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Welcome to tomorrow. Prepare now to retire well later.

A clear path to retirement requires a clear plan. If retirement is now on the horizon and no longer a distant goal, you’ll want to make sure preparing for it is a priority. Using this time to continue to save and build your assets, while paying off outstanding debt can really make a difference. This is also the perfect time to put some serious thought into what your retirement will look like. This checklist will help you do just that.

Transition into retirement with confidence. As you transition into retirement, keep in mind your income could come from multiple sources at different times of the month. You’ll need to know where that income will come from, how much you’ll receive, and when you’ll receive it. Before you retire, you’ll need to complete a variety of employer and government forms. This checklist will help you move into your retirement seamlessly.

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.

Plans change. A child may take a gap year, choose an apprenticeship, start working, or decide post‑secondary isn’t the right next step – at least not yet. If you’ve been saving through a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), the good news is you still have choices. The right approach depends on what you’re withdrawing (contributions vs. grants vs. growth), whether the beneficiary is enrolled in qualifying post secondary institution, and your broader family plan.

Separation from a spouse or common-law partner can be a distressing and difficult experience. It is important to understand how a relationship breakdown may affect your future financial situation. Your wealth is comprised of the assets and property owned by you and your former spouse or common-law partner and will be profoundly impacted by a separation or divorce.

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contributions are tax deductible and once in the plan, continue to grow on a tax-deferred basis until the funds are withdrawn.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.

Many Canadians will receive an income tax refund from the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) or Revenu Québec (“RQ”), for those who also file taxes in Quebec. If you receive a tax refund based on your 2024 income tax return, it may be worthwhile meeting with your BMO Private Wealth professional to discuss how you can maximize using these funds, such as repaying non-deductible debt, or catching up on your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (“RRSP”), Tax-Free Savings Account (“TFSA”), First Home Savings Account (“FHSA”), or Registered Education Savings Plan (“RESP”) contributions.

Towards the end of the year, many investors review their investment portfolios to determine the anticipated tax impact of any capital gains and losses realized during the year. For investors who have realized significant capital gains in their non-registered account(s), this article examines various strategies to help reduce the impact of a potential tax liability of these gains, regardless of whether they were the result of a voluntary or involuntary sale.

Each year, fluctuations in the stock markets leave investors with plenty to think about. Does my portfolio need repositioning? If so, which stocks do I keep and which do I sell? When investments are held in non-registered accounts, these decisions can have immediate tax implications. For example, if you’ve decided to sell a security that has an accrued gain, you’ve increased your taxable income. When you sell a security that has an accrued loss, the capital loss will reduce your capital gains for the particular tax year. And, when losses exceed gains in a given year, there is no further reduction to your current taxable income; however, a net capital loss may be used to reduce your capital gains in other tax years.