It wasn’t all that long ago that cash was considered the smart way to go, in terms of saving and budgeting.

Who can forget watching the great ‘Til Debt Do Us Part TV series, featuring Gail Vaz-Oxlade, where a key lesson to managing household budgeting was to save up change and bills in jars, one jar for food, one for fuel, one for entertainment, and so on. The jars of cash forced you to follow a budget, and credit cards and lines of credit weren’t allowed.

And what about the advice of American financier Mark Cuban about the dealmaking cash provides – he notes that “you’ll get better results if you negotiate with cash.” As an example, if you say “all I have is $40 cash,” maybe the vendor will settle for that instead of a higher amount. No such wiggle room exists with credit and debit cards.

But along came the pandemic to make the world tremble for cash users.

“More businesses are going cashless during the COVID-19 pandemic and are asking customers to use debit, credit or app payments as a precautionary measure,” notes the CBC. Some retailers are refusing to take cash altogether, others deal with it in a safer way, using tongs and little cash boxes.

The concern with cash is, of course, health-related; handing over bills and cash is a hand-to-hand action that does carry risk. Contactless payments are seen as safer.

In the U.K., contactless payment has risen by as much as 64 per cent of all transactions, reports MSN Money.

Major retailer Asda is now accepting payment from a wider range of mobile devices, and contactless payment limits – once quite small – have been ramped up, the article notes. The limit is now 45 pounds – about $78 Canadian.

Here at home, NFCW reports that Visa and MasterCard limits for contactless payments have jumped up to $250.

A final indicator of the cashless society is the use of automatic teller machines (ATMs). In the UK, reports PA Media via MSN. ATM use is down a whopping 60 per cent.

“When people do use a cash machine, they are typically withdrawing more money. The average cash machine withdrawal is now around £80, up from around £65 before the lockdown,” the article notes.

Seventy-five per cent of Brits surveyed say they are using less cash these days – and 14 per cent say they are keeping any cash they accumulate at home, perhaps in a piggy bank, for emergencies, the article concludes.

So King Cash has been dethroned, at least until the pandemic is over. No doubt the throne will be reoccupied one day when the pandemic is under control, and it’s safe to shop with a wallet filled with bills and coins.

Got some cash piling up? While saving it for an emergency is a great idea, so is saving it for your retirement. There aren’t as many people lining up at those green coin counting machines these days, so bring your piggy bank of coins there and convert it to bills. Those can then be tucked into your savings account via an ATM.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has a great “pay yourself first” feature worth knowing about. You can set up SPP as a bill in most online banking applications. Then you can pop those piggy bank dollars into your SPP as easily as you can pay the cable bill. Not a member of SPP? Check them out today – 2021 marks their 35th year of delivering retirement security.

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Canadians worry they aren’t saving enough for retirement

New research from Scotiabank reveals that a surprising 70 per cent of Canadians “admit it’s hard to know what to do when it comes to their investments” in the current pandemic environment.

Even more interesting for Save with SPP readers is the news that the pandemic is causing Canadians to “rethink their retirement.”

“The majority of Canadians who have not yet retired are worried they are not saving enough for retirement (72 per cent), one third (32 per cent) say they won’t be able to retire when they had planned because of the pandemic, and 28 per cent report they won’t be able to pay off their debt before retirement,” says a media release accompanying the Scotiabank research.

That’s quite the trifecta. So not only are three quarters of us not saving enough, a third of us won’t retire when we hoped and nearly 30 per cent will have to pay off debt with reduced retirement income.

Scotiabank advises us to “identify our goals” when it comes to saving, and to seek the help of a financial adviser.

But there may be other things to think about here.

A report from Wales Online adds another puzzle piece. In the U.K., the article says, more than 150,000 folks aged 55 to 64 have been forced “to retire early because of the pandemic.” The reasons why they are leaving the workforce include “redundancy and income cuts, a desire to reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure, and reassessing priorities in life due to the pandemic,” the article says.

So they are being laid off (made redundant is how the Brits describe it), getting their hours cut, or simply fear getting sick in the workplace as older workers. A few are “reassessing priorities” which may mean looking for things to do that aren’t work. The key point here is that this is all an unplanned departure; they are into retirement earlier than they planned, and not necessarily by choice.

Clive Bolton of LV=, the firm responsible for the research, sums it up very nicely.

“Early retirement is a dream for many people but it can become a financial nightmare if it is forced on people without them having time to prepare.” He goes on to say “your 50s are critical years for retirement planning because that is the age when many people’s earnings and pension contributions peak. Being forced to end a career before you planned will disrupt retirement plans.”

We’ve seen how most of us have to choose between paying down debt – which helps us in the short term – and saving for retirement, which helps us in the long term. And while the pandemic won’t be with us forever, it will be here long enough to throw peoples’ retirement plans into a bit of chaos. We may have to go before we’re ready. How do we prepare?

If you’re among the many Canadians who are not saving enough for retirement, there’s a remedy close at hand. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan can provide you with an easy, flexible and effective way to save. At press time, the estimated rate of return in 2020 for SPP – a year that saw market turmoil – was an impressive 8.72 per cent, and the SPP has averaged a return rate of 8.00 per cent since its inception 35 years ago. You decide how much to contribute and you can ramp up your savings as better times return. Check out SPP today.

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While The Good Retirement Guide 2020 is intended chiefly for a U.K. audience, this very thorough look at life after work – edited by Jonquil Lowe – covers a lot of very useful ground.

The book begins by noting that “the age at which we consider ourselves to be old is steady moving upwards,” noting that 20 per cent of Europeans don’t feel old by age 80. We’re transitioning from a time when people retired at 65 and were retired for maybe 10 years, to an era where “one in three of today’s babies in the U.K. will live until they are 100.” Retirement, the book tells us, can now last for 25 years of more, a fact that requires some “radical rethinking” on retirement to ensure a positive experience.

Because fewer of us (as true here in Canada as in the U.K.) have workplace pensions, which are “fading fast,” more retirees are exposed to “the three great risks of retirement,” which are:

• Longevity risk – outliving your savings
• Inflation risk – the buying power of your money falling over time
• Investment risk – being exposed to the ups and downs of the stock market

In the U.K., the book tells us, recent research from Aviva finds that “over three quarters of pensioners are worried about the rising cost of living and having to continue working to make ends meet.”

The book says this type of worry can be addressed by a proper budget. If you lack accounting skills, consider a “spending diary” instead, which will achieve the same goal – “knowing how much you spend,” the books suggests. Such a diary can be set up with a notebook, a spreadsheet, or an app on your phone. Knowing what goes out – and looking for savings on the expense side – is a critical way to manage living on what’s coming in when you are retired, the book points out.

One thing many of us overlook when planning our retirement spending is the need to pay for care when we are older. “Increasingly, people are fit and well when they reach retirement and with luck that will continue for a long time,” the book advises. However, not all of us will make it all the way to the end without the need for long-term care, which can cost “more than 100,000 pounds,” which is more than $175,000 in Canadian dollars.

The book takes a look at pensions, noting that defined benefit plans, which are chiefly available to public sector workers, offer the promise of a “known proportion of your pay when you retire.” More common in Britain (and here) are defined contribution plans, where “the money paid in by you and your employer is invested and builds up a fund that buys you an income when you retire.”

DC plan members can choose an annuity, which “provides a secure income for the rest of your life,” or a “drawdown,” where the funds remain invested, and you withdraw a specified amount each year. The book recommends a drawdown rate of four per cent if you are going that route. The book offers a description of a variety of different annuities you may be able to buy, including joint-life annuities, where your surviving spouse can also receive a lifetime income.

If you are investing on your own for retirement, the book recommends a balanced approach, with some cash investments (short term, fixed income), some bonds (called “an IOU from the government or big companies), some real estate (either a rental property or exposure via real estate investment funds), and equities – stock in traded companies.

The book cites a rule of thumb often heard in pension circles – if you are investing on your own, your age should be the percentage of your portfolio that is in bonds. So if you’re 60, you should have 40 per cent in equities and 60 per cent in fixed income.

This approach is designed to manage risk (i.e., you reduce risk as you age), and the book says that’s important. “In general, there is no point taking so much risk that you have sleepless nights,” the author advises.

The book covers off many other topics – should you move to a smaller or newer home, or upgrade your existing home? There’s a detailed chapter on leisure activities that actually lists the various organizations in the U.K. that support your activity of choice, be it education, the arts, gardening, and much more.

As a senior, you may find you get a great rate – sometimes even free fares – on public transit, a great way to get around for less.

Importantly – especially given the whole “80 is the new 60” theme of the book, there’s a look at how you may be able to continue to work in your younger senior years, maybe part time at where you used to work full time. There’s detailed information on the value of doing volunteer work. There’s a long chapter on the importance of maintaining your health for the long retirement journey ahead of you. And there’s even a look at wills and inheritance, again from a U.K. perspective.

This is a very well-written, thorough look at a vast topic; congratulations to Jonquil Lowe on a job well and expertly done. As mentioned, while Canadian laws, tax rules, and estate practices are different, the core information in this book is as valuable here as it is to our cousins across the pond.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has all the tools you need to set up a personal pension plan. They’ll invest the contributions you make, grow them via low-cost, professional investing, and present your future self with retirement options in the future, including lifetime pensions. Check them out today!

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Canadians have socked away nearly $300 billion in Tax Free Savings Accounts

It’s often said that high levels of household debt, compounded by the financial strains of the pandemic, make it difficult for Canadians to save.

However, a report in Wealth Professional magazine suggests that Canadians – once again – are indeed a nation of savers. According to the article, which quotes noted financial commentator Jamie Golombek, as of the end of 2018, we Canucks had stashed more than $298 billion in our Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs).

“[A]s of Dec. 31, 2018, there were 20,779,510 TFSAs in Canada, held by 14,691,280 unique TFSA holders with a total fair market value of $298 billion,” Golombek states in the article.

Again looking at 2018, the article says Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) data shows 8.5 million Canadians made TFSA contributions in ’18, with “1.4 million maxing out their contributions.” In fact, in 2018, the average contribution to a TFSA was about $7,811 – more than that year’s limit of $5,500 – because of the “room” provisions of a TFSA, the article explains.

The reason that people were contributing more than the maximum is because they were “making use of unused contribution room that was carried forward from previous years,” Wealth Professional tells us.

Another interesting stat that turns up in the article is the fact that TFSA owners tend to be younger. “Around one-third of TFSA holders were under the age of 40; two-fifths were between 40 and 65, and those over 65 made up about 25 per cent,” the article explains.

“This is not overly surprising since the TFSA, while often used for retirement savings, is truly an all-purpose investment account that can be used for anything,” Golombek states in the article.

However, there is a reason older Canadians should start thinking about TFSAs, writes Jonathan Chevreau in MoneySense.

“Unlike your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), which must start winding down the end of the year you turn 71, you can keep contributing to your TFSA for as long as you live,” he writes – even if you live past 100.

He also notes that a TFSA is a logical place to put any money you withdraw from a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) that you don’t need to spend right away.

While tax and withdrawal rules for RRIFs must be followed, “there’s no rule that once having withdrawn the money and paid tax on it, you are obliged to spend it. If you can get by on pensions and other income sources, you are free to take the after-tax RRIF income and add it to your TFSA, ideally to the full extent of the annual $6,000 contribution limit,” Chevreau writes.

This is a strategy that our late father-in-law used – he took money out of his RRIF, paid taxes on it, and put what was left into his TFSA, where he could invest it and collect dividends and interest free of taxes. He always looked very pleased when he said the words “tax-free income.”

2021 marks the 35^th year of operations for the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. The SPP is your one-stop shop for retirement security. Through SPP, you can set up a personal defined contribution pension plan, where the money you contribute is professionally invested, at a low fee, until the day you’re ready retire. At that point, SPP provides you with the option of a lifetime pension. Be sure to check out the SPP today.

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It’s often very, very difficult to explain to non-retirees what it is like to no longer be at work.

Until now, that is! The Joy of Being Retired by Ernie J. Zelinski is a brilliant, funny look at the differences between retired life and the chains of the workforce, told in about 400 little anecdotes. This is a great read – you could consider reading one item each morning to start your day.

Here are some examples.

Reason 1 notes that “a truly satisfying and happy retirement includes interesting leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical well-being, mental well-being, a defined sense of purpose, and a great sense of community.”

You will, as a retiree, be “exchanging a gruelling nine-to-five routine for a well-earned casual and carefree lifestyle,” advises Reason 4. “You can play golf every day of the week,” suggests Reason 8.

Reason 15 quotes Canadian educator Laurence J. Peter as saying “the time you enjoy wasting… is not wasted time.”

Reason 26 thinks about the tax implications of retirement. “In retirement, generally speaking, you earn less money with the result that you pay a lot less income tax. And if you have always hated paying income tax, this should make you truly happy.”

Acting your age is no longer required in retirement, notes Reason 34. “You are never too old to become a little bit younger in spirit,” we are told.

The benchmarks of life change when we leave the workforce, states Reason 71. “Working life is when you judge your success by promotions, salary, and raises; retirement is when you judge your success by the degree that you are enjoying peace, health, love, and your dog.” Similarly, reason 116 says that whether your work was in a “corporate maze or a corporate prison… retirement sets you free from whatever it is.”

Reason 192 is one that Save with SPP has noticed – every day feels like a holiday. Truth be told, once you aren’t working you often don’t realize there’s a holiday going on until you run into long lines at the drive-thru.

Reason 218 points out that the average Canadian spends 26.2 minutes travelling to work, and 26.2 minutes returning home. This travel time, which doesn’t exist for retirees, “can rob you of a major part of your life.”
You can read the newspaper cover to cover in one go, says Reason 236.

“No more meetings,” boasts Reason 331. That’s one aspect of work that Save with SPP was extremely glad to see the end of, years ago.

If you are working away and worried about what retirement will be like, this is an excellent and recommended read. In fact, companies holding pre-retirement planning sessions would be smart to include this insightful, easy-to-digest and hilarious tome in the course materials.

Retirement fun can be even greater if your post-work pockets are a little deeper. This can be accomplished through retirement savings. If you haven’t got a workplace pension plan or want to augment it, why not check out the Saskatchewan Pension Plan? They uniquely can help you save, invest the savings, and turn that nest egg into a lifetime income stream – a one-stop shop for retirement security.

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Are we “living a lie” when it comes to retirement planning?

An insightful article from Espresso Communications suggests that many of us are nervously whistling as we shuffle past the graveyard of “retirement planning.”

First of all, many of us are still on the job past retirement age, the article begins. “The number of retirement-age Americans in the workforce has doubled since 1985,” Espresso tells us.

Another notion we cling to is that we can work as long as we want. But, the article warns, “37 per cent of retirees stopped working before they planned. The decision to stop work is often involuntary, and it can be precipitated by poor health or late-in-career layoffs,” the authors tell us.

Many of us think we won’t have to work at all once we punch out for the last time. “Retirement isn’t what it used to be,” the article points out. “Full pensions aren’t common and you can expect to live longer than ever.” So, work may be inescapable, the article notes.

On the retirement savings front, many of us think we won’t need to start until later in life. “Investments grow over time, which is why it’s important to start saving early,” the  article advises. Citing research from Vanguard, “a dollar you invest at 20 could be worth almost four times a dollar invested at age 55.”

Another argument is that many of us just can’t afford to save. You need to get into the habit, the article notes, even “if you can put aside only a small portion of your paycheque, or even a few dollars a day.”

And those savings need to be invested and not just stashed in a savings account, the authors say. Otherwise, “inflation is going to eat away at those savings the longer they sit there,” Espresso’s team states.

Some of us figure an inheritance will solve our savings problems. “Well,” the article warns, “your parents may not see it that way. As baby boomers pay out for expensive end-of-life care… Gen Xers and millennials may be surprised at how little is coming their way.”

The article says the economic crisis of 2008-9 shows the folly of thinking you can “live off the equity of your home” instead of saving.

Even if you have a retirement plan at work, the article notes, it may not provide you with sufficient income. And retiring early means you’ll get less per month from your workplace retirement plan and government retirement benefit plans.

There’s a lot of ground covered in this article, and more than one key message. One that blares out clearly is the need to have a realistic plan of attack – getting yourself ready to live on less income by clearing up your debts and paying off the mortgage, for instance. The other is that you have to be ready for changes – the way things are ticking along today with your income, your health, your earning power, your savings – can all change with an employment, wellness, or market volatility.

The notion of investing for your future, rather than saving for it, is an important message. If you’re a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, you can rest assured that SPP’s investment professionals are working hard to sweat the details on your behalf. That’s why the SPP has, since its founding 35 years ago, been able to deliver impressive average annual returns of over eight per cent, despite the crash of 1987, the tech wreck of the early 2000s, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-9 and even today’s terrifying pandemic. Check them out today!

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We all know what we’re not doing thanks to the pandemic – but what sorts of things will we all be doing once that first blessed day of COVID-free living begins?

According to the New York Times, the very first thing for many will be getting back in touch with family and friends.

“Oh, to be able to shake hands again. We have lost the simple way we show respect for one another, to say thank you, to signal agreement. Our elbows will never be up to the job,” Audrey Jessen of Florida tells the Times. In the same vein, the newspaper reports, hugging grandma, hugging your brother, going out on date and kissing, and the joy of hanging out in groups are all atop people’s post-COVID to-do lists.

Ditto for “getting out of the house,” the Times adds.

At The Conversation blog, there’s optimism that the pre-COVID decline in cooking at home will continue to be reversed after the pandemic.

“Our survey showed a rise in home cooking from scratch during lockdown. Both home cooking and confidence in cooking have been linked to better diet quality, and practising cooking increases confidence,” the blog says. The folks at The Conversation believe this COVID-induced trend won’t fade away when the pandemic does.

Neither, reports Forbes , will “virtual collaboration” in the workplace, a.k.a. teamwork via the Interweb. It should also continue to be a way to stay in touch with people post-pandemic, the magazine contends.

“Millions of Americans stayed home for Thanksgiving, and their virtual parties weren’t terrible,” says online collaboration expert Adam Riggs in the Forbes piece. “With millions of remote workers connecting virtually, Americans have seen how video conferencing technology has improved over time, which has also impacted how we virtually network,” he states in the article.

Riggs predicts that since the pandemic will continue for quite a while, the use of videoconferencing and networking apps will continue and will ultimately remain a tool in the communications arsenal when the COVID all-clear signal is finally given.

Many are counting the days until outdoor events, like musical festivals or sporting events, will again be able to be held in front of massive crowds.

The Independent quotes U.K. festival organizer Sacha Lord as saying “if we have another year like 2020, we’ve got serious problems.” The music festival industry had its worst year ever last year, the article notes.

Let’s see if we can hear the common theme in all of this. Yes, we want to go back to how things were, but also, some of the new ways we were forced to do things may survive into the When It’s Over era. For instance, it’s said that thanks to more handwashing, sanitizer use, and mask-wearing than ever before, our flu season was one of the mildest on record.

So let’s conclude that the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel will be a brighter, different one than the dark days of the current winter. Better days ahead, as they say.

Many of us have little bits of retirement savings here and there, scattered in different pockets from our time at different jobs. If you’re a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, did you know that you can often transfer your benefits from other registered or unlocked plans to SPP? Up to $10,000 a year can currently be moved into your SPP account from other plans – that way, you can have all your retirement income coming from one source! Check out this and other SPP features in the SPP Membership Guide.

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Your retirement may include work – and quite a bit of it

Writing in the Financial Post, financial expert and columnist Jason Heath suggest cutting ties with work is no longer synonymous with the term “retirement.”

He notes that things have changed since the first pension plan was rolled out in Germany back in 1889. At that point, he writes, the state decided to look after former workers (via a pension) once they reached age 70. The goal was to free up jobs for younger workers, Heath notes.

However, in those days, the average German died around age 70, “so German retirement tended to be short-lived.” By comparison, he points out, Canadians (on average) want to retire around age 64.3, and there is a 50 per cent probability that women aged 65 today will live to 90, and men to 89.

“Typical Canadian retirees should therefore plan for a retirement of more than 30 years, much longer than their late-19th-century German counterparts,” Heath writes. That’s a very long time, and that’s why Heath sees continuing some form of employment as being a key piece of the retirement puzzle.

His first thought – why not try to work at what you do now, but part-time?

“If you can do a phased retirement, transitioning to part time, it can be a great option to dip your toes into the retirement pool slowly,” he explains. Continuing to work a bit will put less strain on your retirement savings – or allow you to build more, the thinking goes.

Another option is to take the knowledge you gained while at work, and offer consulting services for companies in your field. This idea can offer you a little more flexibility – you can set your own hours – and by working for several companies you will meet some new people.

A third idea – work, but at something else, maybe something that you did a long time ago and really liked.

“What did you enjoy doing when you were younger, maybe even as a child? There may be some clues here as to what new job you should consider in retirement,” he tells us. Save with SPP remembers the good old days of working, as a student, at a large hardware store, cutting curtain rods and window blinds – could such a second career be on the agenda?

If you don’t really need extra money, but want to still feel part of a team, Heath says volunteering may be your work of choice. “Sometimes volunteer work can be more lucrative in non-monetary ways than any job during your career,” he explains.

Heath says a little work at the front end of retirement won’t just help you financially, but it will boost your mental health and keep you engaged. “Some of the happiest and healthiest retirees I have met are still quite busy in retirement, whether they are in their 50s or 80s. This is one of the most important lessons I have learned during my own career, and something I imagine as I envision my own retirement,” he concludes.

Are you looking to increase your retirement savings as the golden years approach? A great all-in-one Swiss army knife for retirement can be the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, which is celebrating 35 years of operations this year. The SPP allows you to save any way you like – a lump sum, a regular automated contribution from your bank; you can even contribute with your credit card. But there’s more than just saving with SPP. Experts will invest your nest egg over the years, at a very low rate, and at retirement, those hard-saved dollars can be converted to a lifetime pension you’ll receive every month. Be sure to check out SPP!

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For those of us who aren’t yet retired, it’s difficult to put ourselves in the shoes of a retiree and imagine what issues they may be facing.

Save with SPP reached out recently to Bill VanGorder, Chief Policy Officer for C.A.R.P., a group that advocates for older adults, to find out what it’s like once you’re no longer working.

For a start, says VanGorder, all older people aren’t set for life with a good pension from their place of work. In fact, he says, “65 to 70 per cent of those reaching retirement age don’t have a (workplace) pension.”

As a result of that, most people are getting by on income from their own retirement savings, along with government benefits like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

“Politicians don’t understand what it’s like to live on a fixed income,” VanGorder explains, adding that any unexpected expenses hit those on a fixed income really hard. Right now in Nova Scotia C.A.R.P. is trying to stop plans to end a longstanding cap on property taxes – a move that would hit fixed-income folks the hardest.

In removing the cap, the province has suggested it would “look after” low-income seniors, but VanGorder points out that retirees at all levels of income are on fixed income. “It’s not just low-income earners… everyone would be hit by this,” he says.

It’s an example of how older Canadians seem to be overlooked when the government is writing up new public policies, VanGorder says. When the pandemic struck, all that older Canadians were offered was a one-time $300 payment, plus an extra $200 for the lower income group, he notes. Meanwhile younger Canadians were eligible for Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments of $2,000 per month, there were wage subsidies and rent subsidies for business, and more.

Older Canadians “feel they’ve seen every other part of the country get more economic assistance,” he explains. That’s because there’s a misconception that older Canadians “are already getting stuff… and are being looked after.”

“Their cost of living has gone up exponentially,” VanGorder says, noting that many services for seniors – getting volunteer drivers, or home support visits – have been curtailed for health reasons. These changes lead to increased costs for older Canadians, he explains.

C.A.R.P. is looking for ways to keep more money in the pockets of older people. For example, he notes, C.A.R.P. feels that there should be no minimum withdrawal rule for Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs). “It’s unfair to force people to take their money out once they reach a certain age,” he explains. “A lot of people are retiring later (than age 71).” He notes that since taxes are paid on any amount withdrawn anyway, the government would always get its share eventually if there was no minimum withdrawal rule.

Another argument against the minimum withdrawal rule is the increase in longevity, VanGorder says. Ten per cent of kids born today will live to be over 100, he points out. “We’re adding a year more longevity for every decade,” he says.

C.A.R.P. is also pushing the federal government to move forward with election promises on increasing OAS payments for those over age 75, and to increase survivor benefits. While the feds did improve the CPP, the improvements will not impact today’s retirees; instead they’ll help millennials and younger generations following them.

Another area of concern to C.A.R.P. on the pension front is the rights of plan members when the company offering the pension goes under. “C.A.R.P. would like to see the plan members get super-priority creditor status,” he explains. That way, they’d be first in line to get money moved into their pensions when a Nortel or Sears-type situation occurs.

He notes that Canada is the only country with government-run healthcare that doesn’t also offer government-run pharmacare.

VanGorder agrees that there aren’t enough workplace pensions anymore. “Canada doesn’t mandate employers to offer pensions, making (reliance) on CPP and OAS more critical than it is in other countries,” he explains. The solutions would be forcing companies to offer a pension plan, or greatly increasing the benefits offered by OAS and CPP, he says.

“If we don’t start fixing it now, we are going to end up with a horrible problem when the millennials start to retire,” VanGorder predicts. Now is the time to act on expanding retirement security, he says. “They always say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago,” he says. “But the second-best time is today.”

We thank Bill VanGorder for taking the time to speak to Save with SPP.

Don’t have a pension plan at work? Not sure how to save on your own? The experts at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan can help you get your savings on track. SPP offers a well-run, low-cost defined contribution plan that invests the money you contribute, and provides you with the option of a lifetime pension when work’s in the rear-view mirror. An employer pension plan option is also available. See if they’re right for you!

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It’s the start of the New Year, and if there’s one thing we think everyone can agree on, it is really nice to see 2020 not hitting the door on the way out.

A New Year brings new promises, in the form of resolutions. Late-night host Conan O’Brien sums up how we all feel about the crazy year just ended, saying that his resolution for 2021 is “spend less time with my family.” Ouch.

Save with SPP took a look around the Interweb to see what people are resolving to do this year on the savings front.

At the Save.ca blog, there’s some good resolution advice on what to do with any extra money that comes your way in 2021, perhaps via a raise, a bonus, or a lottery payout.

“Whatever the source of the windfall, a good rule of thumb is to divide the extra money among the past, present, and future. If you have significant debts, use one-third of the windfall to pay some of those off, addressing concerns from the past. Save one-third, looking to the future,” the blog tells us.

“Use no more than one-third to address your present wish list — things like home improvements or even the purchase of something you’ve had your eye on but couldn’t previously afford,” say the folks at Save.ca.

Other advice for 2021 – save big by eating more at home, leave the ATM card at the house, and “pay yourself first.” You should “start adding yourself to the list of bills that need to be paid. Pay yourself with a set amount designated for investment or savings each month,” Save.ca advises.

The CBC suggests a “30-day spending detox” immediately as the New Year begins. The broadcaster quotes Calgary finance expert Lesley-Anne Scorgie as saying a “detox” means “turning the taps off to that habitual spending that you were doing throughout the month of December — and, let’s face it, for many months before the holiday season as well.”

The detox, she says in the CBC article, can be carried out by reducing spending “on anything that’s non-essential.” Suggestions include take-out coffee, subscriptions to streaming TV services, “the nails, the rims for your car,” and so on, she states.

A bunch of little cuts can add up to $25 a day – or close to $700 a month – that can be put away in a savings account, Scorgie says.

CityNews Toronto reports on recent research by Bromwich+Smith, which found Canadians “are eager to make fundamental life changes in 2021 following months of pandemic induced lockdowns and restrictions.”

Sixty per cent of those surveyed want to “support small and local businesses going forward,” the broadcaster notes. Fifty-nine per cent want to “enjoy the little things in life,” and 47 per cent want to live “more frugally.” Other top resolutions included being kinder to others (41 per cent) and travelling to other provinces (35 per cent), CityNew reports.

Whatever you do to improve your finances, take small steps, advises noted financial reporter Pattie Lovett-Reid.

Talking on BNN Bloomberg’s show The Open, she says thinking too large “may be too big and audacious a goal,” she explains. Instead, she recommends we say to ourselves “OK, what can I do each month to move forward our financial plan?” If you succeed, great, if you don’t, there are many more months to go, she notes. “You have to know how much you owe, and how much you own – that will give you an opportunity to make changes, and to get corrective action in place,” she explains.

Looking for a 2021 resolution? How about this – why not increase your contribution to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. It’s a quick and easy way to pay yourself first, whether you contribute weekly or monthly, or via a lump sum. Not an SPP member? Check out SPP today; in 2021 SPP is commemorating 35 years of providing retirement security.

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