Retirement Plan Tips

Tax-Efficient Retirement Income: Strategies to Keep More of What You've Saved

After decades of careful saving, the worst feeling for any retiree is realizing that a significant portion of their nest egg is going to disappear into taxes that could have been legally avoided.

Karen Fenske

Jun 306 min read

Retirement Lifestyle Planning: Designing the Life You Want Beyond the Numbers

Most retirement planning conversations focus on numbers — how much you have, how much you need, and how to make the math work. But a successful retirement involves more than just financial calculations.

Karen Fenske

Jun 236 min read

From RRSP to RRIF: Converting Your Retirement Savings into Reliable Income

For decades, the focus of your retirement planning has been on saving — contributing to your RRSP, watching your investments grow, and resisting the temptation to withdraw too early. But at some point, the conversation has to shift.

Karen Fenske

Jun 166 min read

Your Home in Retirement: Downsizing, Reverse Mortgages, and Aging in Place

For most Canadians, their home is their single largest asset and an enormous part of their financial picture going into retirement. How you choose to use that asset — whether you stay, downsize, relocate, tap into home equity, or hold the home for your estate — is one of the most consequential retirement decisions you will make. It affects your cash flow, your tax bill, your lifestyle, your social network, and your long-term security.

Corryn Bamber

Jun 117 min read

CPP and OAS Timing: How to Decide When to Start Your Canadian Government Benefits

Few retirement decisions have a bigger long-term impact than when you choose to start your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits. These are not just monthly cheques — they are lifetime income streams that will keep paying for the rest of your life, and the amount you receive depends heavily on when you choose to begin.

Karen Fenske

Jun 56 min read

How Much Do You Actually Need to Retire in Canada? Cutting Through the Myths

Open any financial magazine or scroll through any retirement article online and you will see a different magic number. Some say 1 million dollars. Others say 1.7 million. Some claim you need ten times your final salary; others say six. The truth is that almost none of these numbers apply to you personally, because they ignore the most important variables: how you actually want to live, what you actually spend, and what income you are entitled to as a Canadian.

Karen Fenske

Jun 26 min read