Wealth Insights

A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (“RRSP”) remains the cornerstone of most retirement plans, particularly if you don’t have a company pension plan. An RRSP is a tax-deferred plan designed to help you save for retirement. With an RRSP, contributions are tax deductible and once in the plan, continue to grow on a tax-deferred basis until the funds are withdrawn. Any funds removed from the RRSP are taxed in the year they are withdrawn. At retirement, the money in the plan may be rolled into any of the RRSP maturity options where they continue to be tax sheltered, except for withdrawals made from the plan – which are treated as income – each year.

Both TFSAs and RRSPs can be valuable — but they work differently.

A RRIF is very much like a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (“RRSP”) in reverse. An RRSP is an account designed to help you save for retirement – a RRIF is an account designed to provide annual income in the form of withdrawals from a registered plan during your retirement.

The pension income-splitting rules provide an effective, yet simple, strategy to lower family taxes. Being able to split pension income provides an opportunity for couples to reduce their overall family tax bill by taking advantage of a spouse’s or common-law partner’s lower marginal tax rate where retirement incomes are disproportionate.

A succession plan would detail the business owner’s desires with respect to the management of the business and the disposition of their shares. This is very important because business owners devote a significant amount of time, energy and, in most cases, their own money to building their business. If you’re contemplating a sale to a third party or a transition to family or employees, setting goals, having a vision and developing a formalized business succession plan are critical for success.

Executor's Task List

Choosing the right Executor is a very important step in the estate planning process.