Manulife PensionBuilder
Calculate what your guaranteed income from Manulife PensionBuilder will be in retirement.
Investor Education Fund
Canada's unbiased, non-profit source for information and tools that help consumers make better decisions when investing and managing their money.
Will Planning Workbook
This comprehensive guide from Manulife will help you ensure that you have considered everything when planning for a will.
Attachments:
will_planning_book.pdf
Tax-Free Savings Account Information
Beginning in January 2009, Canadians a tax-sheltered option for saving money, thanks to Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Introduced by the federal government in their 2008 Budget, the TFSA allows you to save or invest your money without having to pay tax on any income or capital gains. You can also withdraw funds tax-free at any time. That's great news and a great incentive to save money and watch it grow faster than before – tax-free!
TFSA Highlights
- Inception date: January 1, 2009
- Contribute up to $5000 a year to start
- Unused contribution room is carried forward indefinitely
- Save and invest tax-free
- Income and capital gains earned in a TFSA are not taxable
- Withdrawals won't affect income- tested benefits and credits
- Eligible investments: Similar to RRSPs
Contact us for more information.
Attachments:
Tax Free Savings Account Brochure from Manulife
Turn a loss into a gain?
With the ongoing tumult in the financial markets and Dec. 31 rapidly approaching, the strategic ability to use capital losses has become the No. 1 tax topic.
Focus on what you CAN control
From Long Term Care Planning Central
There is no denying these are interesting times. Now more than ever, your clients are looking to you to guide them. If you're not feeling slightly overwhelmed, you'd be one of only a few. And one of the most troubling realities is that the worst has yet to come.
You might be asking yourself, "What can I do for my clients that will have a positive impact on their future right now?"
The answer is simple. Focus on what you can control.
Long term care planning can set the tone for positive forward looking conversations with your clients. There is no better time.
Most of us would never have predicted the current financial crisis, but you can confidently predict that many of your clients are at significant risk of losing much of their nest eggs and their lifestyles. Long term care planning can result in increased financial security, independence and dignity for your clients in their senior years. Plan ahead, plan now. We'll help you get started.
Good planning starts with education, understanding the risks and knowing your options. Our AdvisorWise Care Planning Kit is the answer.
- Our guidebook will help you and your clients better understand the risks, the implications and start you on the path to knowing the best options.
- The Care Conversation Pamphlet will get you talking openly with your family.
- The Long Term Care Readiness Quiz will help your clients' benchmark how well or not they've planned.
- The Resource CD will provide quick research for answers to many of your questions.
The Critical Illness/Long Term Care Planner will provide the medium to organize what's important to you and your family.
In addition, we can help you organize a client education seminar, and if you feel you need more personal care planning coaching, we can supply that too.
As a financial advisor, your role isn't always to have all the answers, but to know where to find them. Your role isn't to always do all the work, but to know and oversee what needs to get done.
If you want to learn more about strengthening client relationships, about increasing client confidence in you and your organization, about improving your clients' futures, call us at (416) 323-1090 or visit us at www.ltcplanningcentral.com.
Long term care planning is common sense planning for your clients. And it's something that should be a part of every client's retirement plan.
Budgeting for Baby
Having a baby doesn't have to be expensive - but it can be, depending on the choices you make and how closely you listen to baby product marketers.
If you're self-employed, you're out of luck when it comes to maternity or parental benefits. Because you don't pay into the Employment Insurance program, you can't collect from it.
According to Ann Douglas, the author of more than a dozen parenting books, including Family Finance: The Essential Guide for Canadian Parents, Canadian parents spend somewhere in the neighbourhood of $370 million a year on baby equipment.
"Don't overbuy and you don't necessarily have to buy everything all at once," advises Douglas. "Despite what some of the baby stores would have you believe, some of the basics your baby needs during his first weeks of life are a car seat, a safe place to sleep, a baby carrier, baby clothes and some diapers."
Formula for one year will cost $1,500 to $2,500; diapers another $1,000 or so. All of the other equipment, from strollers to clothes to furniture, can add up to anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000, depending on your choices. If you buy used, you can take advantage of considerable savings. Used clothing is an especially great money saver - babies outgrow outfits so quickly that used ones may seem almost new.
The chart below, from SureBaby.com, provides sample costs for other items (prices are for new items - and, of course, not everything in the list is necessary):
| Item | Approximate |
| Crib with mattress | $160-$750 |
| Crib bedding set | $35-$270 |
| Crib blankets (4-6) | $8-$40 each |
| Fitted crib sheets (2) | $8-$20 each |
| Water-proof mattress cover | $10-$20 |
| Bassinet or cradle | $35-$260 |
| Changing table | $70-$600 |
| Changing pad & cover | $25-$50 |
| Dresser | $90-$650 |
| Rocker or glider | $90-$500 |
| Car seat | $35-$280 |
| Stroller or travel system | $30-$300 |
| Playpen or porta-crib | $60-$180 |
| Swing | $45-$130 |
| Play center or walker | $50-$125 |
| Mobile | $25-$70 |
| Baby carrier or sling | $20-$140 |
| Monitor | $20-$230 |
| Baby gate | $35-$250 |
| Bouncer seat | $30-$90 |
| Toy box | $25-$90 |
| Gym or play mat | $25-$90 |
| Doorway jumper | $25-$60 |
| High chair | $45-$240 |
| Diaper bag | $10-$60 |
| Diaper pail | $20-$45 |
| Thermometer | $10-$90 |
| First aid supplies (kit) | $20-$30 |
| Humidifier or vaporizer | $15-$130 |
| Bottles 8 oz & 4 oz | $10-$40 |
| Bottle warmer | $18-$35 |
| Sterilizer | $30-$70 |
| Breast pump & accessories | $45-$350 |
| Breastfeeding pillow | $20-$35 |
| Bath tub or seat | $15-$35 |
| Hooded towels (4) | $6-$30 each |
| Wipes (a lot) | $4-$5 (pack) |
| Clothes for first year | $500-$1,200 |
What does the government contribute?
Working parents get 50 weeks of parental leave - time off work to stay home and care for your baby. On leave, you can collect parental benefits at 55 per cent of your weekly insurable earnings. Sometimes a couple will share the leave, so the mother returns to work earlier while the father takes a turn at home.
The application process is similar the one for employment insurance benefits. Forms are available through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). You can pick them up at your nearest HRSDC Human Resource Centre.
You may also qualify for the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement, the GST/HST credit, or one of the various provincial child benefits and bonuses.
If your partner has a salary, you could cut back on your spending after the baby arrives, and manage on one salary. Or you could plan ahead, and contribute to a short-term investment product during your pregnancy in order to have a cushion after the baby arrives. A third option is to make use of a secured line of credit while you're off, and pay it back when you return to work.
Figuring out ways to save costs right now will serve you well in the future, because raising a family is expensive no matter how old the children are.
© Copyright of this article is held by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife Financial). You are free to make copies of this article and to distribute it, either in paper form or electronically, as long as you do not change or remove any part of this work. All other uses are prohibited.
Manulife Investments is the brand name identifying the personal wealth management lines of business offered by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries in Canada. As one of Canada's largest integrated financial services providers, Manulife Investments offers a variety of products and services including segregated funds, mutual funds, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts. Manulife and the block design are registered service marks and trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it and its affiliates including Manulife Financial Corporation.
Commissions, trailing commission, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
Content courtesy of WealthStyles from Manulife Investments.
Homebuyers Plan Information from the Government of Canada
Home Buyers Plan
The government has a way of helping prospective first-time home buyers come up with enough money for a down payment on a home: the Home Buyers' Plan. The plan lets you withdraw your RRSPs tax-free to make the down payment, then pay yourself back according to a fairly lenient schedule, with no interest. You can use up to $20,000, and so can your spouse or common-law partner.
“The Home Buyers' Plan is a great way to get going on home ownership,” says Pierre Saint-Laurent, president of financial services consultancy AssetCounsel Inc. in Toronto.
Who is eligible, and what are the rules?*
If you're a first-time buyer with an RRSP, you're eligible--as long as the house you plan to buy is located in Canada and will be purchased or built before October 1st of the calendar year following the year you withdraw the funds. The type of home you buy doesn't matter--single-family, semi-detached, townhouse, condo or apartment--as long as you plan to live in it as your principal residence no later than a year after buying it.
After you withdraw your RRSP funds, you have until September 30th of the following year to buy or build your home. For example, if you make a withdrawal in June 2005, you'll have until October 1, 2006 to purchase or build your home.
Paying it all back
The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) lets you pay back your RRSP over a 15-year period beginning in the second calendar year after you withdraw the funds.
To pay back your withdrawals, file a completed Schedule 7 with your income tax return every year and designate the contributions as an HBP repayment.
These payments are not tax-deductible and are not considered to be RRSP contributions. Figuring out how much you'll have to pay back each year is easy: simply divide the amount you're borrowing by 15. For example, if you borrow $5,000, you'll pay back $333 per year for 15 years.
Annual Payback Amountd for Home Buyers' Plan
| Amount borrowed | Annual payback |
| $5,000 | $333 |
| $10,000 | $666 |
| $15,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $1,333 |
You can speed up your payments if you're able, and it's probably a good idea.
“Keep in mind the more and the sooner you replenish your RRSP, the more it can generate returns on a tax-deferred basis,” advises Saint-Laurent. “But remember, the important thing is to plan your repayments so you can afford them while attaining your home ownership dream.”
*For more information, refer to the Canada Revenue Agency's guide to the Home Buyers' Program, available online at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/topics/rrsp/withdrawals/hbp/menu-e.html, or call 1-800-959-8281.
© Copyright of this article is held by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife Financial). You are free to make copies of this article and to distribute it, either in paper form or electronically, as long as you do not change or remove any part of this work. All other uses are prohibited.
Manulife Investments is the brand name identifying the personal wealth management lines of business offered by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries in Canada. As one of Canada's largest integrated financial services providers, Manulife Investments offers a variety of products and services including segregated funds, mutual funds, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts. Manulife and the block design are registered service marks and trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it and its affiliates including Manulife Financial Corporation.
Commissions, trailing commission, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
Content courtesy of WealthStyles from Manulife Investments.
