Whether retirement is approaching or you are currently retired, there are a few things you can do to ease any financial stress you are feeling.
Determine your retirement income
If you are getting close to retirement, you’ll want to get an idea as to the retirement income you could expect from many sources. If you are retired, you’ll want to make sure you’ve uncovered all these income sources and know at what age you are eligible to receive each:
- Canada Pension Plan
- Old Age Security
- Guaranteed Income Supplement
- Defined Benefit Plans
- Defined Contribution Plans
- Deferred Profit Sharing Plans
- Locked-in RRSPs
- RRSPs
- TFSAs
- Savings
Understand where your money is going
Know where you are spending your money, both before retirement and in retirement. Your spending determines how long your retirement savings will last and what your income streams need to be. I recommend slowly reducing the amount of money you spend as you get closer to retiring; this will make living on a lower income easier. If you have debt or a mortgage, paying it off must be a top priority; being debt free in retirement makes adjusting to a lower income much easier and less stressful.
Protect your retirement savings
How you invest your retirement savings while withdrawing money for retirement is totally different than when you were saving for retirement. Make sure you work with an advisor who helps you with your cash flow and can provide you with retirement income in the most tax advantageous way, maximizing the Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement that you may be entitled to. Rising care costs could dramatically eat into your savings; longterm care insurance will remove this costly variable from your retirement plan.
By Bruce Field, CLU, ChFC, EPC, Managing partner with WSC Insurance Group
