For many Canadians, the Canada Pension Plan retirement benefit represents a significant part of their anticipated monthly retirement income—in some cases, the majority of that income. And, consequently, knowing what to expect in the way of CPP retirement benefits is crucial to an individual’s retirement income planning. What’s not so clear to probably the majority of Canadians is how to find out just what they can expect to receive each month from the Canada Pension Plan. A summary of w...
It’s no secret that Canadians, taking advantage of extremely low interest rates, have taken household borrowing to unprecedented levels. In the fall of 2005, total borrowings by Canadian families, on average, exceeded 100% of net income for the first time. By the fall of 2012, despite repeated warnings by the Governor of the Bank of Canada and the federal Finance Minister that interest rates would not remain at current levels much longer, average family borrowings had risen to 152% of family n...
Earlier this year, a major Canadian bank undertook a survey to determine just how many Canadians were taking advantage of the opportunity to earn investment income on a tax-free basis through a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). The survey results showed that just under half—47% to be exact—of Canadians eligible to do so had a TFSA, showing that the TFSA initiative has clearly been taken up by a significant number of Canadian taxpayers. The corollary, however, is that over half of Canadians ha...
