years, the SEP IRA was the gold standard retirement plan for the self employed. High contribution rates? Check. Easy to open? Check. Flexible investments? Check. However, the SEP IRA is getting some competition, from the solo 401(k) (a.k.a an…
Read More Self Employed in Michigan? Comparing a SEP IRA vs. a Solo 401(k)
