Many Canadians love their family cottage and expect to pass it on to the next generation. But the rising value in real estate can offer a real problem that may make it impossible for the legacy of the cottage to live on. As a secondary residence, capital gains tax kicks in and can be substantial, but there are ways to minimize the impact.
QUICK OVERVIEW: WHAT IS A TAX-FREE SAVINGS ACCOUNT (TFSA)? First introduced in the 2008 Federal Budget by then Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, the TFSA was made available to Canadian residents over the age of 18 on January 1st, 2009. This was a timely introduction,...
Without knowing how long we will live, there’s really no right or wrong answer on the best time to start taking Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What worked for your neighbour or your co-worker may not be the best...
This is BIG! Until recently, when you left an employer-sponsored pension plan and transferred the value to your own investment account, under Manitoba legislation you were required to roll those pension proceeds into a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or a...
We all got the shock of a lifetime when the pandemic hit. We quickly learned that a closet full of toilet tissue may be less important than an emergency savings fund. In the case of the pandemic, the government of Canada stepped in with numerous programs to help...
Risk management is a critical factor in financial life planning. Throughout the planning process, we ask a lot of “what-if” questions, but we do not recall a time over the last 30+ years that we’ve ever asked, “what if a pandemic hit?”. This is a good time to take...