Posted By Overall we see safer investments for retirees as ones that focus on a long-term conservative strategy and make calculated use of RRSPs and RRIFs to boost returns
Retirement planning is becoming more challenging for Canadians because they’re living longer and need larger retirement nest eggs.
This often manifests itself in “pre-retirement financial stress syndrome.”
That’s the malady that strikes when it dawns on you that you may not have enough money saved to be able to earn the retirement income stream you were banking on.
To alleviate this worry, we recommend Successful Investors base their retirement planning on a sound financial plan. Here are the four key variables that your plan should address to ensure you have sufficient retirement income:
- How much you expect to save prior to retirement;
- The return you expect on your savings;
- How much of that return you’ll have left after taxes;
- How much retirement income you’ll need once you’ve left the workforce.
Note, though, that if you’re heading into retirement and are short of money, you should move your investing in the direction of safer, more conservative investments. That’s a far better option than taking one last gamble.
Moving into “too safe” investments for retirees can sharply cut your long-term returns
This applies as well to “risk-reducing strategies,” of which there are many. One of the most common is the urge to “go into cash” (also known as “taking money off the table”) when you foresee a market downturn. Like all risk-reducing strategies, this one can seemingly work from time to time, by getting you out of the market before a drop. But it’s even more effective at ensuring that you are out of the market when prices are shooting upward.
In the stock market, downturns do come along from time to time. But they are far less common than fears of downturns, which are virtually non-stop.
Editor’s Note: Last chance to register for today’s free AI investing webinar, hosted by The Successful Investor and Findependence Hub. The webinar begins today at 11:30 a.m. EDT and will cover practical ways to approach investing in A.I. stocks while keeping risk in mind. We shared the full details in our Canada Day blog post last week, with a reminder on July 4. If you would like to attend, you can still register here.
Pat McKeough has been one of Canada’s most respected investment advisors for over three decades. He is the founder and senior editor of TSI Network and the founder of Successful Investor Wealth Management. He is also the author of several acclaimed investment books. This article was published on June 4, 2026 and is republished on Findependence Hub with permission.
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