Decumulate & Downsize

Most of your investing life you and your adviser (if you have one) are focused on wealth accumulation. But, we tend to forget, eventually the whole idea of this long process of delayed gratification is to actually spend this money! That’s decumulation as opposed to wealth accumulation. This stage may also involve downsizing from larger homes to smaller ones or condos, moving to the country or otherwise simplifying your life and jettisoning possessions that may tie you down.

The Dividend Aristocrats fight back

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By Dale Roberts, cutthecrapinvesting

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The Dividend Aristocrats are S&P 500 companies that have increased their dividends each year, for at least 25 years running. That is an exclusive group. Companies that have increased their dividends for 50 years or more are dividend royalty – they are dividend kings. The Aristocrats have underperformed over the last year and more. You won’t find an Apple, or Amazon or Alphabet (Google) or Tesla in that index. That made it more than difficult to keep up with the market. But those high quality Aristocrats are fighting back as value takes over from growth in 2021. With few dramatic high flyers, that might be its greatest strength in 2021 and beyond.

There is a US listed ETF for the dividend aristocrats ProShares NOBL. Here’s an overview from their landing page.

Here’s my previous post on the US and Canadian Dividend Aristocrats.

Rising dividends and equal weight magic

The Dividend Aristocrats offer a very simple one-two punch. We have that meaningful dividend growth history and the equal weighting of the index constituents. That compensates for a few of the key weaknesses of the S&P 500 cap weighted index. That is the most replicated index on earth, of course. A cap weighted index will follow the momentum of the market as more investors flow into the most popular stocks.

That can create a bubble based on enthusiasm over fundamentals.

Yes, you’ll find those cap weighted ETFs at work in the ETF Portfolio page. The methodology can work wonderfully until it doesn’t, such as in the dot-com crash of the early 2000’s. US stock markets and Canadian stock markets were crushed thanks largely to the over concentration in very popular tech stocks. Most of the US tech stocks had no earnings or very poor earnings. Of course, Canada went over the ledge thanks to Nortel. You can throw in the odd JDS Uniphase and a few other names as well.

You have a choice

None of the those tech stocks would have qualified as a dividend aristocrat in the year 1999 or 2000. The index side stepped much of the carnage. The dividend aristocrats greatly outperformed the S&P 500 through the dot-com crash and well beyond. It is an investment approach that beats the market with less volatility.

The first column is year, then Aristocrats, S&P 500, and then differential.

Incredibly, we see the Aristocrats offer positive returns in 2000 and 2001 while the cap weighted S&P 500 is two years into its three year venture of delivering negative returns. That began the lost decade for US stocks.

Are we about to enter another lost decade?

Many or most market commentators will offer that US stocks are in a bubble, again. The PE ratios, CAPE ratio and Buffett indicator all place today’s US stock market in dot-com crash territory. Continue Reading…

How to generate retirement income

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By Mark Seed, My Own Advisor

Special to the Financial independence Hub

You could argue beyond the how much do I need to retire question, this need comes up next: how to generate retirement income.

Rightly so.

I mean, we all want to know how best to use our retirement incomes sources wisely. Those retirement incomes sources are necessary to help fulfill income needs, while being tax efficient; income to provide some luxuries now and them, or to potentially deliver generational wealth should that be your goal.

My retirement income plan and options

I’ve been thinking about my income plan, or at least my semi-retirement income plan, for some time now.

I captured a list of overlooked retirement income planning considerations here.

Yet I can appreciate not everyone writes about nor thinks about this stuff.

There are obvious ways to generate retirement income but I suspect some might not appeal to you for a few reasons!

Option #1 – Save more

I doubt most people will like this option but it’s probably necessary for many Canadians: you’re going to need to save more than you think to fund your retirement. This is especially true if you have no workplace pension of any kind to rely on and/or you haven’t assessed your spending needs. More money saved will help combat inflationary pressure, rising healthcare costs and longevity risk.  Which brings me to option #2.

Option #2 – Work longer

If you didn’t like option #1, you might not like this one! Working longer into your 60s or potentially to your 70s might be the reality for a good percentage of Gen X and Y.  Part of the reasons these cohorts will need to work longer is because many Boomers remain in the workforce so they can fund their retirement. Some Boomers are continuing to work because they enjoy it. Some are continuing to work because they absolutely have to.

Option #3 – Spend less

The 4% rule remains a decent rule of thumb – it tells us we should be “safe” to withdraw approximately 4% of our portfolio with a minimal chance of running out of money.

Using 4%, a retiree would need $1-million invested to produce a steady income of $40,000 a year. Spending less, will absolutely help portfolio longevity and give stocks in your portfolio a longer time frame to run.

Our initial retirement income plan has us leveraging a mix of income streams in semi-retirement:

  1. Part-time work – to remain mentally engaged – in our 50s.
  2. Taxable but tax-efficient dividend income.
  3. Strategic RRSP withdrawals.

I’m not quite “there” yet in terms of other incomes streams, including TFSA withdrawals and exactly when to take those, but I’m working through that.

Generating retirement income

When it comes to you, options abound. You might have similar income streams or other ideas altogether. Remember, personal finance is personal.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a few advice-only planners on this site and I’m happy to bring back Steve Bridge, a CFP from Vancouver for his detailed thoughts on this subject. Steve works as an advice-only financial planner with Money Coaches Canada (no affiliation with My Own Advisor). You can find him on that site for his services and you can follow him often on Twitter like I do at @SteveMoneyCoach.

Steve, welcome back to chat about this important subject!

Always a pleasure Mark. I love what you do here and I follow your journey. Continue Reading…

Are life settlements key to solving America’s retirement crisis?

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By Lucas Siegel

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

As the retirement crisis continues, the need for workable options for funding retirement becomes even more vital. Today’s senior Americans are at risk of not having enough for necessary living expenses.

Over the years, misconceptions have developed about life settlements and their viability. The truth is, under the right circumstances, taking advantage of a life settlement and selling a life insurance policy to a third-party investor can help seniors unlock much-needed cash.

In the case of life settlements, we are talking about seniors having access to a significant amount of money. For instance, if eligible Americans took full advantage of life settlements, it could help cover more than US$42 billion in long-term care and retirement costs each year.

So, what is a life settlement?

A life settlement enables a qualifying life insurance policyholder to obtain a lump sum cash payment in exchange for selling their policy to a third party. The buyer takes on all responsibilities for the policy, including paying the premiums. The resulting money from the life settlement allows retirees to pay for necessary living and healthcare expenses, rather than struggle to make life insurance policy payments.

How to qualify for a life settlement

Many seniors are surprised to find how straightforward it is to qualify for a life settlement. They discover it isn’t necessary to have failing health or a terminal illness to receive a life settlement. The main requirements for a life settlement are being at least 70 years old and owning a life insurance policy valued at US$50,000 or more.

There is also no requirement in terms of how the money from a life settlement is spent. The money can be used for whatever the recipient wishes. Many seniors find the funds enable them to afford the rising costs of retirement. For instance, after receiving a life settlement, they may choose to pay down debt to decrease fixed expenses, pay for long-term care, pay for general living expenses, create an emergency fund, invest the money, or even spend the money on home renovations or a vacation.

Best states for life settlements

If you’re interested in learning more, you may be excited to find that you live in a state that is highly accommodating to life settlements. Our U.S. Life Settlement Index: The Best and Worst States for Life Settlements took a close look at seven attributes that affect life settlements in each state.

These attributes included existing state regulations for life settlements, the median monthly cost of long-term care, the face amount of life insurance per capita, and whether the state requires that policyholders receive life settlement disclosures. Additional considerations included the median household income, size of the population of those 75 and older, and average life expectancy.

Considering the various data, the U.S. Life Settlement Index identified the most and least accommodating states for life settlements. The top spots for most amenable went to California, which came in first, followed by Washington, New Jersey, and Illinois. Wisconsin and Massachusetts tied for fifth on the Index. Continue Reading…

How much Savings do you need to delay starting CPP and OAS?

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By Michael J. Wiener

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

 

Canadians who take their CPP at age 60 instead of 70 “can expect to lose over $100,000 of secure lifetime income, in today’s dollars, over the course of their retirement,” according to Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald in research released by the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) and the FP Canada Research Foundation.

However, those who retire before 70 need savings to tide them over until their larger CPP pensions start if they want to live at least as well in their 60s as they do later in retirement.  Here we look at the amount of savings required by a retired 60-year old to be able to delay CPP and OAS pensions.

Incentive for delaying is strong

We’re used to thinking of CPP and OAS pensions as just a few hundred dollars per month, but a 70-year old couple just starting to receive maximum CPP and OAS pensions (but not any of the new expanded CPP) would get $61,100 per year, rising with inflation for the rest of their lives.  If the same couple were 65 they’d only get $43,700 per year.  If this 65-year old couple had taken CPP at 60, their combined CPP and OAS would be $32,700 per year now.  The incentive for delaying the start of CPP and OAS is strong.

We can think of the savings needed to delay the start of CPP and OAS pensions as the price of buying larger inflation-indexed government pensions.  This price is an absolute bargain compared to the cost of buying an annuity from an insurance company.  Those in good health but worried about “losing” if they delay pensions and die young can focus on the positives.  Delaying pensions allows retirees to spend their savings confidently during their 60s knowing that their old age is secure.  Taking small pensions early can leave retirees penny-pinching in their 60s worried about their savings running out in old age.

The table below shows the amount of savings a retired 60-year old requires to delay starting CPP.  This table is based on a number of assumptions:

  1. The current maximum age 65 CPP pension is $1203.75 per month.  Before you take your CPP pension, it grows based on national wage growth as well as an actuarial formula, but after you take it, it grows with “regular” inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  We assume wage growth will exceed CPI growth by 0.75% per year.
  2. We assume the retiree is entitled to the maximum CPP pension.  Those with smaller CPP entitlements can scale down the savings amounts.  For example, someone expecting only 50% of the maximum CPP pension can cut the savings amounts in half.
  3. We assume the retiree holds savings in an RRSP/RRIF so that withdrawals will be taxed in the same way that CPP pensions are taxed.  Retirees using savings in non-registered accounts won’t need to save as much because they only need to match the after-tax amount of CPP pensions.
  4. The retiree is able to earn enough on savings to keep up with inflation.  (Online banks offer savings account rates that put the big banks to shame.)  The monthly pension amounts in the table are inflation-adjusted; the retiree’s savings will grow to cover the actual CPP pension payments.
  5. We assume the retiree doesn’t have a workplace pension whose bridge benefits end at age 65.  This bridge benefit replaces some of the savings needed to permit delaying CPP and OAS.
CPP % of  Inflation-Adjusted Months of Savings
 Start  Age 65 CPP Monthly CPP Spending from  Needed at
Age Pension Pension  Personal Savings Age 60
60 64.0% $770 0 0
61 71.2% $863 12 $10,400
62 78.4% $958 24 $23,000
63 85.6% $1054 36 $37,900
64 92.8% $1151 48 $55,200
65 100.0% $1250 60 $75,000
66 108.4% $1365 72 $98,300
67 116.8% $1481 84 $124,400
68 125.2% $1600 96 $153,600
69 133.6% $1720 108 $185,800
70 142.0% $1842 120 $221,000

You can’t start OAS till 65 but can delay it till 70

Unlike CPP, you can’t start your OAS pension until you’re at least 65.  But you can delay it until you’re 70 to get larger payments.  The table below shows the amount of savings a retired 60-year old requires to delay starting OAS.  The table is based on a number of assumptions:

  1. The current maximum age 65 OAS pension is $615.37 per month.
  2. We assume the retiree is entitled to the maximum OAS pension by living in Canada for at least 40 out of 47 years from age 18 to 65.
  3. We assume the retiree won’t want to live poor before age 65, which means spending from savings from age 60 to 64 to make up for not receiving OAS.
  4. We assume the retiree holds savings in an RRSP/RRIF so that withdrawals will be taxed in the same way that OAS pensions are taxed.  Retirees using savings in non-registered accounts won’t need to save as much because they only need to match the after-tax amount of OAS pensions. Continue Reading…

Burning questions Retirees face

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Retirees face a myriad of questions as they head into the next chapter of their lives. At the top of the list is whether they have enough resources to last a lifetime. A related question is how much they can reasonably spend throughout retirement.

But retirement is more than just having a large enough pile of money to live a comfortable lifestyle. Here are some of the biggest questions facing retirees today:

Should I pay off my mortgage?

The continuous climb up the property ladder means more Canadians are carrying mortgages well into retirement. What was once a cardinal sin of retirement is now becoming more common in today’s low interest rate environment.

It’s still a good practice to align your mortgage pay-off date with your retirement date (ideally a few years earlier so you can use the freed-up cash flow to give your retirement savings a final boost). But there’s nothing wrong with carrying a small mortgage into retirement provided you have enough savings, and perhaps some pension income, to meet your other spending needs.

Which accounts to tap first for retirement income?

Old school retirement planning assumed that we’d defer withdrawals from our RRSPs until age 71 or 72 while spending from non-registered funds and government benefits (CPP and OAS).

That strategy is becoming less popular thanks to the Tax Free Savings Account. TFSAs are an incredible tool for retirees that allow them to build a tax-free bucket of wealth that can be used for estate planning, large one-time purchases or gifts, or to supplement retirement income without impacting taxes or means-tested government benefits.

Now we’re seeing more retirement income plans that start spending first from non-registered funds and small RRSP withdrawals while deferring CPP to age 70. Depending on the income needs, the retiree could keep contributing to their TFSA or just leave it intact until OAS and CPP benefits kick-in.

This strategy spends down the RRSP earlier, which can potentially save taxes and minimize OAS clawbacks later in retirement, while also reducing the taxes on estate. It also locks-in an enhanced benefit from deferring CPP: benefits that are indexed to inflation and paid for life. Finally, it can potentially build up a significant TFSA balance to be spent in later years or left in the estate.

Should I switch to an income-oriented investment strategy?

The idea of living off the dividends or distributions from your investments has long been romanticized. The challenge is that most of us will need to dip into our principal to meet our ongoing spending needs.

Consider Vanguard’s Retirement Income ETF (VRIF). It targets a 4% annual distribution, paid monthly, and a 5% total return. That seems like a logical place to park your retirement savings so you never run out of money.

VRIF can be an excellent investment choice inside a non-registered (taxable) account when the retiree is spending the monthly distributions. But put VRIF inside an RRSP or RRIF and you’ll quickly see the dilemma.

RRIFs come with minimum mandatory withdrawal rates that increase over time. You’re withdrawing 5% of the balance at age 70, 5.28% at age 71, 5.40% at age 72, and so on.

That means a retiree will need to sell off some VRIF units to meet the minimum withdrawal requirements.

Replace VRIF with any income-oriented investment strategy in your RRSP/RRIF and you have the same problem. You’ll eventually need to sell shares.

This also doesn’t touch on the idea that a portfolio concentrated in dividend stocks is less diversified and less reliable than a broadly diversified (and risk appropriate) portfolio of passive investments.

By taking a total return approach with your investments you can simply sell off ETF units as needed to generate your desired retirement income.

When to take CPP and OAS?

I’ve written at length about the risks of taking CPP at 60 and the benefits of taking CPP at 70. But it doesn’t mean you’re a fool to take CPP early. CPP is just one piece of the retirement income puzzle. Continue Reading…