Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

Retired Money: Whether you’re a stock or a bond may determine when to take CPP/OAS

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When to take CPP/OAS? My latest MoneySense Retired Money column passes on a fresh perspective on the old topic of whether you should take CPP or OAS early or late. You can find the full piece by clicking on the highlighted text here: Why aggressive stock investors should consider taking CPP early.

One of the main sources cited in the piece is fee-for-service financial planner Ed Rempel, who has contributed guest blogs to the Hub in the past. See for example Should I take CPP early? Some Real Life Examples or Delay CPP and OAS till 70? Some case studies.

Ed Rempel

When he recently turned 60, Rempel opted himself to take CPP himself because of course he considers himself primarily a “stock” when it comes to investing (using the concept from Moshe Milevsky’s book, Are you a stock or a bond?). He figures he can get good enough returns by investing the early CPP benefits that he will more than make up for the higher payouts CPP makes available for waiting till 65 or 70. Same with OAS, which he figures even balanced investors should take as soon as it’s on offer at age 65.

The corollary of this is that if you consider yourself primarily a fixed-income investor, then you should probably take CPP and perhaps OAS too closer to age 70. Compared to taking CPP at 65, taking it at 70 results in 42% more payments, while OAS is sweeter by 36% by delaying the full five years.

The MoneySense piece also quotes retired financial advisor Warren Baldwin, who chose to take CPP himself by age 66. Like Rempel and most financial advisors, Baldwin has a healthy exposure to equities. But he also cites a couple of other reasons for his decision. Baldwin, (formerly with T. E. Wealth), figures the value of the CPP fund to pay you the pension at age 65 is at least $250,000: more if you factor in its inflation indexing. The latter is an important consideration, especially for those (like Yours Truly), whose Defined Benefit pensions are not indexed to inflation.

Baldwin took his own CPP at 66, a year after his final year of full-time employment income. He did so “mainly for the cash flow and portfolio maintenance.”  But Baldwin has other reasons too. “I do not want to leave the CPP too long into the future in case the government changes the terms on it or the rate of income tax might rise … Look at how many changes they have made in the last 20 years.”

If a retiree’s marginal tax bracket jumped from 35% to 45%, Baldwin says deferred CPP would face a heavier tax load, while if benefits are taken earlier they would be taxed at more modest rates. And if retirees also have significant sums accumulated in RRSPs and RRIFs, the extra income might push up their Marginal Tax Bracket.

CPP survivor benefits also need to be considered

Warren Baldwin

Finally, Baldwin considers the “estate value” of CPP. “If two spouses have the maximum CPP and one dies, the survivor will not get much from the ‘survivor-ship’ aspect of CPP … So, if the ‘value’ of the CPP at 65 is in the range of $300,000, then if you die before you collect, there is quite a loss. Continue Reading…

How does Real Estate ROI compare to other investments?

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By Penelope Graham, Zoocasa

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

If you ask a long-term homeowner whether they feel their home purchase has turned out to be a worthy investment, chances are they’ll say it was; real estate continues to be considered a safe and effective way to grow your money, according to 68% of homeowners who’ve owned a home for 10 years or longer, according to data collected by Zoocasa.

However, the Canadian housing market is coming off of an admittedly quieter year, with steep declines in sales activity recorded in some of the nation’s largest markets: The Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver, and Calgary have all seen the number of homes changing hands plunge by double digit percentages, mainly due to the impact of tougher federal mortgage rules.

That has subsequently trickled down into home values, with the west coast markets posting year-over-year price declines, while the GTA experienced only moderate, single-digit growth.

So, does the old adage of real estate being among the wisest of investments still hold true? To find out, Zoocasa.com compared average year-over-year price performance to that of three popular investments:

  • The S&P / TSX Composite Index (-11.6%)
  • The S&P Canada Aggregate Bond Index (+1.5% y-o-y)
  • And a high-interest savings account (+1.1%)

Let’s take a look at how real estate price gains (or lack thereof) compared to the returns on these investments in the adjacent infographic.

GTA only market to outpace investment comparison

The GTA (Toronto) housing market ended the year on a positive note, posting an increase of 2.1% for the average home price of $750,180, and the only market to outpace all three investment types.

However, the market lost a considerable bit of steam over the course of the year, unable to hold onto the 9.9% gains achieved at the market peak in June, when prices hit an average of $807,871. Year-over-year December sales clocked in 16% lower than in 2017, which the Toronto Real Estate Board attributes to the federal mortgage stress test. This hurdle, introduced last January, requires borrowers to qualify at a higher rate than their actual contract rate, resulting in a smaller mortgage amount and squeezing affordability in an already expensive market.

“Higher borrowing costs coupled with the new mortgage stress test certainly prompted some households to temporarily move to the sidelines to reassess their housing options,” said TREB President Garry Bhaura, in the board’s December report.

Vancouver values fall from last year

It has been an especially painful year for the Greater Vancouver MLS, as sales have dipped a whopping 31.6% from December 2017: the lowest level of activity since the year 2000. That’s translated into an average price decline of 1.7% to $1,032,400. Continue Reading…

Is an RRSP right for you? Not necessarily

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By Michael Wickware, CMO, Planswell

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

We’re all accustomed to seasonal advertising. Real estate listings in the spring, back to school sales in late summer, holiday sales in the fall, and at the start of every new year, financial industry ads urging you to contribute to your RRSP.

The traditional RRSP season is driven by two main factors:

1.) The rules say you have the first 60 days of each new year to make a contribution that can be applied to your previous years’ tax return.

2.) RRSPs are lucrative for banks and financial advisors, because you’re likely going to keep paying them fees every year from now until retirement.

You might ask, “Isn’t it also driven by the fact that RRSPs are a great way for Canadians to save money?” The billboards, posters, banners and sales pitches certainly seem to suggest as much. I may be a marketing guy, but I work at a financial planning company, so I know it’s not quite that simple.

Unless these advertisers actually know about your personal financial situation, how can they be so sure that an RRSP is the right answer for you? Does absolutely everybody need to contribute to an RRSP, or is there some nuance these Mad Men might be missing?

In my search for answers, I had one major advantage. Planswell has built more than 100,000 financial plans for Canadians. Every plan is based on analyzing dozens of data points about things like goals, income, assets, debts, investments, insurance and more. In other words, I know more than any bank or ad agency about what individual people actually need to get ahead financially.

I asked our engineering team to dig into the data, and what we found definitely challenges the conventional wisdom:

An RRSP was wrong choice 52% of the time!

I didn’t think an RRSP was the best choice every time, but the gap between what the marketing campaigns are saying and what people actually need is a lot wider than I expected. It turns out the annual RRSP ad blitz, backed by all the biggest financial institutions in Canada, has been giving bad advice to half the country.

We decided to dig deeper, and found several reasons why an RRSP may not be the best choice for you. Here are three of the top reasons:

1.) It won’t always maximize your tax savings

An RRSP is not meant to avoid tax completely: just to put it off until you retire. The idea is to reduce your taxable income while you’re working and in a relatively high tax bracket, then pay the tax when you’re retired and in a lower tax bracket. But if you’re already in a low tax bracket, this strategy doesn’t work. And, if you’re early in your career and expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the future, you might be better off letting your RRSP contribution room accumulate until you can use it for a bigger benefit.

2.) You have shorter-term priorities

An RRSP is a long-term retirement investment. You don’t want to be paying fees and taxes and losing contribution room by taking money out early. That means you should make sure that your short-term needs are covered first. For example, if you don’t already have an emergency fund set aside or if you’re planning to buy a home or make a major purchase within the next few years, you may not want to lock your savings away in an RRSP now.

3.) You could miss out on bigger opportunities

Let’s assume an RRSP makes sense from a tax point of view and that you have your short-term needs covered. You’re good to go, right? Not necessarily. Continue Reading…

The multi-generational shift in the workplace

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Joseph De Dominicis

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

While there are a number of interesting workplace trends expected in 2019, there is one main theme leading employers will be focused on: adapting to a generational shift in the workplace. When it comes to their Human Resources (HR) programs, employers will need to focus on providing employees with a consumer-grade user experience at work, and using data and technology to provide integrated, personalized and flexible pension, benefit and wellness programs.

Millennials largest generation in workplace since 2015

The workforce and employee needs continue to change. Since 2015, millennials have outpaced baby boomers as the largest generation in the Canadian workforce, with the millennial mindset now defining corporate culture[1]; generation Z entered the workforce[2], placing new demands on employers as they look to adapt to changing motivations; and with Canada’s aging population, those leaving the labour force outnumber those about to join[3].

In 2019 and going forward, employers need to evolve their programs to fit the new archetype of an employee.

At a conference I attended recently, one of the speakers used the example of a day in the life of an individual to demonstrate how technology is influencing almost every part of their daily routine. This is the experience for most working Canadians; however, there is an evident disconnect upon entering the office.

Need to integrate apps & technology

For example, an employee may wake up and check their Apple watch and ask Siri or Alexa to play the weather report. While taking an Uber to work, the employee orders coffee from the Starbucks app, which is ready for pick-up on the way to the office. The disconnect then happens when that employee arrives at work; programs are not integrated, need to be accessed across a number of systems, are not technology friendly and the information being received is generic across all employees.

When it comes to program development, today’s employees are looking for programs that are delivered to them in the same way they receive information from the platforms and services they interact with in their personal lives – integrated onto one mobile platform with tools and content in one place, and recommendations tailored to their personal interests.

Developing flexible and personalized programs has become especially important today as the workplace is made up of four generations. Organizations have learned that a single approach will not work for all generations; programs need to be developed with flexibility in mind, allowing an employee to customize their plan based on their stage of life: allocating dollars towards health, wellness and saving programs best suited for their specific situation (e.g., paying off student debt versus planning for retirement).

One approach won’t work for four generations

To develop these plans, employers should look to data and technology. Advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, will provide employers with the opportunity to customize programs for individuals at their unique life stages. Continue Reading…

5 reasons why your business should hire accountants

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By Neil Coleman

(Sponsored Content)

Exceptional financial management is necessary for any company, whether large or small. As a business owner, you have your hands full with the operations and marketing strategies that should be implemented for the growth of your company. Fortunately, you can delegate finance and bookkeeping tasks to an accountant.

You have two options of hiring accountants for your enterprise. One way is to outsource it to a team of trustworthy certified public accountants (CPAs) like the experts from http://www.daviekaplan.com/. Another method is to hire in-house employees who can contribute their skills and previous experiences to monitoring this particular department.

Regardless of how you go about in recruiting accounting staff, here are the reasons why you should invest in them:

 1.) They help you maximize profit early on

Accountants are beneficial during the early stages of your company as they can advise you on what business model will be most useful for your venture and help you set attainable goals. They can also help calculate the pricing structure of your products and services to maximize profits. Moreover, accountants know the ins and outs of the banking system so they can set up your account successfully and determine if you need to open a merchant account.

2.) They organize your financial reports

Your  income statement or profit-and-loss account is a crucial financial document that showcases your business’ revenues and expenses during a specified time. By having an accountant onboard from day one, you can have the reports organized so that you can track your progress without difficulty.

Aside from the statement containing your profits and losses, these are two other essential financial reports that every business must have:

  • Balance Sheet: This gives you a glimpse of your company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity. Assets are the valuable things owned by your business that are already in cash or can be converted to currency. Liabilities, also known as debts, are the amounts of money you owe others, whereas shareholders’ equity is the amount that you would end up with if you sold all your assets and paid off all the debts.
  • Cash-Flow Statement: This document details the company’s inflows and outflows of cash. It informs you if your company generates income or loses money during a period. Operating, investing, and financing activities can be found in this file.

These financial reports are vital for the compilation of annual reports. This document summarizes the performance of your business during the year and projections for the next twelve months. It includes audited financial statements that inform you and your investors about how well your company is doing.

3.) They save you from penalties

Your accountants can focus on the deadlines of government-mandated processes, such as taxes and social security contributions. The IRS can be exceptionally nitpicky about filing deadlines and audits. Penalties for delayed payments and filing can be such a burden. Save yourself from the stress of remembering all those deadlines by hiring a dedicated team of accounting staff.

4.) They lend a hand in making smart financial decisions

As a business owner, you have multiple roles to take on each day. Your employees would ask for solutions on company-related matters, such as who to hire among the candidates and what marketing strategies to implement this week. Continue Reading…