Many Canadians start drawing from the Canada Pension Plan as soon as they possibly can. According to Stats Canada, 44% of people who are eligible choose CPP early retirement at age 60, the earliest age possible. In fact, 98% of Canadians either take CPP at 65 or decide to take early CPP withdrawals. But is claiming CPP early a wise move? Given that almost 90% of Canadians will rely on CPP to cover at least some of their retirement costs, it’s important to get it right regarding whether to take the CPP early retirement pension or delay drawing it. Both strategies have their advantages, but it’s important to know which is right for you.
The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan was introduced in 1992 to give Canadians a way of using their RRSP to buy a house or apartment. Since then, hundreds of thousands of first-time home buyers in Canada’s RRSPs have been used to buy a house or apartment. Given the way the housing market in much of Canada has skyrocketed in recent years, the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan is likely to increase in popularity as down payments increase dramatically. The RRSP home buyers’ program is likely to become an essential part of the home buying process for even more Canadians.
With many Canadians relying on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) to cover at least some of their retirement expenses, it’s important to understand how these government benefits work. It’s also important to understand how these government benefits work. The average CPP and OAS in Canada are both considerably lower than the highest payments possible. This is because there are so many requirements that you need to meet to qualify for maximum CPP and OAS amounts. OAS and CPP amounts are both considered income and are fully taxable. You can start collecting CPP at 60 and OAS at 65, and you can delay collecting them both until you’re 70. You only want to be applying for CPP and OAS when you actually need it.
For many Canadians, retirement represents a time of freedom, when they can be rid of the daily responsibilities of work and focus on themselves instead. They can spend more time with grandkids, go travelling, work on passion projects, volunteer or simply just relax and enjoy their new-found freedom. But what exactly is the Canada retirement age? Knowing when to retire (or the best age to retire for you) is an essential question to answer for comprehensive retirement planning. Other questions you’ll want to ask are: What’s the average Canadian retirement age? Is there a mandatory retirement age in Canada? Is the retirement age for women the same as men? And can a retirement age calculator help? Let’s take a look.
Given that almost 90% of Canadians expect to rely on CPP benefits to cover costs during retirement, it’s no surprise that they often ask, “How is CPP calculated?” However, this question can have two very different answers. The first is related to how Canada Pension Plan contributions are calculated (as well as how much employers contribute). The second question is, which CPP calculation formula do you use to work out how much CPP you’ll receive in retirement?
As you approach retirement, all those years of contributing to RRSPs are finally going to pay off. However, you’ll need to start making arrangements to start withdrawing money from your savings rather than adding to them. To do that, you’ll need a complete understanding of why you have to convert your RRSP to a RRIF. Once you stop working, you’ll need a constant source of retirement income, and the money saved in your RRSPs will probably make up a considerable amount of it.
Sometimes, when you’re looking to buy a new home, not all of the real estate stars align. This is particularly the case in hot markets, when it can be hard to buy a new home or sell your old one.
This can lead to a situation where the closing dates for your old home and your new one are weeks or even months apart. When this happens, the best solution can often be bridging finance for a property purchase, or a bridge loan for a home purchase, as it is also known.
The Canada Pension death benefit is one of several benefits that the CPP provides to Canadians who contribute to the pension plan. The CPP death benefit is a one-time payment made to a CPP contributor’s estate after they’ve passed away. It’s important to know that you must make a CPP death benefit application in order to receive it, as CPP death benefits are not paid out automatically. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about applying for CPP death benefit: who claims the CPP death benefit: CPP death benefit eligibility; how to apply for the CPP death benefit; how much is the CPP death benefit worth; and taxation of the CPP death benefit.
As Canadians approach 65, it’s really important that they fully understand all of the retirement income that may be available to them. Many Canadians have a company pension and/or RRSPs, and many more also qualify for the Canada Pension Plan. However, not all Canadians know much about Old Age Security (OAS): whether they qualify for it, and if so, how much they’re likely to receive. Many are also unaware that they may have to apply for OAS online or on paper: receiving it is not always automatic. We take a look at why OAS might be important to you, the situations where you could have to apply for OAS, and how to submit an old age security application form.
