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Blog, Business Owners, Group Benefits, pension plan

The Key Differences Between a Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Pension Plan

You may be thinking about offering your employees a pension plan. You have two main choices for pension plans. One is a defined benefit pension plan – this gives your employees a set amount of money when they retire. The other option is a defined contribution pension plan, which offers more flexibility, but no set amount of money during retirement. There are four key areas you must know about for pension plans: • Contributions • Investment Management • Costs • Employee Retention We will walk you through each of these to help give you a better understanding of the differences between the two types of pension plans.

Blog, Group Benefits, pension plan

Defined Contribution vs. Benefit Pension Plan for Employees

As an employer, you may be thinking about offering your employees a pension plan. If so, you have two main options: a defined benefit pension plan and a defined contribution pension plan. A defined benefit pension plan offers your employees a set amount of money when they retire, whereas a defined contribution pension plan does not. We walk you through the differences between the two types of pension plans.

Blog, Estate Planning, Family, life insurance

Estate Planning for Young Families

Having a family is a blessing and can also bring a lot of worry. A lot of this worry can stem from not being prepared for a disaster like if something were to happen to you or your spouse. We've put together an infographic checklist that can help you get started on this. We know this can be a difficult conversation so we're here to help and provide guidance.

Blog, Estate Planning, tax

Estate Freeze

An estate freeze can be an integral part of your estate planning strategy. The purpose of an estate freeze is to transfer any future increase in your business's value (generally shares) that you own to someone else.

Blog, Estate Planning, Family, Retirees

Estate Planning for Retirees and Mature Families

What happens when the children grow up and they are no longer dependent on their parents? Estate planning for mature families and retirees can bring up a number of issues including family dynamics and harmony.

2021, Blog, tax

British Columbia 2021 Budget Highlights

On April 20, 2021, the B.C. Minister of Finance announced the 2021 budget. We have highlighted the most important things you need to know, including: • Changes in the requirement to repay the B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers • Home Owner Grant threshold change • PST exemption for electric bikes • Elimination of PST rebate for certain vehicle sales • Delay in the carbon tax increase • Tobacco tax increases • Changes to the speculation and vacancy tax

2021, Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Associates, Coronavirus - Practice Owners, Coronavirus - Students, corporate, Debt, Family, financial advice, Financial Planning, incorporated professionals, individuals, personal finances, Professional Corporations, tax

Federal Budget 2021 Highlights

On April 19, 2021, the Federal Government released their 2021 budget. Our article contains highlights of the various financial measures in this budget, divided into three different sections: • Business Highlights, including an extension to COVID-19 Emergency Business Supports, new programs to support job creation, and a change in interest deductibility limits. • Individual Highlights, including details on the tax treatment and repayment of personal COVID-19 benefits (such as CERB), eligibility changes to the Disability Tax Credit, an increase in OAS for those 75 and up, and support for job skills retraining. • Additional Highlights, including a proposed federal minimum wage of $15, changes to the GST New Housing Rebate conditions, and new or increased taxes in areas such as luxury goods, tobacco, and Canadian housing owned by non-resident foreign owners.

2021, Blog, tax

What’s new for the 2021 tax-filing season?

Tax season is upon us once again. But since 2020 was a year like no other, the 2021 tax-filing season will also be different. Due to all the changes in both where and how Canadians worked, the Canadian government has introduced some new tax credits and deductions to keep pace with these changes. Our article covers all of the following: • How to claim home office expenses • The new Canada Training Credit • Pandemic emergency funds • New digital news subscription tax credit

Blog, Business Owners, buy sell

Importance of a Buy-Sell Agreement

Working as a partnership between 2 or more individuals is never an easy task, and the situation only gets more complicated when one or more of them exits the business. Protecting not only the business, but your personal interests, as well as your family’s future are very important objectives for any business owner, and should not be overlooked.

Blog, Estate Planning, Family

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Blended families – where two people get married but have children from previous relationships – are becoming more common. On top of the day-to-day challenges of blending a family, new spouses also have to figure out how to plan their estates, so everyone is properly taken care of. We cover all of the following a blended family must consider while estate planning: • Sharing the Family Home • Make the Most of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan • How to Share Non-Registered Investments and Other Assets • Why It's Important to Select a Good Trustee • The Advantages of Life Insurance for Blended Family Planning

Blog, Business Owners, corporate, health benefits, life insurance, long term care, pension plan, rrsp, Tax Free Savings Account

Retirement Planning for Business Owners - Checklist

As a business owner, one of your challenges is learning how to balance between reinvesting into the business and setting money aside for personal savings. Since there are no longer employer-sponsored pension plans and the knowledge that retirement will come eventually, it’s important to have a retirement plan in place. We've put together an infographic checklist that can help you get started on this.

Blog, Insurance

Whole Life Insurance Can Bolster Your Retirement Portfolio.

It isn’t easy. Retirees can’t depend upon bonds for income because yields are so low. But if they bet too big on equities, their savings could get savaged in a market downturn, crimping their retirement. Enter whole life insurance. Whole life insurance has been derided for years because of high premiums and complexities. Buy cheaper term insurance and invest the rest, the conventional wisdom goes.