The year 1975 marked the peak of bell-bottoms, soul music and employer pension coverage in Canada. At that time, roughly half of Canadian workers had access to a workplace pension. Today, that figure is under 40 percent. For about 2.6 million self-employed Canadians, employer pensions are effectively non-existent. Whether you run a restaurant, work as … Read more

Meet David Miller David Miller specializes in helping successful Canadian individuals, families, business owners and retirees identify and address their investment and financial planning needs on both sides of the Canada–U.S. border. He is a registered portfolio manager in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Ontario, and he is also a U.S. registered … Read more

Scotiabank has agreed to acquire a minority stake in U.S. regional bank KeyCorp as part of a renewed emphasis on growing its presence in the North American market. The Canadian bank announced on Monday that it will pay approximately USD 2.8 billion to obtain a 14.9% ownership interest in KeyCorp, with the purchase structured to … Read more

Income splitting lets you shift taxable income from your own tax return to the returns of family members. It’s most commonly used between married or common-law spouses, though in some circumstances transfers to dependent children are possible. This article explains how pension income splitting works, which types of retirement income qualify, and the key rules … Read more

Extreme weather events—fires, floods, heat waves and droughts—are increasingly threatening Canada’s food supply chain, placing upward pressure on prices that reach the grocery store shelf, experts warn. “When major weather-related events occur, costs generally rise,” said Frank Scali, vice-president of industry affairs at Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada. These events are becoming more … Read more

Ask MoneySense I’m 60 right now. If I buy an annuity for $100,000, the best quote I see would pay about $510 per month, or $6,120 a year. If I instead keep the $100,000 and earn 4.2% interest, I could withdraw roughly $536 a month for 25 years, which matches my life-expectancy estimate. It seems … Read more

Ask MoneySense My husband is retired and concerned that his money invested in his RRSP and TFSA is fluctuating too much. He is wondering whether his funds should be moved into a GIC account, which is paying about 4% and protects principal. He’s worried in this volatile market. —Rodeen Are GICs a good idea for … Read more

Guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), like other fixed-term investments, come with interest rate risk. If you have $20,000 to invest in GICs, you must choose whether to lock that money away for one year, two years, five years or longer. Predicting the direction of interest rates over that period is difficult, and choosing a single term … Read more

Ask MoneySense Can you write an article on how family RESPs work once the oldest children start to take money out of the plan while for the youngest we are still putting money into the plan? What are the rules? Can you find one child with more money from the plan than another child? If … Read more

As Canada’s financial services landscape grows to include online banks, credit unions, robo-advisors, online brokerages and other providers, it’s increasingly common to end up with registered retirement savings plans spread across multiple institutions. You might have an employer-sponsored RRSP at work, opened a guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) to meet a contribution deadline, and also hold … Read more