Many Canadians are interested in learning more about how to manage their money as they make the transition to retirement, according to a new survey by Mackenzie Investments. About half (47 per cent) of baby boomers said they want to know more about how to make the transition to retirement. This age group is slightly more […]
With the federal election about a month away, Canada’s political parties are rolling out their election platforms, making a host of promises to improve health care, employment insurance, the minimum wage and pension legislation. If elected, the Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party and Green Party of Canada are all promising to implement a national pharmacare program. […]
Federal and provincial policy-makers should pay close attention to effective tax rates when considering changes to the tax-and-transfer system, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. Geared-to-income fiscal benefits programs provide valuable financial assistance to families with children, noted the report, but these benefits often come with high marginal effective tax and participation […]
With the private sector’s move from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans and rising life expectancies, the issue of retirement decumulation is increasing in importance. Decumulation deals with converting retirement savings into income that must be managed over the rest of the retiree’s lifetime. It can be a challenge for Canadians who don’t have a significant […]
The complexities of income tax at retirement can come as a shock to pensioners, but most plan sponsors are providing limited assistance in helping their retiring employees deal with these issues. “In our experience, much of the communication and education provided by employers/sponsors or their plan record keeper focuses on basic retirement and investment knowledge, […]
The president and chief executive officer of the C.D. Howe Institute is once again urging the federal government to raise the contribution limits for savers in defined contribution pension plans and registered retirement savings plans. In a letter to Minister of Finance Bill Morneau, Bill Robson referred to a paper he wrote last year in […]
Canadian pension funds are welcoming proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that clarify the sweeping exemption from U.S. tax on real estate available to qualified foreign pension funds. “The previous regulatory framework reduced our demand for real estate in the U.S. and, as importantly, increased the cost and complexity of our structuring,” says […]
The federal government has released draft legislative proposals to implement changes to the employee stock option tax regime announced in its 2019 budget. As promised in the budget, the proposals will impose an annual cap of $200,000 on employee stock options eligible for the stock option deduction under the Income Tax Act. They also confirm that […]
A new paper from Ryerson University’s National Institute of Ageing is calling for the creation of workplace tax-free pension plans to better support Canadians’ financial security in retirement. Under the current workplace registered pension plan model, noted the research, lower to middle income Canadians are essentially discouraged from saving for retirement due to the potential financial […]
The federal government’s 2019 budget proposed changes that could affect the viability and attractiveness of stock options as a recruitment and retention tool for certain employers even as it gives these employers a tax break for shares issued pursuant to these options. On the one hand, the budget proposed imposing an annual cap of $200,000 […]