Retirees
Retirement planning for people in it, or about to be.
Saving had one rule: put more in. Spending has a dozen: withdrawal order, tax brackets, clawbacks, RRIF minimums, and the estate at the end of it. This is the half that gets less attention and costs more to get wrong.
Who this fits
Four ways this tends to look.
One or two years out
Close enough that the numbers are real. Still early enough that the tax planning has room to work.
Newly retired
The paycheque stopped and nothing has replaced the routine of it. First withdrawal decisions are the ones that set the pattern.
Sold the business
A large sum arrived at once, a corporation may still be open, and the financial plan that got you here no longer applies.
Retired, and now alone with it
A spouse who handled the money is gone or unwell. The first job is knowing exactly what you have and what it produces.
The problems this actually solves
The decisions that repeat every year, and the ones you only make once.
What to draw, and from where
RRSP, TFSA, non-registered, corporate. The order changes the tax you pay over a retirement by a lot.
CPP and OAS timing
Taking either early is a permanent decision. Whether waiting pays depends on your other income and your health.
The OAS clawback
Where the threshold sits, and how withdrawal sequencing and pension splitting keep you under it.
RRIF conversion and minimums
When to convert, whose age to use, and why the forced minimum can push you into a bracket you didn’t plan for.
Income that survives a bad year
How much cash to hold, so a market drop never forces a sale to fund groceries.
Estate, and the final tax bill
What your executor will owe, what the family receives, and how much of the gap insurance should cover.
A corporation that’s still open
Winding it down over years rather than at once, and drawing from it in the meantime.
Helping family without hurting yourself
Gifts to adult children and grandchildren, sized against what you’ll still need at ninety.
What changes for you
The result, in four lines.
- A monthly amount you can spend without checking the news.
- A withdrawal order set for the year, not improvised each time.
- One page your executor and your family can actually follow.
- A clear answer to “will it last?”, grounded in your numbers rather than a feeling, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing.
Who this isn’t for
If you want someone to trade on hunches, time the market, or chase the latest hot stock, I’m the wrong person. And if what you need is one tax question answered, your accountant will do it faster and cheaper, and I’ll tell you that on the call.
Want peace of mind throughout your entire retirement?
Free, about thirty minutes, no obligation.