Educational Videos

Are you an incorporated business owner or professional receiving T4 income while contributing to an RRSP?

If so, you may want to consider an Individual Pension Plan (or IPP).

An IPP is a defined benefit pension plan your company can set up for you.

An IPP is ideal if you’re between the ages of 40 and 71, earning T4 income, and have owned your company for several years.

With an IPP, you can make higher annual contributions than an RRSP...

...and gain the ability for your company to make a large tax-deductible past- service contribution.

In addition, the company can make a top-up contribution if IPP assets fail to grow by 7.5% per year with adjustments.

Here’s a chart showing a comparison of IPP funds versus RRSP funds for someone who is 50 years old, with 23 years of past service.

As you can see, the ability to make a large past-service contribution, along with the increased annual IPP contributions, result in a higher registered plan balance.

While IPPs do involve more complexity and have higher annual fees than RRSPs, the fees are fully tax-deductible.

These days it can seem like there's a tax on everything and with Canada's progressive tax system the more income you earn the higher your tax rate.

If you face a high tax burden, you'll be interested in how you can reduce it or at least manage it.

One way is with insurance.

Most people think of insurance for their home, their Auto and life.

But did you know that life insurance can help cover the taxes due when your estate is settled?

What's more there are Insurance based investment strategies that can provide tax free income during your retirement and tax-free benefits to the beneficiaries of your Estate.

Another way is with family income splitting.

Family income splitting involves transferring investment income that would otherwise be taxed at your higher tax rate to family members who are taxed at lower rates.

Here are two additional ways to split income with your family.

One, a family trust which enables you to provide funds for your children or grandchildren’s needs while reducing taxes.

Two, a spousal loan strategy which enables your lower income spouse to earn investment income at their lower tax rate.

Here's some other ways to reduce tax.

If you have an RRSP contribute as much as you can to maximize the tax deferred growth over time.

Also take advantage of the tax free savings account if you haven't done so already to earn tax-free investment income.

Next look at your non-registered savings and how the different types of investments are taxed.

Capital gains and dividends from Canadian corporations received preferential tax treatment while interest income from GICs or bonds is fully taxable at your marginal rate.

Here's a tip - put more of your interest-bearing investments in your registered accounts like your RRSP where they are sheltered from taxes, then put more of your taxed advantage dividend-paying investments into your non registered accounts.

And here's one more tip.

Always make sure you speak with a qualified professional tax advisor to get the right tax advice for you.

If you're retired, you know firsthand how difficult it can be to get a satisfying retirement income.

Traditional retirement Investments Like GICs and bonds continue to pay very low interest after taxes and inflation there can be very little left over.

What's more people are living longer so they need their retirement savings to last longer too.

So what can you do to maximize your after tax retirement income without taking on too much risk?

Here are a few ideas.

First, get the most out of your interest paying investments with a GIC or bond ladder.

For example, with a 5-year Bond ladder you invest equal amounts in a 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 year bond.

Now as each bond matures you reinvest in a new five-year bond. At the end of five years you hold only five year bonds.

The advantage?

Longer-term bonds historically pay higher interest than shorter term bonds.

Second, look at other investments that pay higher income.

Some options include corporate bonds, insurance company guaranteed investments, and dividend paying stocks.

They all have higher risk than traditional GICs and government bonds, to varying degrees, but you can reduce the risk through diversification.

The key is to find the right balance between higher income and lower risk based on your individual situation.

Third, consider how different investments are taxed in your regular non-registered accounts.

For example, dividends from Canadian corporations enjoy tax advantages while interest from GICs and bonds are fully taxable.

Sticking with the tax theme, also consider income splitting with your spouse to enhance your combined after-tax income.

With this strategy you transfer income from the higher-income spouse to the lower-income spouse so your combined tax rate is lower.

You can split up to 50% of your eligible pension income like RIF income with your spouse.

You can also split income with a spousal RSP or a spousal loan strategy.

These are just a few ideas for enhancing your retirement income.

If you would like more ideas specific to your situation, I invite you to contact an RBC Wealth Management advisor.

In the coming years an estimated four trillion dollars in wealth will transfer across Generations in Canada the UK and the US.

But are we ready? Our study found both inheritors and benefactors are unprepared.

In fact only 26% of benefactors surveyed have a full wealth transfer strategy in place.

And just 35% of inheritors say they are prepared to receive wealth.

So while many people are making initial arrangements like writing wills, one and three have done nothing at all to prepare.

What we found was a direct correlation between preparedness and confidence.

For those with a full wealth transfer plan 58% are confident the next generation will sustain their wealth.

For those with no preparations only 33% are confident their wealth will endure.

When it comes to building financial confidence it pays to start early.

Those starting with financial education before age 18 are the most confident.

However, our study found education typically does not begin until age 27 and it tends to be informal and led by family members, despite the fact that almost four of five respondents found Financial education led by professionals to be effective.

So, how can you preserve and protect your legacy? Important steps can be taken to ensure a confident transition of wealth including preparing yourself, your heirs, and your financial affairs.

Before you transfer wealth transfer your knowledge and supplement it with professional financial education.

Your legacy is about more than wealth the steps you take today will lay the foundation for a legacy that lasts

RBC Wealth management - Grow more than wealth]

[rbcwealthmanagement.com/wealthtransfer - Download the full report]

[Wealth Transfer Report 2017]

[Lasting legacy - insights into giving and inheriting wealth across generations]

Wealth Transfer Report 2017 - How prepared are we in Canada? Tony Maiorino Vice President and Head RBC Wealth Planning Services

Based on our estimates over 400 billion in wealth is set to pass from one Canadian generation to the next.

Canadians really need to take this opportunity to evaluate their current state of preparation for both transferring wealth as well as educating the next generation on money and financial matters.

[Only 22% have a full wealth transfer strategy]

From our research less than 1/4 of Canadians have a full wealth transfer strategy in place and one in three have done nothing so far to prepare.

While some preliminary steps have been taken with 52% of Canadians indicating they have prepared a will important steps remain particularly given the aging population in Canada.

This lack of preparation has Canadians worried about their legacies in the next generation.

Almost 60% of Canadians are not confident their children will preserve or grow the wealth they inherit.

Canadians need to take further action to adequately prepare for the significant wealth transfer that will occur in the upcoming years.

A solid grounding and financial fundamentals help set the stage for a successful transfer of wealth across generations.

This includes first transferring knowledge as well as opening up communications between both the givers and receivers of wealth.

It's up to the givers of wealth to proactively prepare the next generation to manage wealth to ensure that the family legacy can endure.

[Leave a legacy that lasts. RBC Wealth Management - Grow more than wealth]

[rbcwealthmanagement.com/wealthtransfer - Download the full report]

The need for tax-smart estate plan, has never been greater. With the massive baby boomer generation inheriting trillions of over the coming decades, and taxes on those inheritances likely to remain high. Here's some tips for creating your tax-smart estate plan. First of all, make sure your will is up to date, especially if there have been important changes in your life. Your will names your beneficiaries and your executor. Consider having an open discussion with your family, you may feel uncomfortable about doing this. But it can help your family understand your intentions, and what they might need to do. One of the things you may want to discuss with your family is your choice of executor.

It's an honor to be named an executor, but there are a lot of responsibilities. Make sure your chosen executor is comfortable with what they will have to do. And remember, you don't have to choose a family member. Especially if you have a complicated estate, it may make more sense to choose a professional executor. You may also want to discuss taking care of certain family members. Perhaps you have younger children or grandchildren that you want to provide for. You can leave them a bequest through a testamentary trust in your will, or you can create a family trust during your lifetime. Trusts have important tax advantages when they are properly structured. Let's assume your beneficiaries have no other income. For example, a minor child, they can earn about $10,000 of interest income tax free, every year on the assets you transfer into the trust.

Here's another way you can reduce the impact of taxes on your estate, with life insurance. Consider this, if you leave $300,000 in your RSP or riff when you pass away. Your estate may have to pay as much as nearly half of that in tax, that's nearly $150,000. Similarly, your estate may have to pay taxes on any capital gains on things like your investments, your cottage, and US property. With a life insurance policy, you can cover these taxes. It can be very cost effective because the insurance premiums are often just a fraction of the tax bill. As always, with insurance, it's most cost effective when you're younger and in good health. One last tip for creating a tax-smart estate, and it's important. Make sure you speak with a qualified legal professional first, before you put any estate planning strategies in place.

Do you ever find yourself asking questions like, how can I manage my family's higher tax burden and lower our taxes? How can I reduce the financial risks facing my family? How can I maximize my after-tax retirement income? How can I leave a greater legacy to my family and charity? If you're asking questions like these, you may have reached a stage in life where your financial affairs have become more complex.

That's where wealth management can help. So, what is wealth management? Wealth management is a term often used synonymously with investment management. But it's actually much more than that. Wealth management goes beyond investment management to look at your overall financial situation. It brings together the different areas of expertise and solutions you need in a single overall wealth plan.

This includes investing, financial planning, tax minimization strategies, retirement planning, business succession planning, wealth protection strategies, and estate planning. Essentially, wealth management looks at everything you need to address your various financial concerns at each stage of your life, from building your wealth for future goals like retirement to converting your wealth into a tax-efficient retirement income to transferring your wealth to the next generation.

One of the most important benefits of wealth management is that it's a coordinated approach. That means that you have one key advisor who links in experts from other areas. For example, RBC wealth advisors each specialize in different areas, such as investment management, financial planning, or private banking. But they work together to make sure their clients have the benefits of all of these different areas of expertise.

And at RBC, each of our wealth advisors also has the support of the RBC wealth management services team. The RBC wealth management services team has over 200 tax, legal, and financial experts all focused on helping RBC advisors manage their clients' wealth.

So what is wealth management? Ultimately, wealth management is really all about helping you make sense of the greater financial complexity you face and giving you greater confidence in your financial future. If you would like to learn more about how you can benefit from wealth management, I invite you to contact your RBC wealth management advisor.