Regulatory pressure. Interest rates. Client risk classifications. These factors will shape the future of permanent insurance products, said Paul Fryer, vice president of individual business management at Sun Life Financial, at CAILBA’s annual conference inToronto. 1. REGULATORY CHANGES OFSI’s 2012 regulatory roadmap for insurers signalled shifts in…
Fewer Canadians are donating to charity. StatisticsCanadareports donations fell nearly 2% to $8.3 billion in 2012. What’s worse, the number of people giving slipped 1.4% to 5.6 million. Advisors can help reverse this trend by telling clients their charitable aspirations can be tax-efficient. And, thanks…
Life insurance is a staple in most private companies. For instance, insurance for the shareholders may be an integral part of the shareholders’ buy-sell arrangement. Alternatively, a lending institution may require insurance on shareholders’ lives as a condition of a loan agreement, or insurance may…
Major changes to CRA’s treatment of testamentary trusts will take effect in January 2016. Graduated-rate taxation will no longer apply to these trusts (as well as grandfathered inter vivos trusts created prior to June 18, 1971). Instead, they’ll be taxed at the top rate. But…
The Bank of Canada says the economy is not doing as well as expected and will likely need stimulative monetary policy to stay in place for longer than previously thought to create the conditions for a sustainable recovery. In a mostly dovish monetary policy report,…
Canadians plowed an additional $5.09 billion into mutual funds last month, with most of it going into balanced mutual funds which hold a variety of asset classes. The Investment Funds Institute of Canada said the total compared with the $5.01 billion that Canadians put into…
Seniors today have never been better off financially, and are four times richer than their parents were at the same age in the mid-1980s, says a report from BMO Economics. “Many Canadians 65 years and older have benefited from strong equity, bond and real estate…
When clients request RRSP withdrawals, they’ll have to include those amounts in their incomes at that year’s marginal tax rates. Also, they’ll face immediate withholding tax. For withdrawals up to $5,000, the combined federal/provincial withholding amount is 10% (21% forQuebec); over $5,000, up to and…
The problem with the typical retirement plan is that it focuses on long term savings. This approach emphasizes getting high returns on investments, and cutting back on expenses to create a bigger pool of savings. Instead, the key to creating sustainable income is to use…
Millennials display low levels of financial literacy, engage in problematic financial behaviors and express concerns about their debt, according to a FINRA Investor Education Foundation study. Only 24% are able to answer four or five questions on a five-question financial literacy quiz correctly. And only 18% were…