Insights

On March 28th, 2024 the CRA announced that Bare Trusts are exempt from the new trust reporting requirements for the 2023 Tax Year. While on its face this may come as a relief - the announcement has created a significant amount of frustration with taxpayers and their professional advisors. In this video, I will explain the announcement from the CRA last week, the impact on taxpayers who may have had a bare trust reporting requirement, and the reasons why I think the government needs to take notice of their mistakes here and make changes to the way that they roll out new tax policy to avoid more pain and frustration for taxpayers in the future.

A recent study by Ipsos Reid and the OSC found that over 40% of Canadian retirees who were surveyed indicated that they do not presently have a Power of Attorney for property. This is a staggering number. The Power of Attorney for property may be one of the most important documents that you ever sign. It gives a person or persons the authority to handle your property on your behalf when you become unable to. In this video, I am going to walk through: 1. What a Power of Attorney for property document does 2. Why the document is important 3. Common issues that I see with powers of attorney and why they should be checked regularly 4. Important factors for retirees to consider when drafting a power of attorney for property

The Ontario Securities Commission surveyed 1500 Canadians age 50 and older about retirement. Their findings report was nearly 100 slides long and provides insights into several key topics for both retirees and soon-to-be retirees. I went through the report and pulled out the most eye-opening findings.

You’ve got 5 years until retirement at age 65, but you have the opportunity to begin taking CPP payments now at age 60. You don’t need the money to live on, but you are wondering if you should take the money from CPP and invest it with the hopes that you can do better in the long run. In this video I am going to walk through this decision for our sample retiree couple – Johnny and Janey. We will look at the impact that taking CPP early and investing the money has on their retirement plan. And we’ll close the video with discussing some reasons why you may consider taking CPP as early as age 60.

I have met with hundreds of retirees and soon to be retirees in my years working as a financial planner. This channel is focused on answering questions and providing strategies that will help you as you navigate through retirement. In this video, I share a list of the top questions that I get from people who are approaching retirement and now I address them.

Whenever retirees hear the word “probate” they immediately feel the urge to avoid it at all costs. This may cause them to take steps that they believe are harmless and will allow them to avoid this process. Commonly, one of these steps is adding their adult children as joint owners on their bank accounts and some investment accounts. The idea being that they can continue to enjoy the assets while they are alive, they can get their kids’ help managing the assets as they age, and when they eventually pass away, those assets can go around the estate. But what many retirees don’t understand is the risks and issues that they are taking on when they make these changes.

The Canada Dental Care Plan is now rolling out to more Canadians, including Canadian seniors and retirees. And in this video, I'm going to talk about who can apply to the Canada Dental Care Benefit as of January 2024, what the timelines are for the plan to be rolled out to more Canadians as the spring wears on, what the process is to apply, what you can expect in terms of coverage, and the action steps you can take if you want to make yourself available to the Canada dental care plan.

Many investors understand that they can expect volatility in their investment portfolios. But, when the storm clouds gather and they experience temporary declines in their account balances, they are prone to panic. For many investors, the risk of making an emotion decision at time of market stress can make the difference between their retirement success or failure. In this video I am going to walk you through a simple tool that you can use to help keep you on track when markets are volatile.

The CRA has introduced new tax rules that take effect for your 2023 tax filings. The most significant changes come in the area of trust reporting. You may be thinking to yourself “I am not a trustee or a beneficiary of a trust, so I have nothing to worry about”. Not so fast. The new rules may put requirements on far more Canadians than most people realize. The impact of non-compliance can be significant fines and penalties, so you want to make sure that you remain on the right side of things with the CRA.