A popular choice among homeowners is to refinance a mortgage, which can often be a better option than a personal loan or line of credit. But what does it mean to refinance a mortgage? And is it the right choice for you? To help you decide, we take a look at the refinance mortgage meaning, the credit score needed to refinance a mortgage and lender refinance rates.
For many Canadians, owning their own home is a high priority: in fact, two-thirds of them are homeowners. However, given the cost of housing, most Canadians need to take out a mortgage to be able to buy their home. What many people don’t know, however, is that there are many different types of mortgages available in Canada. To help you understand what your options are, we examine all the different types of mortgages available in Canada, including fixed vs. variable mortgages, open vs. closed mortgages etc.
Record inflation and plunging stock markets have many people worried about their retirement income in Canada. More and more people are asking themselves, how long will my retirement savings last, with 55% of Canadians concerned that they might not have enough money to survive when they retire. The average retirement income in Canada currently sits at $65,300 per year, per household (before tax). That works out at $32,650 per person, if the household includes a couple. In this article, we look at the sources of retirement income in Canada, various retirement income strategies, how to make retirement savings last and how to increase retirement income.
As more and more Canadians are entering their golden years and heading into retirement,
A line of credit is one of the most flexible and popular of all loan options in Canada. Over three million Canadians have a home equity line of credit – and this doesn’t include personal lines of credit. Getting a line of credit is not always a simple matter, however. We explore how to get a line of credit in Canada, including: line of credit qualifications; how to get a pre-approved line of credit; line of credit requirements; and how to get approved for a line of credit.
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.
