Advice-only planning for individuals and couples turning savings into reliable income while managing tax, government benefits, lifestyle spending and estate outcomes.
In retirement the biggest lever is often not return, it is the order and timing of how you draw income. Small tax decisions compound over decades, so we build a withdrawal and tax strategy that spans the whole of retirement, not one year at a time.
Deciding what to draw from RRSP/RRIF, TFSA and non-registered accounts, and in what order, to smooth your tax bill across every year.
Choosing when to start each benefit to improve lifetime, after-tax income and the outcome for a surviving spouse.
Managing taxable income so you keep more of your Old Age Security instead of losing it to the recovery tax.
Sharing eligible pension and RRIF income with a spouse to lower the household's combined tax bill.
Drawing registered funds deliberately in lower-income years to avoid a large forced-RRIF tax hit later in retirement.
Donating securities in kind, using the TFSA as a tax-free estate asset and reducing the tax owed at death.
When to stop work, when to start CPP and OAS, what to draw first, how much to spend, and how to invest all affect tax, benefits, estate value and peace of mind.
We model spending, inflation, taxes, investment assumptions, pensions, benefits and longevity so the answer is grounded in your numbers.
Timing can change lifetime income, survivor outcomes, clawback exposure and tax planning across the rest of retirement.
RRSP/RRIF, TFSA, non-registered, pension and corporate withdrawals need to be coordinated instead of treated separately.
We clarify sustainable lifestyle spending, one-time purchases, travel, family gifts and the tradeoffs between income and estate value.
Retirement portfolios need to balance income, liquidity, tax efficiency, market risk, inflation and the emotional cost of uncertainty.
Beneficiaries, taxes at death, insurance, charitable giving and family fairness should be planned before decisions become urgent.
A retirement plan should show what you can spend, where income should come from, how tax changes year by year, and what happens if life does not follow the base case.
We help you make the transition from saving to drawing income with clearer decisions, fewer surprises and a plan that stays current as markets, tax rules and family needs change.
Leaving an employer with a package or a pension election to make? That is covered on our severance and job transition page.
There is no single right age, and the default of taking it as soon as it is offered is rarely the best one. Starting later permanently increases the monthly amount, and the timing changes lifetime after-tax income, clawback exposure and what a surviving spouse receives. The plan models each benefit against your real entitlement rather than a rule of thumb, and a CPP break-even calculator on this site shows the age at which waiting catches up.
In retirement the biggest lever is usually not investment return, it is the order and timing of withdrawals. RRSP/RRIF, TFSA, non-registered, pension and corporate money each carry different tax, and drawing them in the wrong order can cost more than a poor market year. The plan sets a withdrawal order that smooths your tax bill across every year rather than minimising it in the current one.
By managing taxable income in the years the recovery tax would apply, which usually means deciding what to draw and when rather than reacting after the fact. The plan tracks OAS clawback as its own line every year, so you can see the year it starts and what avoids it while the decision is still open.
Often yes, and it is one of the most commonly missed decisions. Drawing registered funds deliberately in lower-income years - typically after work stops but before CPP, OAS and forced RRIF withdrawals begin - can avoid a much larger tax hit later. The projection shows what each year of drawdown does to your marginal rate.
Often, and it is reviewed as part of the plan. Eligible pension income and RRIF withdrawals after 65 can be shared with a spouse, and CPP can be shared as well, which lowers the household's combined tax bill. Which of these apply depends on your ages and income sources.
That is the question the projection exists to answer. Spending, inflation, tax, investment assumptions, pensions, government benefits and longevity are modelled together, year by year to age 95, so the number is grounded in your own accounts rather than a percentage rule.
Email us directly at info@bracketplanning.ca, or book a call to start the conversation.