I use Jim Otar’s Retirement Optimizer program for Retirement Income Planning. Here is a link to Jim’s recent artcile in the National Post that gives some background on how it all got started. click here to read the article
This book presents an easier way to handle estate planning, which the author calls, the “Family Meeting Way.” Many people ask, “How do I talk to my parents about estate planning and encourage them to take the necessary steps?” This book shows them how to hold a family meeting and how to get it done.As the author explains in the book, holding a family meeting to plan an estate is usually the easiest method because it allows the family to talk openly about the issues, ask questions, and work together. Using the steps outlined in this book, people can plan ahead by holding an intergenerational family meeting about estate and incapacity planning. The book covers how to document the plan to make it legal, what issues need to be covered to do it properly, what the legal consequences are of insufficient planning, and how to deal with special circumstances such as family businesses, cottages, trusts, and disabled children.
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions:
- Has a written financial plan been documented and updated at least annually to adjust for changed circumstances, market trading conditions and latest carrier solutions?
- Is the life insurance program inclusive of fully comprehensive critical illness benefits (or just payable on death)?
- Have the long term care expenses been accounted for by the plan in order to protect the children’s retirement from the unfunded health issues of the parents?
- Was the appropriate inflation indexing used in creating and funding the plan?
- Was the appropriate life expectancy used in creating and funding the plan?
- Does the plan contain the correct blend of guaranteed income and lifestyle “playcheques” to ensure maximum financial peace of mind free of market volatility?
- Have the necessary allowances been made for legacy contributions to grandchildren’s financial well-being?
- Are the estate plan distributions arranged WITH or WITHOUT values guidelines?
- Has a family meeting been convened at any point to reach consensus on key family issues surrounding long term care, asset sharing amongst siblings and family financial roles in the future?
- Does the plan include return-of-premium coverage on grandchildren/children’s critical illness with funds converted for whole life insurance on the grandchildren/children in the the future?
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your current advisor to exchange some ideas on the above issues and ensure that you are receiving the advice and service you deserve.
Please contact me to arrange a convenient time for us to get together. If you live in Prince Edward County or within 20 minutes of the 401 corridor between Brighton and Brockville, as a token of my appreciation, you will receive a complimentary book entitled “ Estate Planning Through Family Meetings” at our meeting.
Here is a great article I cam across about travelling outside of Canada and what to do if something goes wrong. Definetly worth a read.
As well, I recommend you download the “Bon Voyage, but… essential information for Canadian Travelers“. Print a copy and take it with you.
An index is a measure of the changes in a group of stocks or bonds representing a portion of the overall market. It can be used to give an investor a point of reference or benchmark as to how a particular market is performing.
If a Canadian investor holds a diversified portfolio, it will typically be allocated between cash, bonds and equities depending upon their risk profile and goals.
If you hold a mutual fund or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), it will list what index it uses as as its benchmark.
Some common indices are as follows.
1. T-Bills are a proxy for cash. If you click the link, scroll down to the 3 month graph which is commonly used as the proxy for cash returns.
2. The DEX Universe Bond is a proxy for the Canadian bond market. Below is a graph of the DEX Universe Bond Index ETF which tracks it. Ticker symbol XBB.TO.
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3. S&P/TSX Composite Index is a proxy for the Canadian large cap market listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) . Below is a graph of the S&P/TSX 60, the 60 largest listed companies by market capitalization. Ticket symbol XIU.
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4. The S&P 500 is an index of the stock (equity) prices of the 500 largest-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. Ticker symbol: SPY
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5. MSCI EAFE (pronounced “eef’ ah”) is a stock market index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets outside of the U.S. & Canada (EAFE stands for Europe, Australasia and the Far East. Below is a graph of the EAFE ETF. Ticker symbol EFA.
efa
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Disclaimer:
Investors should educate themselves regarding securities, taxation or exchange control legislation, which may affect them personally. This email is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific personalized advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice. Please consult an appropriate professional regarding your particular circumstance.This email does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.References to third party goods or services should not be regarded as an endorsement of these goods or services.This is intended for Canadian residents only and the information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The owner and publisher of this are not liable for any inaccuracies in the information provided.
For individual accounts with investable assets greater than $35,000, we have strategically partnered with Provisus Wealth Management Limited. They managed the portfolios and we at Advantage Wealth Planning do the financial planning to support these investment solutions.
Provisus Wealth Management Limited offer clients a customized solution utilizing stock and bonds, actively managed ETF portfolios, institutional mandates and corporate class pooled funds. Provisus is a registered Portfolio Manager whose unbiased team structure investment solutions geared towards each client’s specific current and future risk/return needs.
Some of Provisus’ services include:
Separately Managed Accounts (SMA)
Provisus’ core service is constructing and managing investment portfolios customized to each client’s unique needs. Each stock, bond and exchange traded fund (ETF) is held by an independent custodian in a CIPF protected account in the client’s own name. Provisus works with a dozen third party money managers to develop and execute tax efficient investment portfolios. Provisus’ team of portfolio managers get an understanding of each client’s constraints and goals through a questionnaire and construct a unique portfolio to meet the client’s current and future needs. Benefits include the impartiality of a multi-manager approach; potential tax deductible fees in non-registered accounts; tax loss selling opportunities; an all inclusive fee structure; tailor made portfolios specifically designed for each client; and professional money management usually only available to High Net Worth clients. Clients will appreciate this opportunity to access a customized portfolio managed by a professional portfolio manager.
Actively Managed ETF Portfolios
Provisus offers ETF portfolios with professionally managed tactical asset allocation and sector diversification for an all inclusive fee. ETF portfolios are extremely liquid and offer similar tax advantages to portfolios of stocks and bonds. By being able to access a variety of capital markets and offer diversification with fewer security holdings (since ETFs mimic the underlying stock market), clients with smaller pocketbooks can access customized and managed tax efficient portfolios that are designed to perform well while protecting assets against downside risk. Four ETF portfolios have been designed to enhance performance, diversification and minimize the downside.
Click here for a short video about the Provisus Actively Managed ETF Portfolios.
Corporate Class Pooled Funds
Corporate class pooled funds are a selection of funds designed to offer tax efficient returns and cash flows. When used in combination with other managed account solutions clients benefit from holistic portfolio and tax management. Corporate class pooled fund benefits include withdrawals that can be deemed as return of capital, dividends or capital gains. As well capital gains can be deferred and portfolio asset class adjustments made without tax ramifications. Corporate class pooled funds can benefit everyone but especially seniors who don’t want to trigger OAS claw backs, trust accounts for minors, charitable clients and income seekers who require a regular stream of cash flow in the form of capital returns.
Institutional Equity Portfolios
Institutional Equity portfolios are stock portfolios designed for growth and stability. These portfolios are for clients that want a tax efficient approach for attaining increased growth and downside protection. The portfolio managers use an active indexation philosophy for strict risk control and a momentum based approach involving a bottom up stock selection process to diversify the portfolio across all economic sectors. There are three portfolios available: the first, invests in the Canadian market – with the benchmark being the S&P/TSX; the second, in the U.S. market – with the benchmark being the S&P 500; and the last in International stocks – with the benchmark being MSCI EAFE. The benefit to the investor is the opportunity for enhanced performance plus lower fees. In conjunction with lower fees there is a performance fee to the manager for outperformance achieved relative to the benchmark.
Click below for the Provisus Quarterly Investment Reviews
Financial Planning means different things to different people. At Advantage Wealth Planning, the focus centres around retirement income planning and is referred to as a “wealth plan”. Whether you are retired or not, we help guide you through a process to determine whether your retirement income goal can be safely met based upon your current behaviour. If not, we make recommendations to get you back on track.
Philosophy
Instead of presenting a “forecast” of your future financial picture based on assumptions, the retirement income plan we develop presents an ”aftcast” of potential outcomes based on actual market history. We have over 100 years of market data to simulate your plan.
Does your retirement income plan answer the following questions?
- Do I have enough money to retire?
- How long will my money last?
- When can I retire?
- How much do I need to save for my retirement?
- Do I need a life annuity?
- What is my optimum asset mix?What does a good retirement income plan look like?We define a good retirement plan in which at least 90% of the historic portfolios survived (did not run out of money) until at least age 95. Here is a graph showing a good outcome.
Simply put, if your plan is inadequate, we make recommendations to get your wealth plan back on track.What do the colors on the graph mean?
The green line is the “lucky line” and represents how many years the “best 10% of portfolios” would have survived historically. The blue line is how many years the “median” portfolio would have survived. The red line is the “UNLUCKY LINE” and it shows how many years 90% of the portfolios would have survived. We use the red line in our plans. It gives you a factor of safety!
What does a bad (inadequate) plan look like?
If the red line touches the bottom of the chart before age 95, there is less than a 90% chance your retirement income would have survived historically.
TFSAs are in their in their fourth year. This means that as of January 1st, 2012, you can invest an additional $5,000 in your TFSA.
TFSA contribution room accumulates every year, if at any time in the calendar year you are 18 years of age or older and a resident of Canada.
You do not have to set up a TFSA or file a tax return to earn contribution room. This brings the limit to $20,000 per indivudual who was age 18 or older in 2009.
If you have questions or comments please email me at don@donmaycock.com or click this link to go to the CRA website.
Many Canadians were caught on this. For example in 2009, the first year of the TFSA, the limit was $5,000.
Here is the sequence of events that may have occurred for a TFSA investor.
- $5,000 deposited on January 1, 2009
- $2,000 withdrawn on June 1, 2009
- $2,000 deposited on September 1, 2009.
- Many financial institutions, in my opinion, marketed it to consumers as a bank account and I expect many got into trouble by continually depositing and withdrawing funds with no idea they might trigger this over-contribution.
- Secondly, if a TFSA was moved from one institution to another,use a transfer form so that the money stays registered.
Whether you are planning a vacation out of Canada for a few weeks or just plan to go across the border to do some shopping, please be aware of the limitations provided by OHIP, should you require medical care.
The following two questions and answers are taken directly from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website.
Question 1.When I travel outside of Canada, will OHIP pay the same medical expenses that are covered in Ontario?
No. If you are a resident of Ontario and you are insured under OHIP, you are entitled to very limited funding for a limited range of medical services when you are travelling outside of Canada.
Question 2. Should I obtain additional insurance coverage for my absence from Canada?
Yes. The ministry strongly recommends that you do, whether you are absent from Canada for a few minutes or for an extended time. OHIP does not insure or pay for all out-of-country medical services. Also, the amount of funding provided by OHIP will not usually cover the full cost of any health services that you do obtain outside of Canada. You should therefore, obtain supplementary health insurance from a private insurance company to provide you with additional coverage during your absence. It is also recommended that you understand the terms and conditions of the additional insurance coverage you have purchased and the implications of any pre-existing health conditions on your insurance coverage. To obtain private insurance contact a private insurance company of your choice.
Is travel insurance expensive? For a 52 year-old male, it costs about $3 per day for $5 million of Emergency Medical Insurance coverage.
Below is a list of available insurance benefits.
· Emergency Medical Insurance: Covers up to $5,000,000 for expenses as a result of emergency medical attention required during a trip.
· Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: For Single-Trip Plans – covers up to the sum insured to a maximum of $3,500 per trip.
· For Multi-Trip All-Inclusive Plans - covers up to $5,000 per trip to a maximum of $7,000 per policy.
· Baggage Loss, Damage & Delay: Covers up to $1,000 per trip (up to a maximum of $3,000 per policy year for a Multi-Trip Plan) for loss or damage to baggage and covers up to $500 per trip (up to a maximum of $1,500 per policy year for a Multi-Trip Plan) for baggage delay.
· Flight Accident: Covers for $100,000 for death or double dismemberment, or $50,000 for single dismemberment.
· Travel Accident: Covers for $50,000 for death or double dismemberment, or $25,000 for single dismemberment.
