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Your Retirement "To Do" List

Many people use a “To Do” list on a regular basis to get organized and focused on achieving a goal or getting a job done. Following I will be discussing your retirement “To Do” list. This will help you achieve a successful retirement.

#1) Be 100% Committed.

The difference between financial success and failure is the little things we do each day. Unless you make a commitment to identify and change your financial habits you will never be successful. Financial success is within your own control if you are committed to doing the things that need to be done to achieve success, including:
- Commit to giving purpose to your hard earned money by developing a spending and investing plan for all of your short, medium and long term financial goals.
- Commit to spending within your means.
- Commit to adequately funding your retirement accounts by making monthly contributions to both your RRSP and non-registered investments.
- Commit to making contingency plans for your other financial needs.

#2) Follow a Written Plan.

Now that you are committed to achieving a successful retirement you need to work with a Certified Financial Planner who will develop a written financial and retirement plan to give you direction. A written plan will outline the steps you need to follow to reach your goals. A written plan allows you to judge your progress which keeps you focused, on track, motivated and making good day-to-day financial decisions.

#3) Visualize Your Retirement.

This involves visualizing an idea of the type of lifestyle you would want to have at retirement. Will you travel, garden, play golf, retire to the country or maybe even to a foreign land to escape Canadian winters? How will you fill your days? Will there be grandchildren to look after, bridge clubs to join, senior activities to take part in? Will you downsize or stay in your current home, or maybe even move closer to your children and grandchildren?

Determine what your monthly expenses are now when you are still working. What do you expect your monthly expenses to be when you are retired based on the type of lifestyle that you will want to have?

All of these choices will determine the amount of income you will need to have at your retirement, which will determine the amount of registered and non-registered savings and investments you will need to accumulate while you still have an income.

#4) Fill the Gap.

Once you know what your retirement goals are both in terms of lifestyle and financially, than your Certified Financial Planner will be able to determine what your current commitment needs to be to fund your retirement dreams...how you will get to where you want to be!

You need to know where are you now and if you are on track to reach your retirement goals. Maybe you need to refocus to fill the gap. The more pre-retirement planning you do, the more successful your retirement will be.

#5) Fund Your Retirement.

This means understanding how much you will need to accumulate in savings and investments throughout your working years to replace your income when you retire. A Certified Financial Planner has the software that will give you an idea of the amount you will need to accumulate and the amount you need to be putting aside now.

#6) Investment Policy Statement.

Your Investment Policy Statement is a written statement that describes your retirement and investment goals, level of risk tolerance, time frame, investment knowledge and experience, asset mix, and review process required. It provides the structure to achieve your retirement and financial goals.

#7)  Registered Retirement Saving Plans (RRSP’s).

The Registered Retirement Saving Plan allows you to save money on a tax deferred basis and to receive a tax deduction each year for contributions made. It is an effective way for Canadians to save for their retirement years with the purpose of replacing your monthly income once you stop working. It is important to remember that this is a tax deferral program, so if and when you take money out of your RRSP it is 100% taxable as income.

#8) Non-Registered Savings and Investments.

It is also very important to have some savings and investments outside your RRSP in a Non-Registered or Open account. In this type of savings and investment you pay tax on your capital gain, dividend or interest each year. Then when you sell the investment, there will be less tax to pay than if you sell your RRSP investments. In retirement it is often more tax efficient to have non-registered investments if you need to access larger sums of money for major purchases. Use your RRSP’s to replace your monthly income, use your non-registered savings for major purchases.

#9) Protect Your Retirement Assets.

Your ability to retire with a retirement income that will maintain your current lifestyle depends on your ability to earn an income throughout your working years. If you suffer a disability, critical illness or death, you or your spouse’s ability to save and invest for your retirement may be severely compromised. The solution is to review your income protection needs and have adequate disability, critical illness and life insurance plans in place.

#10) Review Your Progress.

One of the most important aspects of saving and investing for your retirement is to review your progress on a regular basis, or at the very least, semi-annually or annually. This means taking a detailed look at your investments, determining how are they doing, making adjustments if necessary, and evaluating whether you on track to meeting your goals. This is also a good time to discuss your goals and objectives again to determine if they are the same or if they have they changed.

Document and reward yourself for successes. Progress is a great motivator!

For a complimentary consultation, contact Laurie Tregaskis, CFP at
403 290-0940 or email ltreg@telus.net

Financial Success is a Matter of Choice not Chance.