Posts by Jason Heath

The article “Juggling Personal and Workplace RRSPs” was originally published on MoneySense on February 12, 2015. Make workplace RRSPs your primary focus Q: My husband and I participate in workplace RRSP top-up programs, and we have an RRSP loan to maximize my husband’s RRSP contribution. We’re not sure if this is a good plan, especially considering…

The article “Using More Than One Financial Adviser” was originally published on MoneySense on February 10, 2015. At key times in your life, it makes sense to use more than one financial adviser. Does it make sense for Donna? Q: What are the benefits and/or drawbacks to using more than one financial adviser at the same…

The article “How Spousal RRSP Withdrawals Work” was originally published on MoneySense on February 9, 2015. Avoid unexpected tax consequences by knowing how attribution works Q: My wife and I are planning to retire within five years. I heard about a rule that requires you to stop contributing to your RRSP for three years prior to…

The article “Timing RRSP Withdrawals” was originally published on MoneySense on February 3, 2015. Kate has a home repair that she wants to fund with an RRSP withdrawal. Should she? And if she does, can she mitigate the tax? Q: I am retired and I am 68 years old. I have about $92,000 in RRSPs. I also have…

The article “Debt Repayment vs. RRSP Contribution” was originally published on MoneySense on February 2, 2015. There’s no rule of thumb when it comes to RRSP contributions versus mortgage repayment Q: My husband and I are close to paying off our mortgage early. Should we put the extra cash in our RRSPs even though I have a…

The article “Invest or Pay Off The Mortgage?” was originally published on MoneySense on January 27, 2015. Here’s what Martin should do with the money he is currently stuffing in his TFSA Q: I have an outstanding mortgage of $490,000 with a 3.34% fixed interest rate for another 4 years and I do biweekly payments of $1,310.I…

The article “The Lowdown on Long-Term Bonds” was originally published on MoneySense on January 20th, 2015. AJ has three long-term bonds in his RRIF. The yields are good, but he’s worried that these investments were a bad idea for this account. Q: We have three Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs). One RRIF from which I plan to…

The article “RRIF Management: Going it Alone” was originally published on MoneySense Magazine on January 13th 2015. Keep your retirement portfolio simple and above all else, have a plan Q: My questions are about my two RRIF accounts. I have too much money in the money market and GICs. I am also worried about the ETFs I purchased that are worth…