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Money Management
Stay out of the “Red” this holiday Season
Tis the season… for shopping. To avoid busting your budget this holiday season, try to minimize your time in stores – particularly when you’re tired and prone to buying anything just to get it over with. Before heading to the mall, make a list of each recipient and potential gifts – noting size, colour, and target price. That will help to avoid impulse splurging. Eat before you start shopping, and take along a magazine or some music to keep you calm while waiting to check out. To save a few dollars, why not give online shopping a go? For those on your list who already have many things, why not make a donation in their name to a favourite charity?
Financial Planning
Make 2005 a year to remember
Got your new year’s resolutions ready? Here are some more. January’s a great time to document your net worth, as year-end account statements arrive. What about your financial goals? Do you have a coherent strategy for eliminating high-interest debt and optimizing your tax-deferred saving for retirement and your children’s education? Now’s also a good time to gather all your documents for your 2004 tax return and look for ways to reduce taxes for next year’s return. Have you reviewed your beneficiary designations in light of changes to your
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marital or family status? Review your will and power of attorney at the same time. Professional advice can help you get your financial plan on track for the New Year.
Disability
A Significant Risk
Most people consider Life Insurance important. Yet many overlook Disability Coverage – even though they are more likely to become disabled before retirement than they are to die. According to insurance industry data, there is a one-in-three chance of being disabled for a period of at least 90 days before the age of 65. That’s eight times the risk of premature death. Full or partial recovery from an injury is common. But without adequate insurance, even the temporarily disabled can exhaust their savings very quickly.
If you are in a group plan at work, you can’t assume it’s adequate to meet your needs. Benefits might run for just two years and be capped well below your income level. Coverage also usually ends if you leave your job. For complete protection, even if you have disability coverage at work, you may want to get a individual policy now that will let you boost coverage if you need it in the future, without a new medical screening. If you are self-employed, disability insurance is even more critical because you have no employee benefits to fall back on. As more insurers recognize the growing trend towards self-employment, new types of disability plans are helping to meet the special needs of home-based and part-time workers and business owners. If this sounds like you, our professional advise can help you find the policy that is best suited to your situation. |
Estate Planning
Use Insurance to Leverage a Gift
If you are like four out of five Canadians, you give money to charity, averaging a little over $200 a year. By leveraging your donation with insurance, you may be able to increase the benefits many times over, both to the charity and to yourself.
An insurance-based planned giving strategy provides three key advantages:
1. You’ll be able to leave a significant and lasting legacy to your favourite cause, without depleting retirement or estate assets. 2. Your gift can go directly to the beneficiary, avoiding any probate and executor fees that might otherwise apply. 3. You or your estate may enjoy substantial tax benefits.
You can gift a new or an existing policy. If you buy an insurance policy and designate the charity as irrevocable owner and beneficiary, you will receive a tax credit for the premiums paid each year. Or, you may gift the insurance proceeds to the charity through your will. The charitable tax credit at death can offset estate tax liabilities. You can also take an existing life insurance policy that has outlived its original purpose and name your favourite charity as irrevocable owner and beneficiary. You’ll get a tax receipt for the net cash surrender value (less any outstanding policy loans) and any subsequent premiums paid.
Plan a gift to suit your goals, financial situation, and tax-relief objectives. It’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year through.
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