According to a recent CIBC poll, the majority of Canadian parents with a child 18 years or older (76%) say they’d give their kids a financial boost to help them move out, get married, or move in with a partner, with nearly half of them giving an average of about $24,000.

And, when given the option, almost two-thirds of parents would prefer to give cash rather than have their adult child and partner/spouse live with them. Yet, most Canadians (68%) either misunderstand or say they don’t know the tax and other financial implications of gifting.

“The poll findings show that while many parents are thinking about giving their kids a financial boost to leave the nest, there are a lot of misconceptions about gifting,” says Jamie Golombek, Managing Director, Tax and Estate Planning,  CIBC Wealth Strategies Group.

In his new report, Give a Little Bit, he says, “Unlike in the U.S., we don’t have any kind of gift tax, which means if you have what’s called ‘never money’ – money you’ll never spend in your lifetime – it’s worth considering making a financial gift while you’re alive to help your kids get started in life.”

Mr. Golombek addresses the misconceptions about financial gifting and provides important tips on tax considerations in his Give a Little Bit report and accompanying video.

Key poll findings:

• 76% say they’d give financial support to help an adult child move out, marry or live with a partner, while 24% wouldn’t provide any financial support.
• Of parents providing financial support:
  • 47% would give money in the form of a financial gift
  • 28% would let their adult child and his/her partner live with them
  • 25% would act as a guarantor on a mortgage
• 65% of parents would prefer to give a financial gift than have their adult child and spouse/partner live with them
• $24,125 is the national average gift size. Those with household incomes of more than $100,000 gift nearly double that amount ($40,558) with as many as 25% giving over $50,000.
• 68% of Canadians either misunderstand or don’t know what taxes exist on financial gifts

Gifting risks
The poll finds that parents are split on whether or not to tie a financial gift to major or special milestones like buying a home, graduation, birth of grandchildren, or settling down with a spouse. Further, more than half (55%) of parents are concerned about gifting to their children, with two-in-five of them admitting they may need the money later and almost a third (29%) worrying that their son or daughter won’t use the money ‘wisely’.

As well, more than a third (37%) of all parents say they’re comfortable taking on debt to help their kids get a good start. However, few parents will actually tap into their credit lines or borrow from family and friends and most (80%) of those giving money will draw from cash and savings to fund their gifts.

“The caveat to making any financial gift is that you generally don’t want to put your own finances at risk,” says Golombek. “You need to map out the lifestyle you want in retirement and the money you’ll need before making a financial gift.”

Bequeathing Boom
Over the next decade, baby boomers are expected to inherit an estimated $750 billion, according to a CIBC Capital Markets report. Based on the findings from the CIBC Gifting Poll, likely a good chunk of the bequest boom will skip a generation as 74% of parents aged 55+ say they would pay forward their inheritance or a portion of it to their children or grandchildren if they received an inheritance today.

“When you gift during your lifetime, you’re able to enjoy seeing your beneficiaries use the money while at the same time reaping potential tax savings opportunities,” Golombek says. “In addition, by gifting assets before you die, these assets will not be subject to probate fees because they will not be part of your estate.”

He offers five tips for gifting:

1. Talk to your financial advisor to determine how much ‘never money’ you may have.
2. Gift cash in Canada with no tax implications (gifting appreciated property may trigger capital gains tax).
3. Minimize taxes for the entire family by gifting property to family members in lower tax brackets.
4. Use strategies to avoid probate tax of up to 1.7% (depending on the province/territory) of the estate’s value.
5. Help kids buy a home or pay down debt with a secured mortgage.

Also read: Déjà-Boom: Boomerang kids collide with retirement goals of boomer parents

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

If you haven’t been following the financial media closely through the lazy, hazy days of summer, you may be unclear what income tax changes have been proposed and how they might impact you, particularly if you have an incorporated small business.*

As committed in the Federal Budget 2017, on July 18, 2017 the Department of Finance issued a discussion paper providing details about tax planning strategies involving the use of private corporations and setting out “proposed policy responses to close loopholes and bring greater fairness to the tax system.” Interested parties have been invited to submit comments to fi******************@ca****.ca by October 1^st.

This paper focuses on three issues:

1. Sprinkling income using private corporations which essentially means income splitting by paying out dividends or capital gains to other family members who may not actually be working for the corporation to reduce total taxes. The Government is seeking input on proposed rules to distinguish income sprinkling from reasonable compensation for family members.
2. Holding a passive investment portfolio inside a private corporation, which means retaining and investing money in the corporation instead of paying it out annually because corporate income tax rates are much lower than personal rates.
3. Converting a private corporation’s regular income into capital gains which can reduce income taxes by taking advantage of the lower tax rates on capital gains. Income is normally paid out of a private corporation in the form of salary or dividends to the principals, who are taxed at the recipient’s personal income tax rate (subject to a tax credit for dividends reflecting the corporate tax presumed to have been paid). In contrast, only one-half of capital gains are included in income, resulting in a significantly lower tax rate on income that is converted from dividends to capital gains.

Also read:  Tax Planning Using Private Corporations – The New Liberal Proposals (Blunt Bean Counter)

This has resulted in a huge outcry from groups as diverse as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Medical Association.

In a BNN video interview, Scott Johnston, a partner at CBM lawyers in B.C. says the Liberal plan would punish small business owners, not “fat cats.” He counsels more than 800 small businesses in the Vancouver area.

“You are comparing employees with entrepreneurs who may make nothing for years and have no guarantee their business will succeed,” he says. “They are the ones who are taking risk and putting their homes on the line. They don’t have fat government pensions and they don’t receive medical, dental or parental benefits.”

Canadian farmers are also worried about federal tax changes, but the proposals are the last thing they have had time to think about during the busy harvest season. The Western Producer says “the impact of the tax changes could be humongous,” including:

• Rules to make it more difficult and risky for full-time farmers to share farm income with spouses and children.
• Regulations that could make it dangerous to use farm earnings to help pay for children’s post-secondary education.
• Rules that discourage farms from renting out their land or saving cash within a farm company.
• Changes that could make it risky to divide ownership of a family farm’s land base among a number of children, while allowing the land block to remain intact.
• Rules that encourage farmers to sell their land to neighbours or strangers rather than their own children.

In contrast, the Canadian Nurses Association representing primarily salaried nurses issued a statement on September 5^th supporting the proposed changes. In her statement, Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) president Barb Shellian said:

“CNA commends Minister Morneau’s aim to achieve federal tax policy that treats all sources of income similarly and equitably, based on the principles of social justice. Accordingly, CNA supports the proposed changes to the federal tax code that reasonably strengthen the rules on increasingly popular but potentially unfair tax advantages for incorporated high-income earners. CNA further recommends a more comprehensive review of the Canadian tax system with an eye to simplification and ensuring all hard-working Canadians are treated fairly and equitably.”

Also read: Dissenting doctors write open letter in support of federal tax reforms

While both Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said they are fully committed to the proposed tax changes, as in all cases “the devil is in the details.” It remains to be seen if any significant modifications to the proposals will be made prior to passage and the planned January 1, 2018 implementation date. We will update you when more information becomes available.

Also read: The good, bad and the ugly of Ottawa’s proposed corporate tax changes

*In the spirit of full disclosure, the tax status of my company Sheryl Smolkin + Associates Ltd. will be impacted by the proposed changes

—
Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

Several months after my husband and I filed our 2016 income tax returns and got our refunds, we received identical ominous envelopes from CRA.  They contained Notices of Assessment reporting that each of us had over-contributed $5,500/month for the last five months of the year, resulting in a $28,201 over-contribution to our TFSA accounts. Yet further down on the notices, it said the contributions to each of our accounts in 2016 totaled only $10,859.79.

Upon reviewing our bank statements, it appeared that one contribution of $5,500 was made in early March and a second amount was transferred into each TFSA in August 2016. When my husband checked our CRA accounts online mid-year, they said we still had $5,500 of contribution room in each account, so he made the second deposits in August.

However, upon calling CRA for clarification, we learned that unlike online banking records which are updated daily, CRA only receives information once a year by January 1^st when financial institutions are required to report TFSA transactions for the prior calendar year. Therefore, because we made contributions after January 1, 2016, when we checked later in the year, they were not reflected in the total TFSA contribution room that could be viewed on CRA’s My Account feature.

The good news is that the total excess TFSA amount of $28,201.05 recorded in the first part of the Notice of Assessment was incorrect due to a programming error which totaled the overpayment at the end of each month instead of recording it as one amount of $5,500 for the balance of the year.

However, the bad news is that we had to withdraw $5,500 from each of our TFSA accounts and each pay $298.11 taxes and penalties. The tax payable for excess contributions to a tax-free savings account is 1% per month, for any month in which there is an excess amount at any time in the month.  This means there will be a tax payable even if the excess amount is withdrawn in the same month in which it is contributed.

While we could have appealed the penalties because the over contribution was due to a genuine misunderstanding, we decided to just pay the amounts and learn from our experience.

So the moral of the story is it is important to track TFSA contributions yourself. There is no deadline for contributions to a TFSA, as the unused contribution room is carried forward into the next year.  However, a withdrawal in any year does not increase the TFSA room until the following calendar year.  Thus, if you are thinking of making a withdrawal close to year end, make sure it is done by December 31st, in order to have the withdrawal amount added back to the TFSA room sooner.

The history of annual limits for each year is shown in the table below. The first year that contributions could be made was 2009.  At the current rate of inflation, the TFSA contribution limit will increase to $6,000 per year in 2019.

Years	TFSA Annual Limit	Cumulative Total
2009-2012	$5,000	$20,000
2013	$5,500	$25,500
2014	$5,500	$31,000
2015	$10,000	$41,000
2016	$5,500	$46,500
2017	$5,500	$52,000

 

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

In early September the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by another .25% up to one percent from .75%. This decision followed the first hike in July and could be just the second in a string of increases, some economists have predicted in light of the announcement.

In this issue of Best from the Blogosphere, we sample several interesting media articles and blogs that will help you understand how rising interest rates will impact your both ability to manage debt and carry a mortgage.

Robert McLister, mortgage columnist at the Globe and Mail offers 10 things to ponder now that the Bank of Canada has put every mortgage lender on alert. He says adjustable-rate borrowers (whose mortgage payments float with prime rate) will see their payments jump about $12 a month for every $100,000 of mortgage balance.

He also notes that variable rates can still make sense for strong borrowers with a financial cushion or those who might need to break their mortgage early (since variable-rate penalties are usually lower).

But to justify the risk of a variable mortgage, McLister suggests that you look for a rate that’s at least two-thirds of a percentage point less than your best five-year fixed option. That buys you insurance against three more rate hikes.

Kerry K. Taylor aka Squawkfox discusses 6 ways an interest rate hike affects your finances. For example, variable-rate mortgages, or adjustable-rate mortgages, will see an increase as financial institutions increase their lending rates. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and lines of credit will cost more. Student loan interest rates can be either fixed or variable (floating). As with mortgages, Taylor says those repaying a variable-rate student loan will see their interest rate go up immediately, while those on fixed rates won’t see a jump until it is time for renewal.

In MoneySense, Martin MacMahon and Denise Wong consider What the latest rate hike means for you. Economist Bryan Yu with Central 1 Credit Union told the authors that people carrying a lot of debt on their credit card will probably start to notice higher interest charges. “They’re going to be facing the quarter-point increase on terms of that debt for their servicing… That’s a quarter point on an annual basis. So, it is going to be a bit of a pinch going forward, ” he says. “In these circumstances people should be looking at paring back some of that debt over time.”

The Globe and Mail’s David Berman explores why even though interest rates are rising, your savings account isn’t growing. Many financial institutions have already passed along this week’s central bank quarter-percentage-point hike to borrowers, raising their prime lending rates to 3.2% on Thursday – but you may need a powerful microscope to see any increase in your savings rates. “Why? The simple reason is because lenders can get away with it,” Berman says.

James Laird, co-founder of Ratehub.ca and president of CanWise Financial mortgage brokerage believes at some point, as rates in Canada continue to rise, there will be an adjustment to all deposit and savings products.  “But it just seems to be that [financial institutions] just don’t look at it as closely as they do on their lending side,” he concludes.

The bank’s decision to raise its key lending rate to one per cent on September 6th, from 0.75 per cent, apparently surprised the markets, which sent the loonie soaring. The Canadian dollar, which had been trading around 80.5 cents U.S. in the morning, spiked by more than a cent to around the 82-cent mark immediately after the Bank of Canada’s announcement. It’s the highest level the currency has seen since June 2015.

So If you have invested in U.S. stocks or have American dollars socked away in a bank account for your next vacation south of the border, the spike in the value of the loonie as a result of the interest hike is bad news. But the soaring loonie as a result of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement is great news if you are planning a U.S. vacation that is priced in American dollars. However, a higher loonie could also slow Canada’s economic momentum, as it will make exports more expensive.

—
Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

I have a secret to confess. Ever since my husband and I got married, we have been big fans of outsourcing jobs that we both dislike or that someone else can do better. As a result, we have paid for house cleaning, lawn mowing, snow removal and ordered our share of pizzas and other take-out meals. This strategy has minimized domestic friction and freed up time to spend with our growing family.

It now appears that according to recent research published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAC) that we were on to something. Using large, diverse samples from the United States, Canada, Denmark, and The Netherlands (over 6,200 people), the study reveals that that individuals who spend money on time-saving services report greater life satisfaction.  Furthermore, working adults say they are happier after spending money on a time-saving purchase than on buying material goods. Together, these results suggest that using money to buy time can protect people from the detrimental effects of time pressure on life satisfaction.

In one component of the study, 60 working adults from Vancouver were recruited to spend two payments of $40 on two consecutive weekends. On one weekend, participants were randomly assigned to spend $40 on a purchase that would save them time. On the other weekend, to control for the experience of receiving and spending a windfall, participants were assigned to spend $40 on a material purchase.

After making each purchase, participants received a phone call at 5:00 PM and reported their feelings of positive effect, negative effect, and time stress on that day. People who made a time-saving purchase reported greater end of day positive effect. Study findings also suggest that using money to buy time may not only reduce feelings of time pressure on a given day, but outsourcing can provide a cumulative benefit by serving as a buffer against the deleterious effects of time pressure on overall life satisfaction.

The authors found no consistent evidence that the benefits of buying time are limited to relatively wealthy people. If anything, within the U.S. sample they observed a stronger relationship between buying time and life satisfaction among less affluent individuals. Nevertheless, they acknowledge that their sample included relatively few people at the lowest rungs of the income spectrum who are struggling to meet their basic needs.

Interestingly, despite the potential benefits of outsourcing many respondents allocated no discretionary income to buying time, even when they could afford it: i.e., just under half of the 818 millionaires surveyed spent no money outsourcing disliked tasks. We can only guess whether the inherent frugality of the very affluent is a critical factor contributing to their financial success!

Furthermore, the study suggests that low rates of “buying time to increase satisfaction” among some study participants may be a function of gender and culture with women in some cultures feeling obligated to complete household tasks themselves and working “a second shift” at home even when they can afford someone to help.

All of us are faced with multiple time vs. money decisions every day. For example:

Take the toll road and get home faster or not?
Buy a Halloween costume for your child or make one?
Purchase a dryer or hang the laundry outside to dry?
Pay a babysitter or watch a movie on Netflix?
Buy a car or take the bus?

So the next time you update your budget, when you budget for family essentials, debt repayment and retirement savings, think about whether spending some money to save time is an affordable priority. The PNAC study definitely validates our family’s experience that buying time is one way to reduce stress and promote family harmony!

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

As the leaves change colours and we gear up for the busy fall and winter season, it’s time to check in on what some of our favourite personal finance writers have been discussing this summer.

With the announcement that CIBC has gobbled up PC Financial which will be rebranded as CIBC Simplii Financial on November 1^st, Stephen Weyman says on Howtosavemoney.ca that it will be banking as usual in the short term but you can expect CIBC to sneak in a few fees here and there to make sure they’re profitable and try to cut costs where they can.

On Boomer & Echo, Marie Engen offers 25 money saving tips. A couple of my favourites are:

• Turn off the “heat dry” on your dishwasher. Open the door when the cycle is done and let the dishes air dry.
• Learn some sewing basics so you can make minor repairs and alterations to your clothing – hem your pants and skirts, sew on a button, sew up a torn seam, put in a new zipper.
• Buy some time. Set aside the purchase you are considering for a few hours (or a day or two) before you decide whether to buy it. Often you may decide you can easily live without it.

Bridget Casey (Money After Graduation) has recently welcomed a new daughter and she is already thinking about saving for her college education. She writes about the importance of setting up your child’s Registered Educational Savings Plan as a trust so it will be covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation in the event of financial institution failure up to $100,000 per account.

Retire Happy’s Jim Yih writes a thoughtful piece on Minimizing Your Old Age Security Clawback. The maximum monthly OAS benefit in 2017 is $578.53 ($6,942.36 annually). If you earn between $74,788 and $121,070/year the OAS benefit will be clawed back. He explains that with pension splitting, spouses can give up to 50% of their pension income to their spouse for tax splitting purposes. This is a very effective way to reduce income if you are close to the OAS clawback threshold.

When Sean Cooper, author of Burn Your Mortgage paid off his mortgage, he promised himself he’d stop putting off travel. His first major trip was to San Francisco this summer. Nevertheless, he still travelled frugally booking his $700 roundtrip flight through PC Travel. He also got from the airport to downtown on Bay area rapid transit for less than $10. In San Diego, he opted for a four-bed mixed dorm room at USA Hostels for less than $60 a night as opposed to $200/night in a hotel.

—
Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.

Getting up every day for 40+ years and going to work for eight or more hours a day pays the bills, but it can become tedious and repetitive. However, if you work for a great employer that is constantly reviewing compensation, benefits and employee engagement levels in order to attract and retain the best and the brightest, work can be a much more pleasurable experience.

One way to identify a top-notch employer is to keep an eye out for organizations that are recognized as leading employers in various lists published from time to time. For example, take a look at Canada’s Top 100 Employers published by Mediacorp Canada since 2000 and spinoffs such Canada’s Top Employers for Young People and Saskatchewan’s Top Employers.

First published in 2006, Saskatchewan’s Top Employers recognizes the Saskatchewan employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. The 2017 winners were announced this past April in a special magazine published by the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers using the same eight criteria as the national competition:

(1) Physical workplace.
(2) Work atmosphere and social.
(3) Health, financial and family benefits.
(4) Vacation and  time off.
(5) Employee communications.
(6) Performance management.
(7) Training and skills development, and
(8) Community involvement.

Companies are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. You can find the 2017 Saskatchewan list here, but featured below is information collected by Mediacorp about just five of these notable Saskatchewan employers.

Access Communications Co-operative Ltd.
This cable and communications company with 215 employees has locations in Saskatoon, Regina and nine other towns in the province.

• In addition to 3 weeks of starting vacation allowance, Access Communications recognizes previous work experience when setting individual vacation entitlements for experienced candidates and provides 3 paid personal days off to help employees balance their work and personal lives.
• Access Communications supports its new and adoptive moms with maternity leave top-up payments (to 100% of salary for up to 17 weeks).
• Access Communications supports ongoing employee development with tuition subsidies and a variety of in-house training programs — and offers the next generation opportunities to gain on-the-job experience through paid internships and co-op placements.

ClearTech Industries Inc.
Cleartech distributes chemicals and equipment. It has facilities in Port Coquitlam BC, Saskatoon SK and Edmonton AB with a total of about 145 employees.

• ClearTech Industries lets everyone share in the fruits of their labours with a profit-sharing plan and also encourages long-term savings through a defined contribution pension plan.
• ClearTech Industries invests in the long-term development of its employees through tuition subsidies for job-related courses, in-house training initiatives and financial bonuses for some course completions.
• ClearTech Industries’ employee social committee organizes a number of events through the year, including a Christmas party, family barbecue and golf tournament, weekly treat days and summer “Rider Day” barbecue.

The Mosaic Company
Fertilizer manufacturing company Mosaic has its head office in the U.S. but Saskatchewan branches in Regina, Belle Plaine, Colonsay and Estherhazy with 2,250+ Canadian employees.

• Mosaic helps employees build their skills through a variety of in-house training options and generous tuition subsidies for courses directly related to their positions (up to $10,000).
• Varying by employee group Mosaic employees share in a range of excellent financial benefits including a defined contribution pension program, matching RSP contributions, year-end bonuses, new employee referral bonuses (up to $1,000) and profit sharing for salaried positions. The company also offers retirement planning assistance services for all employees.
• Mosaic ensured that architects consulted directly with employees in the design of their new head offices in downtown Regina. The modern head office is located on the top 4 floors of one of the tallest and newest buildings in the city, complete with a rooftop patio and a theatre-style conference centre plus convenient access to a shared-use fitness facility

Innovation Credit Union
Innovation Credit Union with branches in North Battleford, Swift Current, Meadow Lake and Regina has 325+ employees.

• Innovation Credit Union offers employees a range of financial benefits including discounted financial services, new employee referral bonuses (up to $1,750), retirement planning services and a defined contribution pension plan.
• Innovation Credit Union invests in the long-term development of its employees through tuition subsidies for courses that are both related and indirectly related to their current position.
• Innovation Credit Union and its employees support approximately 250 charitable and community organizations every year. The credit union’s charitable focus includes initiatives that support arts and culture, business, charity, community, education, and sports and youth.

Saskatchewan Research Counsel
Three hundred and forty-four employees conduct research activities in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, Uranium City and Calgary AB.

• Saskatchewan Research Council provides maternity and parental leave top-up payments for employees who are new mothers or adoptive parents, up to 95% of salary for up to 17 weeks.
• Employees working at Saskatchewan Research Council’s head office can take advantage of a number of onsite amenities including a cafeteria with healthy and special diet menus, a fully-stocked employee lounge and shared access to an onsite fitness facility, complete with sauna, squash courts and instructor-led classes
• In addition to 3.6 weeks of starting vacation allowance, Saskatchewan Research Council offers up to 15 paid personal days off to help employees balance personal commitments.

Check out the websites of these and other top Saskatchewan employers to see if they are hiring. In addition, make note of the enriched programs these top Saskatchewan employers offer if  you are evaluating other employers when you are looking for work in the province.

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.