All posts by Jonathan Chevreau

Retire Retirement?

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41a03oj1QIL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_The notion of “retiring retirement” or at least the term Retirement is coming more into vogue these days as more baby boomers reach the traditional ages of the old-fashioned “full-stop” retirement.

The current edition of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine has a piece titled “Watch out, Boomers, Here Comes 70,” noting that millions of baby boomers around the world are turning 70 this year.

In the U.S. that means they will come up against the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules on IRAs and 401(k)s, with many forced to pay taxes on those forced withdrawals. Canadian retirees with Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) are in a similar boat by the end of the year they turn 71. (By the way, I’m preparing a Special Report on RRIFs later this month, and welcome input from professionals with expertise here.)

Of course, the Boomers don’t appear set to leave the workforce quietly. In researching my portion of my own upcoming book (Victory Lap Retirement), I came across a 2008 book by Tamara Erickson titled Retire Retirement, subtitled Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation.

Demography favors Boomers’ third phase of work life

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Wealthy investors dodge capital gains bullet but little else to cheer about in Budget

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motley-fool-logoHere’s my latest blog for Motley Fool Canada: Investors dodge bullet on capital gains but little else to cheer about in Budget 2016.

Note the paragraph about the the roadblocks put in the way of two strategies involving life insurance, often used by business owners. You can find more detail about this in yesterday’s Hub guest blog by Robert Kepes: Budget closes two life insurance planning strategies.

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Jamie Golombek

Little good news for the wealthy

In today’s Financial Post, CIBC Wealth’s Jamie Golombek also provides a fine overview of the Budget’s impact on the wealthy.

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Why retire if you still have mortgage or other debt?

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An image representing crushing mortgage debt.

My latest Financial Post article is available in the Wednesday paper and online under the headline Retiring with a mortgage? Why you might want to think twice about that.

As I confess at the outset, my bias is to what I often state in my book, Findependence Day: the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home. Since Findependence is also a prerequisite to Retirement, to me it follows that seniors still weighed down by credit-card debt or even mortgage debt would be better off working at least part-time and use the proceeds to take down their debt to zero. After that, they can live rent-free and the pressure will be off to make the monthly nut (although of course property taxes and condo maintenance fees may remain for some.)

Payday loans an ominous sign for seniors

Check the reader comments at the end of the FP piece and it appears at least some seniors agree with me. Continue Reading…

The Big Red “Soak the Rich” Budget

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Depositphotos_1830058_s-2015My low expectations for Budget2016 apparently weren’t low enough, with a sea of red ink projected as far as the eye can see. Spending, spending everywhere. Not that we should be surprised: the die was cast with the election, this is merely the other shoe dropping.

In this article by Garry Marr, the Financial Post aptly describes it as a “Soak the Rich” Budget. It quotes CIBC Wealth’s Jamie Golombek to the effect “the government is taking away some key tax planning vehicles that allow the wealthy to rebalance their portfolios without incurring a deemed disposition, meaning they will face immediate tax consequences.” As of October 1st, there will no longer be tax-free switches for those in corporate class mutual funds.

And the return of a 15% federal tax credit for Labor-Sponsored Investment Funds is hardly any consolation!

As expected, income splitting for couples with kids under 18 will be eliminated but fortunately, pension splitting remains intact. (sigh of relief!)

Capital gains tax inclusion rate still at 50%

As for the rumoured  sweeping changes to capital gains taxes, you’ll need to dig into the supplementary budget documents that are aimed at measures for those in the new 33% tax bracket. We will update this paragraph as it becomes more clear but based on this report today by Advisor.ca, the capital gains inclusion rate remains at 50% and won’t rise to the feared 67 or even 75%.

GIS sweetened for low-income seniors and couples living apart

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Federal Budget 2016: don’t expect much relief for personal finances or retirement

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Federal finance minister Bill Morneau selects Canadian-designed shoes for upcoming federal budget

Here’s my latest column in the Financial Post, which provides a look ahead to the federal budget, which will go live at 4 pm Tuesday afternoon.

You can find the column here by clicking on this headline: Why Tuesday’s budget may not hold much good news for your personal finances. It’s also in the print edition of today’s paper.

Here is info on the media lockup, which starts at 9:30 am.

Once the floodgates open on or shortly after 4 pm Tuesday, you should be able to get access to the budget by clicking on the Department of Finance website here. We will update this site as necessary and also watch my Twitter feed @JonChevreau, as we disseminate coverage once available. This feed also shows up on the right side of the Hub’s main page.