Real State Finance
September 30, 2025
47 views 13 mins 0

Why retirement planners are getting defensive

While working people may envy those at or near retirement, once you get there there’s a certain amount of anxiety over markets and the prospect of outliving your money should stocks and interest rates fail to cooperate. Of course, those with guaranteed-for-life, taxpayer-backed, defined benefit pension plans may well be in an enviable position. I […]

Real State Finance
September 24, 2025
67 views 7 mins 0

What is the Canada Pension Plan death benefit?

Ask MoneySense Your recent article is the first time I have seen reference to a CPP death benefit of $2,500. Can you explain it, please? —Sam The primary purpose of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is to pay a retirement pension to contributors. Employers as well as employed and self-employed Canadians contribute to the CPP […]

Real State Finance
September 17, 2025
88 views 18 mins 0

Retirement taxes explained: Withholding, clawbacks, and other surprises

Many working-age Canadians wonder what the impact of retirement will be on their tax situation. As you save and build wealth, it is important to plan for the eventual tax treatment of your retirement assets and income as you approach that transition.   Taxation in Canada When you are working, your employer calculates the payroll deductions […]

Real State Finance
September 11, 2025
92 views 18 mins 0

How to plan for old age when you don’t have kids

As the oldest Gen Xers start reaching the big 6-0, many of them are doing so while caring for aging parents—helping with financial, health-care, and housing decisions, alongside resetting the wifi and picking up groceries. At the same time, a growing share of these middle-aged life coaches don’t have kids of their own, which leads […]

Real State Finance
August 29, 2025
144 views 9 mins 0

“We’re well off in retirement. How can we pay less tax?”

Ask MoneySense Both my wife and I are retired. My wife is 72 years old and I am 68. Our combined incomes are based on CPP, OAS, RRIFs and dividends (both from our non-registered investments portfolio and corporate dividends that we both get quarterly from a holding company that manages the corporate investments). We currently augment […]

Real State Finance
August 23, 2025
177 views 11 mins 0

Can you build a 40/30/30 portfolio with ETFs?

The unique market conditions of the 2022 bear market exposed a major flaw in the traditional 60% stocks/40% bonds balanced portfolio used by millions of investors. That year was defined by two forces: surging inflation across both the U.S. and Canada, and aggressive interest rate hikes by their respective central banks. From January to December […]

Real State Finance
August 09, 2025
206 views 10 mins 0

Do you need long-term care insurance?

No offence to any of us but, as a country, we’re getting old. The average age of a Canadian in 2024 was 41.6 years, according to Statistics Canada, and by 2030, one in four Canadians will be 65 or older.  That means there’s a growing demand for health services and long-term care solutions, according to the National […]

Real State Finance
July 08, 2025
221 views 9 mins 0

Tax implications of giving your spouse money to invest

Ask MoneySense You wrote about money that is gifted to a spouse. If that money is used for investing, then the interest may be attributed back to the spouse giving the cash. Did I get that correct? If so, then is there any way to give your spouse money and whatever they do with it […]