For any of us, at any age, who are thinking about retirement, The Art of Retirement by Anthony Gordon is a must-have retirement reference book.

The book begins by helping us reframe our relationship with our finances. Perhaps, the book suggests, quoting noted economist Moshe Milevsky, we need to think of ourselves as a corporation — “You Inc.”

In that role, your goal would be “to maximize your company’s value while minimizing the risks faced by your corporation… to take the long-term view when making financial decisions.”

After a discussion of the “Rule of 72,” the idea that “72 divided by the interest rate approximately determines how long it takes for your money to double,” Gordon notes that the earlier we start saving, the best. “You need to start saving and investing as soon as you get the chance,” he writes. “If you do not, you will not get the full benefit of compound interest and the Rule of 72, so missing a year has a significant impact in the long run.” Think of your early investment “as a small snowball that gradually grows,” so long as you get the ball rolling.

He quotes the great Albert Einstein as once saying “he who understands interest, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.”

Gordon advises that as you save for retirement, you want to “keep track of your debt. If you ignore debt, you will not be on track for your retirement even if you have a lot of investments.” Compound interest works against you when it’s being applied to debt, he warns.

Writing about retirement income planning, he advises us all to find out what your “guaranteed income streams” are going to be — this can be Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), the Guaranteed Income Supplement,” or income from an annuity.

Then you need to think about how much you will need to withdraw from other personal savings — registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) or Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). Next, look into ways to minimize taxes — then, you will have a picture of your future retirement income.

If you are running your own investments, be aware that “as humans, our erratic emotions and actions are rooted in psychological forces that drive most of the poor results that investors experience in the market,” Gordon writes. Quoting legendary investor Warren Buffett, he writes that “to invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight or inside information. What is needed is a sound intellectual framework for decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding the framework.”

A key tool in developing such a framework, he writes, is having a financial plan.

Such a plan, he continues, should list all assets and liabilities, establish written goals based on “your values and your vision,” and should detail how much you will need “now, five and 10 years from now, as well as in retirement. Plan for inflation and taxes,” he writes.

Use the plan to decrease expenses, and to become fully aware of your monthly cash flow needs. You should look for ways “to reduce or defer income taxes where possible,” and plan your estate, including “wills, powers of attorney, and life insurance.”

Review your plan at least once a year — keep a copy of it handy if you are working with investment or legal professionals, he writes.

Other interesting discussions in this well-written book include a section on how to take advantage of a TFSA when you are retired.

Money invested in a TFSA, and later withdrawn, has no impact on your eligibility for “federal income-tested benefits.” A TFSA passes tax free to your estate, and you can contribute to a TFSA well past age 71 when you are fully retired, he writes. “Overall, the TFSA is a great tool that will allow you to better manage your taxable income so you do not have to withdraw additional funds from your registered retirement income fund (RRIF),” he writes.

In a chapter devoted to minimizing taxation, he talks about CPP splitting and pension income splitting, and some of the tax benefits an annuity can provide.

While noting annuities aren’t for everyone, Gordon writes that they provide a guaranteed payment for life and usually provides “a much higher rate of return than if you had received money from a guaranteed income certificate.” The book concludes with a detailed look at estate planning and the importance of having a will.

Once you are actually retired, you will notice that some fellow retirees are managing better than others. This probably isn’t by fluke. The ones who travel the most, or have cabins or campers, are almost certainly the ones who put some thought into what retirement would look like many years earlier. The rest of the gang have to manage on what they’ve got to live on.

If you don’t have a pension plan through work, don’t worry — the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is open to all Canadians with RRSP room. You can decide how much to contribute, and they’ll look after the heavy lifting of investing. At retirement, SPP offers the option of a lifetime annuity — a monthly payment you’ll get for the rest of your life — to help make your retirement income predictable and secure. Check out SPP today.

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A recent poll by CIBC found that while most Canadians hope to retire by age 61, more than half (57 per cent) worry whether “they’ll actually be able to achieve that ambition.”

As well, a very high percentage — 66 per cent — of pre-retirees surveyed worry “about running out of money in retirement.”

Save with SPP reached out to CIBC to follow up on these results, and got some comments from Carissa Lucreziano, Vice-President, Financial and Investment Advice, CIBC.

Q. Quite an eye-opener to see that two-thirds of people worry they might run out of money in retirement. We wondered if you got any information on the causes of this worry – maybe more people are drawing down a lump sum of money in a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) versus receiving monthly workplace pension cheques? Or is it worry they’ll lose money in the markets? 

A. The rising cost of living is increasing faster than people expected which in turn is impacting many Canadians’ ability to save for retirement and other goals, which has them feeling less prepared for the future and worried about their retirement savings. A recent CIBC poll found that inflation is the top financial concern for 65 per cent of Canadians right now. While inflation is cyclical, many people are thinking, if inflation keeps going up at this rate, it’s going to affect my retirement plan. 

Another reason people may be worried is because they don’t know how much they will need in retirement. One third of Canadians simply hope they have enough to retire, 20 per cent have sat down to run the numbers on their own and only 14 per cent have enlisted the help of an advisor. It’s like going on a road trip without planning a route, of course you’ll be worried about getting lost. 

Given all the factors you need to consider in a retirement plan, it’s best to sit down with an experienced advisor who can map out a strategy that aligns with your goals, your current situation and how you expect your circumstances to change in the future. 

Q. We were interested in the quote in the release about the importance of having a financial plan. Wondered if you could expand (briefly) on what sorts of things should be in a plan – probably it is looking at what future retirement income will be versus expected expenses, and then including the great things listed in the release like travelling? 

A. A financial plan is your big picture, giving you a detailed look at your current financial situation to help you prioritize and manage your short- and long-term goals – like travel, renovations, and retirement. 

The key items that should be included in every financial plan are your income, expenses, net worth, investment strategy, retirement, and estate plan.  

Many advisors use a goal planning tool to build a personalized plan that addresses all your needs, while taking into consideration any “what if” scenarios to see how any major changes might affect your overall plan. What if you buy a cottage at age 55 or gift money to your children at age 75? It is important to understand the financial implications of any big moves before you make them.  

The most important thing to remember though, is that your plan should grow and change as you do. Ideally, you should be reviewing it every year or whenever there is a material change like employment, divorce, marriage or having a child. 
 

Q. It’s interesting that many people are saving for retirement more via Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) than by traditional registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs). Wondered if you learned any of the reasons why they preferred the TFSA – tax free income when you withdraw the money? Accessible for emergency spending en route to retirement? Maybe it is not impactful on one’s Old Age Security (OAS) qualification? 

A. Right now, Canadians are prioritizing day-to-day needs over long-term planning. This means, for many, that they are saving more in their TFSA over their RRSP.   

Contributing to a TFSA is a terrific way to save for both short- and long-term goals. A TFSA gives you the flexibility to access money easily and any interest, dividends, and capital gains earned are tax-free. The funds you withdraw from your TFSA also do not count as income, so it will not affect the amount of OAS you qualify for when you are over the age of 65.  

You don’t have to choose between an RRSP or a TFSA.  However, one could give you more benefits than the other depending on your situation. An advisor can help you understand your options and how it fits into your plan.

Q. Finally, what was the one thing that surprised you the most about these results? 

What stood out to me is that most Canadians polled are relying on their best guess for how much they will need to fund their retirement. Only 14 per cent have met with an advisor to run the numbers.  

An advisor can help you get a better understanding of your big picture and put an actionable plan in place, setting you up for success! It may seem overwhelming, but you can get there with the right support. Plus, you will be able to enjoy your next chapter, knowing that you are in a good place financially. Financial wellbeing is so important. 

Our thanks to Carissa Lucreziano and CIBC for taking the time to respond to us!

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has been helping Canadians save for retirement for more than 35 years. Now, saving for retirement is simpler than ever before. There’s no longer a dollar limit on how much you can contribute to SPP during the limit — you can contribute any amount up to the total of your available RRSP room. And if you are making a transfer into SPP from another RRSP, you can transfer any or all of it — no limit applies. It’s a limitless opportunity for retirement saving! Check out SPP today!

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Experts call for higher RRSP limits, and a later date for RRIFs

Writing in the Regina Leader-Post, a trio of financial experts is calling on Ottawa to make it easier for Canadians to save more for retirement — and then, on the back end, starting turning savings into income at a later date.

The opinion piece in the Leader-Post was authored by William Robson and Alexandre Laurin of the C.D. Howe Institute, and Don Drummond, a respected economist who now teaches at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

Their article makes the point that our current registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) limits need to be changed.

“The current limit on saving in defined-contribution pension plans and RRSPs — 18 per cent of a person’s earned income — dates from 1992,” their article notes. While that 18 per cent figure may have been appropriate 30 years ago, “now, with people living longer and with yields on safe investments having fallen, it is badly out of line with reality,” the authors contend.

They recommend gradually raising the limit to 30 per cent of earned income through a four-year series of three per cent increases, the Leader-Post article notes.

While an RRSP is for saving, its close cousin, the registered retirement income fund (RRIF) is the registered vehicle designed for drawing down savings as retirement income. The trio of experts have some thoughts about RRIF rules as well.

The current RRIF rules compel us to “stop contributing to, and start drawing down, tax deferred savings in the year (Canadians) turn 71,” the authors note. This rule was also established in the early 1990s, they note.

“As returns on safe assets fell and longevity increased, these minimum withdrawals exposed ever more Canadians to a risk of outliving their savings,” the authors explain. They are calling for a reduction of the minimum withdrawal amount by “one percentage point, beginning with the 2023 taxation years, and further reduce them in future years until the risk of the average retiree depleting tax-deferred savings is negligible.”

OK, so we would raise RRSP contribution limits, and lower RRIF withdrawal amounts. What else do the three experts recommend?

They’d like to see it made possible for Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) holders to buy annuities within their TFSAs.

“When an RRSP-holder buys an annuity with savings in an RRSP, the investment-income portion of the annuity continues to benefit from the tax-deferred accumulation that applied to the RRSP. But TFSA-holders cannot buy annuities inside their TFSAs, which means they end up paying tax on money that is intended to be tax-free. This difference disadvantages people who would be better off saving in TFSAs and discourages a much-needed expansion of the market for annuities in Canada,” they write.

Save with SPP has had the opportunity to hear all three of these gentlemen speak out on retirement-related issues over the years. They’ve put some thought into providing possible approaches to encouraging people to save more, making the savings last, and to make the TFSA into a better long-term income provider. Under new rules, you can now make an annual contribution to SPP up to the amount of your available RRSP room! And if you are transferring funds into SPP from an RRSP, there is no longer a limit on how much you can transfer! Check out SPP today — your retirement future with the plan is now limitless!

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Aim for two-thirds of your retirement income to be guaranteed

There’s a new rule of thumb for retirement planners, reports Nicole Spector, writing for Yahoo! Finance.

While you would need a lot of hands to cover off all the various retirement rules of thumb out there, this one is refreshingly simple. It’s called the “two-thirds retirement plan.”

“With the two-thirds retirement plan, guaranteed retirement income (i.e., Social Security, pensions and annuities) is used to pay for two-thirds of living expenses during retirement. The additional third of living expenses is funded via non-fixed income (e.g., investments and retirement savings),” she writes.

Let’s Canadianize this. With this plan, your guaranteed income, such as money from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) or other government benefits — along with workplace pension income and any annuities you buy — is used to pay two-thirds of your retirement living expenses. The rest comes from other retirement savings, such as money from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), your Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) or non-registered investments and savings.

The article encourages readers to “do the math” to see how this idea would work for them.

“Add up the total amount of guaranteed income you expect to receive in a month,” suggests financial coach Michael Ryan in the article. “Next, estimate your monthly living expenses, including everything from housing to food… (and) leisure activities. Multiply your total monthly expenses by two-thirds.”

This sort of estimate, the article explains, is relatively easy to do if you are already retired, but harder to estimate if your golden handshake is years or decades away.

“I tell every person I work with to pretend that tomorrow is their retirement day,” Robert Massa of Qualified Plan Advisors tells Yahoo! Finance.

“If they want to live just like they are living now, they need to pay themselves at least 80 per cent of their regular paycheque in order to maintain their standard of living,” he states.

“From there, they have a basis to work with and then they can start to ask themselves what else they want from retirement and add those costs in. Then you can project forward using inflation and come up with a monthly and annual income goal and work from there,” he adds.

If, after doing the math, you don’t think government benefits will cover off two-thirds of your retirement living expenses, you need to consider finding other sources of guaranteed retirement income, the article adds. This can be done, the article notes, through converting some of your retirement savings to a lifetime annuity when you retire.

The article concludes by recommending that everyone have a good financial plan in the present — this will make us more aware of how and where our income is being spent and what we will need in the future, when we retire. And while two-thirds is a target, the closer you can get to a plan where guaranteed income covers off all of your expenses, the better, the article concludes.

An additional benefit of guaranteed fixed income — you can never run out of it, as it is paid to you for as long as you live.

Having fixed retirement income is an option for any member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. When it comes time to convert your savings into income, SPP’s stable of annuities is among your options. You can convert some or all of your savings to an annuity, which will land in your bank account on the first of every month for the rest of your life. Check out SPP today!

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Which is best for retirement savers — an RRSP or a TFSA?

Writing in the Toronto Star, Ghada Alsharif takes a look at the question of choosing the right vehicle for you when it comes to retirement savings.

She says both a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and tax-free savings account (TFSA) can help you save on taxes while you save for retirement, but that they work differently.

“RRSPs offer a tax deduction when you contribute but you pay tax when money is withdrawn. On the other hand, TFSAs offer no upfront tax break but you don’t have to pay tax on withdrawals. Both accounts help you reach your savings goals faster than a regular savings account because both grow tax-sheltered,” Alsharif explains.

Her article quotes Jason Heath of Objective Financial Partners as saying that choosing between the two options may be decided by how much you make.

If, Heath states in the article, you have “high income it’s a good time to contribute to a RRSP if you expect to pull the money out at a lower tax rate in the future. That’s not often the case for a young person who’s just getting started at their first job or is working part time, doing schooling and getting established in their career.”

A TFSA is better for lower income earners, who are taxed less on their income. Funds within the TFSA grow tax-free and aren’t reported as taxable income when they come out, the article explains.

A chart in the article shows the correlation between income and which savings vehicle people choose. The TFSA is preferred by the vast majority of those earning $49,999 or less, the Star reports. It’s more of a 50-50 choice for those earning between $60,000 to $89,999, but RRSPs predominate among those earning $90,000 and above.

“The drawback to contributing to a RRSP is someday you’re going to pay a tax on those withdrawals. That’s why it’s important to make sure when you’re putting money in, you’re getting a large tax refund to make it worth paying tax on the withdrawals someday,” Heath states in the article.

Our late father-in-law had an interesting use for his TFSA. When he was required to make withdrawals from his registered retirement income fund (RRIF), he would pay the taxes on the withdrawal, and then reinvest the balance in the TFSA. The income from the TFSA would gradually increase and is of course tax free.

A problem with both the TFSA and the RRSP is that you can tap into the money before it’s time to withdraw it as retirement income. There are tax consequences for raiding your RRSP piggy bank, but none with the TFSA. A nice way to avoid dipping into your savings is by opening a Saskatchewan Pension Plan account. SPP is locked-in, meaning you can’t help yourself to your savings until you’ve reached retirement age. Your future you will appreciate that!

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South of the border, near-retirees fear changes to government benefits

Our friends south of the border — those of them who are nearing retirement — are worried that their government-backed Social Security system might not be there for them when they need it.

That was one of the findings of the Allspring Global Investments Annual Retirement Survey; a media release from Allspring walks us through the survey results.

The survey found that retirees with guaranteed sources of income — such as their Social Security, a pension plan, bank account or annuity — have a “more positive outlook on retirement” than those with savings vehicles without guarantees, such as investment accounts, tax-free savings accounts (IRAs) or capital accumulation-style retirement savings accounts. Those who have not yet retired, the media release notes, worry about the solvency of the Social Security system.

Another finding that may resonate with Canadians as well was the idea that American retirees are concerned about “drawing down retirement (funds) tax-efficiently.” More than half of those surveyed hired an advisor to help with tricky taxation related to receiving Social Security and Medicare, and 71 per cent say they want to learn more about taxation.

One of the most eye-opening findings was that “you either reach your savings target, or you don’t.”

“The survey found that a retirement savings plan can help keep workers on track, but it represents several assumptions,” Allspring’s media release states. “Retirement expenses vary widely, while many retirees participate in part-time work and others stop working earlier than expected. Many will adjust their spending—by force or by choice.”

In plainer terms, your retirement spending must align with your new (and usually lesser) retirement income. You can’t sustain a system where you spend more than you take in.

The Allspring research draws a rather surprising conclusion from this, noting that “each year of early retirement before 65 significantly increases the chance of running out of money in retirement,” but also that “even working 10 hours a week after 65 significantly decreases the risk of running out of money in retirement.”

Among the conclusions of the research was that “women, African Americans and Hispanics” are experiencing a wealth gap. “The financial services industry needs to do better in serving these groups,” the media release notes, adding that only 69 per cent of women (versus 87 per cent of men) are “confident their savings will last.” As well, the release states, African Americans generally were more impacted by the pandemic and now expect their retirement will be delayed by two years.

The article makes the point that those with guaranteed income have a more positive outlook. Here in Canada, the chief retirement benefits (Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security) are lifetime benefits. But if the rest of your income is being drawn down from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), or you are living off savings, the risk of running out of money is certainly possible.

A solution available to members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is the annuity. SPP offers several different types, but all of them will result in a monthly payment that you’ll receive on the first of every month for life. It’s an option worth considering for some or all of your SPP savings when you reach the “time to collect” stage. Check out SPP today!

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Article warns of five “myths” about retirement

Writing for Kelowna’s Castanet blog, Brett Millard examines what he describes as five top “myths” about retirement.

The first such myth, he writes, is the belief that “the cost of living will be lower in retirement.”

Canadians may think “their income needs will be much lower once they stop working. After all, they won’t have those commuting costs or need to make mortgage payments,” he writes. But, the article notes, travel costs are likely to increase for the newly retired, and “plenty of Canadians have debt in retirement.”

Those of us retiring with debt are facing rising interest rates, which will “have an impact on your disposable income,” the article continues. We may also have to help struggling adult children, the article points out.

Finally, longevity — living longer — can impact your bottom line, the article notes. The longer you live, the more you’ll need to pay towards “in-home care, a care home, or renovations to make your home more accessible.”

The next myth, Millard writes, is that “registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) are a complete retirement plan.” The article points out that RRSP income is not usually sufficient for all one’s needs, noting that most Canadians will be counting on other sources, such as “the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), company pension plans, Tax Free Savings Accounts,” and such sources as non-registered investments or income from rental properties.

“RRSPs are one part of an investment plan, but a real retirement plan also includes estate planning, life insurance and tax efficiencies,” Millard’s article advises.

The next myth is that “one million dollars is enough for retirement.”

Millard writes that for a variety of reasons — such as when you start your retirement, and what other sources of retirement income you have — setting a target of $1 million might not be right for you. “The amount that any investor will need when they retire will depend on a whole array of variables, with the target amount being unique to each person,” the article notes.

Lifestyle, the activity level of your retirement, possible inheritances — these all factor into determining how much you actually need to save for retirement, the article explains.

The final two myths are that “retirement plan portfolios should be conservative,” and that you should “never carry debt into retirement.”

On the first point, the older “conservative” investment idea was based on assuming a shortish retirement, the article says.

“Now, Canadians could realistically expect their retirement to last 25 years or longer. Retirement portfolios that need to support you for this many years aren’t going to experience significant growth if they’re made up exclusively of fixed income. A conservative retirement portfolio runs the risk of running out of money,” the article notes.

The “no debt” rule, the article contends, “is not realistic or practical” these days, as “close to half of Canadians carry some sort of debt.” Instead, the article suggests, work on paying down high-interest debt from credit cards, which the article describes as bad debt.

The overall message in this well-written piece is that there’s a lot of factors to consider when thinking of retirement, so rather than going by “myths,” you may want to consult a financial planner.

The government benefits most of us receive in retirement — CPP, OAS, and even the Guaranteed Income Supplement — are paid for life, and therefore cannot “run out.”

Yet many people who have RRSPs choose to continue investing them in retirement via a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), rather than choosing to convert any of their savings into income via a lifetime annuity.

If you’re a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, you have the option, at retirement, to convert some or all of your account into an annuity. That way, you’ll never run out of retirement savings in the future. Check out SPP today!

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One of the few things that cost less when interest rates go up are annuities, long a key piece of the puzzle when turning retirement savings into income. 

Save with SPP reached out to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) to find out if this recent higher-interest environment is making Canadians think harder about annuities. 

According to the CLHIA, Canadians purchased over $1 billion in individual pay-out annuities in 2021. This includes both life and term-certain annuities from registered and non-registered funds.

You can buy an annuity from a provider, usually an insurance company. In exchange for a lump sum, the provider will pay you a monthly income for life or for a selected period of time. We contacted Noeline Simon, Vice President of Taxation, Pensions and Reporting for CLHIA, to ask a few other questions about annuities. 

Q. With higher interest rates of late are CLHIA’s members seeing more interest in annuities? 

A. All else being equal, higher interest rates should result in higher annuity benefit payouts. This should have a favourable impact on demand for the product, however, there may be some time before we see the full evidence of this in the market.

Q. Do you see one benefit of annuities being insurance against volatility? (If markets go down, your annuity payments stay the same.) 

A. Yes. A significant benefit of guaranteed life annuities comes from the down-side protection against adverse market conditions and the annuitant out-living their anticipated savings. 

Q. Did the last 20 years or so of low interest rates sort of deaden interest in the idea of annuities versus registered retirement income fund (RRIF) conversions? 

A. The prolonged low interest rate environment did contribute to dampening annuity sales, even with increasing interest rates it will take time to change retirees’ demand for annuities.

Q. What do you see as the pros and the cons of annuities? 

A. Canadians who are retiring or nearing retirement should consider guaranteed life annuities as a part of their plan, since they provide downside protection against adverse market conditions and reduce the risk of outliving one’s savings. Life and health insurers believe that retirees really can benefit from having a range of choices in terms of products and solutions that can help them optimize their income in retirement. To this end, the CLHIA and others have advocated for a variety of decumulation tools, such as Advanced Life Deferred Life Annuities (ALDAs) and Variable Payment Life Annuities (VPLAs) and will continue to so into the future. 

We thank Noeline Simon for taking the time to answer our questions! 

Did you know that the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is also an annuity provider, and offers a variety of annuity options for its retiring members? According to SPP’s Pension Guide, SPP offers a life only annuity (no survivor or death benefits, but highest payment to you), a refund life annuity (provides a benefit to survivors on your death), joint and last survivor annuity (provides a lifetime pension on your death to a surviving spouse or common-law partner). The joint and last option allows you to choose, for your survivor, a pension equal to 60, 75 or 100 per cent of what you were getting. Contact SPP for more information about the annuity option at retirement. 

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Could The Great Retirement be followed by the Great Returnship?

Will high inflation, volatile investment returns and soaring interest rates tempt new and recent retirees into “returnship,” or returning to the workplace?

That’s a view expressed in an article by Brian J. O’Connor, writing for SmartAsset via Yahoo! Finance.

“Retirees who find themselves hit by higher prices, lower stock returns and big health care bills might consider boosting their bank accounts by heading back to work – and employers are waiting to welcome older workers back with open arms,” he writes.

“Big health bills” are more of a U.S. problem than one we Canadians face, although long-term care costs can be eye-opening even here.

The article suggests having the option of returning to work could be a “linchpin” for your retirement plan. That’s because your work experience is more highly valued than ever thanks to the lack of new folks coming up the system to fill your job, the article continues.

“These employees are valuable because they are seasoned, and that’s not always easy to find today,” Charlotte Flores of BH Companies states in the article.

The article goes on to note that of the five million Americans who left the U.S. workforce during the pandemic, “more than two-thirds were over 55.” Now there are five job openings for every three U.S. workers.

“Employers are not only eager to hire experienced older workers, but they’re also open to bringing in retirees who’ve been out of the workforce for several years,” the article continues.

This rehiring of otherwise retired workers is called a “returnship,” the article explains. Large U.S. companies, such as Goldman Sachs, Accenture, Microsoft and Amazon have developed “returnship” programs.

“The programs are designed to give returning workers training, mentoring, a chance to learn or brush up on skills and lessons on how to navigate the current work culture. The trend is so strong that there even are “career-reentry” firms that specialize in connecting employers with returning workers, such as iRelaunch, which works with 70 companies offering returnships, including posting openings,” the article states.

Another benefit of going back to work after retirement, the article says, is that you can either “delay or reduce withdrawals from retirement accounts,” a decision that “stretches out your retirement nest egg to lessen your longevity risk.”

Here in Canada, that certainly would be true of any withdrawals from a Tax Free Savings Account or from a non-registered investment account. We have heard of defined benefit pension plans in Canada that permit you to stop receiving pension payments (temporarily) if you return to work – and let you resume contributions. We haven’t heard of there being ways to temporarily pause withdrawals from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), however.

Many observers here in Canada have talked about making it possible to delay RRIF withdrawals, and continue to contribute to RRSPs, until later in life. Save with SPP spoke to Prof. Luc Godbout on this topic in the spring.

It sure seems like the old days of full retirement – our dad left work at 62 and never did a single lick of work again for the remaining 27 years of his life – may be gone forever. Not saying that’s a bad thing – a little work keeps your mind sharp and social contacts alive – but the concept of full retirement at 65 does not appear to be as likely in the 2020s as it was 30 or 40 years ago.

Whether or not you plan to fully retire in your 60s, 70s or later, you’ll need some retirement income. Most Canadians lack workplace pension plans and must save on their own for retirement. Fortunately, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is available to any Canadian with RRSP room. This do-it-yourself pension plan invests the contributions you make, pools them and invests them at a low cost, and at retirement, turns them into an income stream. You can even get a lifetime annuity! Check out this wonderful retirement partner today!

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Those of us who don’t have a workplace pension – or want to augment it – are pretty familiar with what a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is. However, there can be tricky things to watch out for when investing your RRSP savings. Save with SPP had a look around the Interweb to highlight some RRSP pitfalls.

The folks at Sun Life identify five RRSP no-nos. First, they tell us, is the mistake of putting cash in your RRSP to meet the deadline, and then not putting it into an investment of some kind. Be sure you invest the money in something – “stocks, guaranteed investment certificates, mutual funds, bonds and more” so that your RRSP contributions grow. Your money grows tax-free until you take it out, so you need to have growth assets, the article says.

Another problem identified by Sun Life is raiding your RRSP cookie jar.

“Making RRSP withdrawals before retirement to, say, cover bills or make big purchases can have lasting consequences. For one, you’re giving up the years of tax-deferred growth your money would have generated inside your plan.” As well, the article continues, you’ll face a double tax hit – a withholding tax is charged when you take money out of an RRSP, and then the income from the withdrawal is added to your overall income at tax time. Double ouch.

Other things to watch out for, Sun Life advises, are overcontributing (be sure you know exactly what your limit is), spending your tax refund instead of re-investing it, and not being aware of RRSP/RRIF tax rules on death.

The Modern Advisor blog cautions folks against making their RRSP contributions “at the last minute.” If you spread your contributions out throughout the year, you will get more growth and income from them, the article advises.

Other tips include making sure your beneficiary selection is up to date, and knowing that contributions don’t have to be made in cash, but can be made “in kind,” such as by transferring stocks from a cash account to an RRSP account.

The RatesDotCa blog adds a few more.

On fees, RatesDotCa points out that many RRSP products, typically retail mutual funds, charge fairly hefty fees. “Canadians pay some of the highest fees in the world,” the article notes. “Over many years, these fees can add up, further reducing your retirement plan. Be sure to ask for a thorough explanation of the fees you can expect, and how they will affect your retirement plan,” the article advises.

Other ideas from RatesDotCa include not repaying your RRSP if you do borrow from it, not taking “full advantage” of any company pension plan (meaning, contribute as much as you can to it), and retiring too early (the article notes that both the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security pay out significantly more if you wait until age 70 to collect them.

Save with SPP can add a few more, gleaned from our own “welts of experience” over 45 years of RRSP investing.

Don’t frequently move your RRSP from one provider to another. This is called “churn,” and can result in hefty transfer fees and generally reduces the long-term growth needed for retirement-related investing.

If you borrow to make an RRSP contribution, do the math, and make sure the loan amount is affordable. Sometimes the bank or financial institution will want the money repaid within a year.

Be sure your investments are diversified, and include both equities and fixed income, plus maybe alternative investments like real estate or mortgage lending. Typically, if one sector is down, others may be up.

If you don’t want to think this hard as this about RRSP investments, consider the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Contributions to SPP are treated exactly like RRSP contributions for tax purposes. You can’t run into tax trouble by raiding your SPP account because contributions are locked in until you reach retirement age. SPP offers a very diversified portfolio in its Balanced Fund, and fees charged by SPP are low, typically less than one per cent. Since its inception in 1986, SPP has averaged eight per cent returns annually – and although past results don’t guarantee future performance, it is a noteworthy track record. Check out SPP today!

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