One of the financial planning issues that business owners face is how to access their corporate earnings in a tax efficient way.
There are 5 standard methods:
Salary
Dividend
Shareholder Loans
Transfer Personal Assets
Income Splitting
There are also unique ways utilizing life insurance and critical illness insurance to access your retained earnings. Please contact us to learn how we can get more money in your pocket than in the government’s.
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. We know this can be a difficult conversation so we’re here to help and provide guidance to help you achieve your retirement dreams.
Income Needs
Determine how much income you will need in retirement.
Make sure you account for inflation in your calculations.
Debts
You should try to pay off your debts as soon as you can; preferably before you retire.
Insurance
As you age, your insurance needs change. Review your insurance needs, in particular your medical and dental insurance because a lot of plans do not provide health plans to retirees.
Review your life insurance coverage because you may not necessarily need as much life insurance as when you had dependents and a mortgage, but you may still need to review your estate and final expense needs.
Prepare for the unexpected such as a critical illness or a need for long-term care.
Government Benefits
Check what benefits are available for you upon retirement.
Canada Pension Plan- decide when would be the ideal time to apply and receive CPP payments. Business owners are in a unique position to control how much can be contributed to CPP by deciding to pay salary or dividends. (Dividends don’t trigger CPP contributions.)
Old Age Security- check pension amounts and see if there’s a possibility of clawback.
Guaranteed Income Supplement- if your income is low enough, you could apply for GIS.
Income
Are you a candidate for an individual pension plan (IPP)? IPPs can provide higher contributions than typically permitted to an RRSP and the ability to create a lifelong pension.
Check if your business is a candidate for a group RRSP or company pension plan. This is a great way for you to build retirement savings and provide benefits for your employees and business too.
Make sure you are saving on a regular basis towards retirement- in an RRSP, TFSA, or non-registered. Since you can control how you get paid, salary or dividends, dividends are not considered eligible income to create RRSP room, therefore you should make sure you have the optimal mix of both to achieve your financial goals.
Ensure your investment mix makes sense for your situation.
Don’t forget to check if there are any other income sources. (ex. rental income, side hustle income, etc.)
Assets
The sale of your business can be part of your retirement nest egg. Therefore, you should make sure you know the valuation of your business and your plan to sell the business to your family, employees, partners or a third party. You should also know when you decide to sell your business too.
Are you planning to use the sale of your home or other assets to fund your retirement?
Will you be receiving an inheritance?
One other consideration that’s not included in the checklist is divorce. This can be an uncomfortable question, however divorce amongst adults ages 50 and over is on the rise and this can be financially devastating for both parties.
Contact Us about helping you get your retirement planning in order so your retirement dreams can be achieved.
Your kids mean everything to you – and you want to make sure they’re protected no matter what. As a single parent, you must have the right health and life insurance options in place to make that happen. We recommend you consider all of the following types of insurance:
Disability insurance
Critical illness insurance
Accident insurance
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Disability insurance can provide you with an income if you become disabled and cannot work – whether it’s for a short period of time or a long one.
Most workplaces offer disability coverage, but it’s tied to that particular job, so you’ll lose coverage if you leave that job. As well, the coverage from your employer’s plan may not be sufficient to cover your needs if you become disabled.
It’s particularly important for you to look into disability insurance if you work as a contractor or have a job with no benefits.
Critical illness insurance
Critical illness insurance can help you pay for the costs associated with various serious medical issues (such as a heart attack, cancer, or a stroke) that aren’t covered by any other health plans or disability insurance. As a single parent, you may find the payout from a critical illness insurance policy especially helpful for paying for extra childcare or lost income if you cannot work.
Accident insurance
Life is getting busier than ever – and there are more and more of us on the roads. Unfortunately, more people on the roads mean more accidents. If you buy accident insurance for yourself or your children, the payout from the policy can bring in some extra income at a critical time of need if any of you are in an accident. You can use an accident insurance payout to help pay for anything from lost income to private home care.
Life insurance
Life insurance is critical as a single parent as your children are dependent on your income. Generally, we suggest that you get a policy that is worth at least 10 times your annual income, but you may need more if you have a lot of debt or you need the money to last a long time.
Your children should be the beneficiaries of your policy and you can name a trustee (such as a grandparent or other relative) to look after the money on your children’s behalf until they reach a specified age.
We can help!
If you have questions about what kind of insurance is best for you, we’re happy to answer them! We’ll walk you through all your options and put together an insurance package that’s just right for you. Call us today!
It’s great that you’ve taken the critical step of buying life insurance. But have you reviewed it recently to make sure that your policy is still suitable for you? It’s important to review your life insurance policy annually to check that your policy is up-to-date and see if you require any additional coverage.
There are several reasons you may need to change your life insurance policy. We’ve listed them below.
You’ve gone through a significant life event
You may have gone through a significant life event – such as getting married or divorced or having a child – in the past year. In this case, it’s important to consider changing your beneficiaries to make sure that your life insurance proceeds are distributed appropriately.
If you don’t update your beneficiaries, a previously named beneficiary could still be legally entitled to the money you want other people to receive.
You’ve changed jobs
Congratulations – you’ve got a new job or even started your own business! If you’ve started a new job, you may need more life insurance to account for extra income your family will be accustomed to or to account for a change in your employer-based life insurance policy.
If you’ve started a new business, you’ll likely need additional life insurance to help cover debts you may have taken on to start your new business. Plus, since you’re self-employed, you won’t have any employer-based life insurance anymore.
You’ve taken on some debt
If you’ve recently taken on some debt – such as a credit consolidation loan or a home equity loan – more life insurance may be a good idea. Additional life insurance can provide your loved ones with some much-needed extra income to help pay off debt or even pay for basic living expenses if you die.
You’re supporting family members
If your parents have moved in with you or have moved into assisted living, they may require financial support. Additional life insurance can help pay for this increased financial load.
If you have children ready for college or university, they’ll still need financial support from you. You can help secure their financial future with a life insurance policy that will help cover tuition costs.
You’ve bought a new home
You don’t want to leave your spouse or partner the burden of paying off a mortgage alone. Additional life insurance coverage can ensure they’ll have the funds they need after you pass and won’t be forced to sell at a stressful time.
A loved one has a change in health
If a loved one has recently had a change in their health or a significant medical diagnosis, then it’s essential to review your life insurance coverage. Your loved one may need expensive medical treatment or in-home support – which life insurance can help cover if you die.
If you have any questions about your life insurance coverage or want to make any changes, give us a call!
Life insurance can benefit you no matter what stage of life you’re at. It’s never too soon or too late to buy life insurance. Not only will it give you peace of mind, but it will also provide your loved ones with financial support after you die.
There are two main types of life insurance:
Term life provides temporary coverage for a set amount of time (for example, 10, 15, or 20 years).
Permanent coverage is life insurance that never expires.
Term life is generally cheaper as it is only good for a set amount of time. Permanent insurance will cost you more in the short run but may work out less expensive in the long run as your premiums do not tend to increase as you age.
In your 20s, you may feel like you’re immortal and have lots of other things you want to spend your money on. But you also likely have responsibilities – such as student loans your parents may have co-signed for or a mortgage with your partner. If something happened to you, your loved ones would be left alone to pay for that debt. Life insurance could help fill this financial gap.
Also, another great reason to get life insurance in your 20s is that it’s very affordable! You will have a low insurance premium because you are considered low risk.
By the time you’re in your 30s, you may have several financial responsibilities – including a mortgage and children. If you’ve only had term insurance up to this point, you may want to consider converting it to permanent to help give yourself lifelong protection.
Even if you have life insurance through your workplace, you may want to buy additional life insurance. Separate life insurance can help cover you if you lose your job or lock-in rates while you are relatively young and healthy.
At this stage in your life, you may still have a mortgage or dependent children. You may have even bought a cottage or a vacation property. No matter your financial responsibilities, if your estate doesn’t have enough cash to cover them, it’s essential to have life insurance still.
Now is an excellent time to lock in permanent insurance. However, if you find the premiums too high or know you only need life insurance for a set amount of time, term life may still work for you.
Now you know about the two main types of life insurance and why it’s crucial to have it, no matter what age you are. If you’re not sure where to go from here, contact your insurance advisor or us – we can help you figure out your next steps!
Post-secondary education can be expensive, however having the opportunity to plan for it helps with making sure that you’re capable to meet the costs of education. In addition, when you have a plan, it’s easier to make financial decisions that align with your goals and provide peace of mind. In the infographic, we outline 7 sources of funds for paying for post-secondary education:
Registered Education Savings Plan
Tax Free Savings Account
Life Insurance
Scholarships, grants, bursaries
Personal Loans, Lines of Credit
Government Student Loan
Personal Savings
If you need help planning to save for your child’s post-secondary education, contact us!
You most likely do, but the more important question is, What kind? Whether you’re a young professional starting out, a devoted parent or a successful CEO, securing a life insurance policy is probably one of the most important decisions you will have to make in your adult life. Most people would agree that having financial safety nets in place is a good way to make sure that your loved ones will be taken care of when you pass away. Insurance can also help support your financial obligations and even take care of your estate liabilities. The tricky part, however, is figuring out what kind of life insurance best suits your goals and needs. This quick guide will help you decide what life insurance policy is best for you, depending on who needs to benefit from it and how long you’ll need it.
Permanent or Term?
Life insurance can be classified into two principal types: permanent or term. Both have different strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you aim to achieve with your life insurance policy.
Term life insurance provides death benefits for a limited amount of time, usually for a fixed number of years. Let’s say you get a 30-year term. This means you’ll only pay for each year of those 30 years. If you die before the 30-year period, then your beneficiaries shall receive the death benefits they are entitled to. After the period, the insurance shall expire. You will no longer need to pay premiums, and your beneficiaries will no longer be entitled to any benefits.
Term life insurance is right for you if you are:
The family breadwinner. Death benefits will replace your income for the years that you will have been working, in order to support your family’s needs.
A stay-at-home parent. You can set your insurance policy term to cover the years that your child will need financial support, especially for things that you would normally provide as a stay-at-home parent, such as childcare services.
A divorced parent. Insurance can cover the cost of child support, and the term can be set depending on how long you need to make support payments.
A mortgagor. If you are a homeowner with a mortgage, you can set up your term insurance to cover the years that you have to make payments. This way, your family won’t have to worry about losing their home.
A debtor with a co-signed debt. If you have credit card debt or student loans, a term life insurance policy can cover your debt payments. The term can be set to run for the duration of the payments.
A business owner. If you’re a business owner, you may need either a term or permanent life insurance, depending on your needs. If you’re primarily concerned with paying off business debts, then a term life insurance may be your best option.
Unlike term life insurance, a permanent life insurance does not expire. This means that your beneficiaries can receive death benefits no matter when you die. Aside from death benefits, a permanent life insurance policy can also double as a savings plan. A certain portion of your premiums can build cash value, which you may “withdraw” or borrow for future needs. You can do well with a permanent life insurance policy if you:
…Have a special needs child. As a special needs child will most likely need support for health care and other expenses even as they enter adulthood. Your permanent life insurance can provide them with death benefits any time within their lifetime.
…Want to leave something for your loved ones. Regardless of your net worth, permanent life insurance will make sure that your beneficiaries receive what they are entitled to. If you have a high net worth, permanent life insurance can take care of estate taxes. Otherwise, they will still get even a small inheritance through death benefits.
…Want to make sure that your funeral expenses are covered. Final expense insurance can provide coverage for funeral expenses for smaller premiums.
…Have maximized your retirement plans. As permanent life insurance may also come with a savings component, this can also be used to help you out during retirement.
…Own a business. As mentioned earlier, business owners may need either permanent or term, depending on their needs.
A permanent insurance policy can help pay off estate taxes, so that the successors can inherit the business worry-free. Different people have different financial needs, so there is no one-sized-fits-all approach to choosing the right insurance policy for you. Talk to us now, and find out how a permanent or term life insurance can best give you security and peace of mind.
For business owners, making sure your business is financially protected can be overwhelming. Business owners face a unique set of challenges when it comes to managing risk. Insurance can play an important role when it comes to reducing the financial impact on your business in the case of uncontrollable events such as disability, critical illness or loss of a key shareholder or employee.
This infographic addresses the importance of corporate insurance.
The 4 areas of insurance a business owner should take care of are:
Health
Disability
Critical Illness
Life
Health: We are fortunate in Canada, where the healthcare system pays for basic healthcare services for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. However, not everything healthcare related is covered, in reality, 30% of our health costs* are paid for out of pocket or through private insurance such as prescription medication, dental, prescription glasses, physiotherapy, etc.
For business owners, offering employee health benefits make smart business sense because health benefits can form part of a compensation package and can help retain key employees and attract new talent.
For business owners that are looking to provide alternative health plans in a cost effective manner, you may want to consider a health spending account.
Disability: Most people spend money on protecting their home and car, but many overlook protecting their greatest asset: their ability to earn income. Unfortunately one in three people on average will be disabled for 90 days or more at least once before the age of 65.
Consider the financial impact this would have on your business if you, a key employee or shareholder were to suffer from an injury or illness. Disability insurance can provide a monthly income to help keep your business running.
Business overhead expense insurance can provide monthly reimbursement of expenses during total disability such as rent for commercial space, utilities, employee salaries and benefits, equipment leasing costs, accounting fees, insurance premiums for property and liability, etc.
Key person disability insurance can be used to provide monthly funds for the key employee while they’re disabled and protect the business from lost revenue while your business finds and trains an appropriate replacement.
Buy sell disability insurance can provide you with a lump sum payment if your business partner were to become totally disabled. These funds can be used to purchase the shares of the disabled partner, fund a buy sell agreement and reassure creditors and suppliers.
Critical Illness: For a lot of us, the idea of experiencing a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer can seem unlikely, but almost 3 in 4 (73%) working Canadians know someone who experience a serious illness. Sadly, this can have serious consequences on you, your family and business, with Critical Illness insurance, it provides a lump sum payment so you can focus on your recovery.
Key person critical illness insurance can be used to provide funds to the company so it can supplement income during time away, cover debt repayment, salary for key employees or fixed overhead expenses.
Buy sell critical illness insurance can provide you with a lump sum payment if your business partner or shareholder were to suffer from a critical illness. These funds can be used to purchase the shares of the partner, fund a buy sell agreement and reassure creditors and suppliers.
Life: For a business owner, not only do your employees depend on you for financial support but your loved ones do too. Life insurance is important because it can protect your business and also be another form of investment for excess company funds.
Key person life insurance can be used to provide a lump sum payment to the company on death of the insured so it can keep the business going until you an appropriate replacement is found. It can also be used to retain loyal employees by supplying a retirement fund inside the insurance policy.
Buy sell life insurance can provide you with a lump sum payment if your business partner or shareholder were to pass away. These funds can be used to purchase the shares of the deceased partner, fund a buy sell agreement and reassure creditors and suppliers.
Loan coverage life insurance can help cover off any outstanding business loans and debts.
Reduce taxes & diversify your portfolio, often life insurance is viewed only as protection, however with permanent life insurance, there is an option to deposit excess company funds not needed for operations to provide for tax-free growth (within government limits) to diversify your portfolio and reduce taxes on passive investments.
Talk to us about helping making sure you and your business are protected.
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.
The Children
What will happen to the children if both parents were to pass away?
Who would take care of them and until what age?
What would happen if only parent were to pass away?
Make sure you have a will that:
Assigns a guardian for your children
If there’s an inheritance for the children, who will take care of this? Make sure you assign a trustee for the inheritance.
Always choose 2 qualified people for each position and communicate your intentions with them to ensure they’re up for the responsibility.
Assets and Liabilities
What are your assets? Create a detailed list of your assets such as: Home, Family Business Interest, Investments- Non registered, TFSA, RRSP, RDSP, RESP, Company Pension Plan, Insurance Policy, Property, Additional revenue sources, etc…
What are your liabilities? Create a detailed list of your liabilities such as: Mortgage, Loans (personal, student, car), Line of Credit, Credit card, Other loans (payday, store credit card, utility etc.)
Understand your assets-the ownership type (joint, tenants in common, sole etc.), list who are the beneficiaries are for your assets
Understand your liabilities- who’s on the hook for paying back the loan?
Make sure you have a will that:
Assigns an executor
Provide specific instructions for distribution of assets
Always choose 2 qualified people for each position and communicate your intentions with them to ensure they’re up for the responsibility.
Ongoing Needs
What are your family’s ongoing needs?
List out the living expenses
List out income needs
Do you still need to pay for school?
Determine if you have enough (assets minus liabilities) to take care of the family.
Make sure you review your insurance.
Once you determine how much need there is, review your life insurance coverage to see if it meets your needs or if there’s a shortfall.
Execution: It’s good to go through this but you need to do this. Besides doing it yourself, here’s a list of the individuals that can help:
Financial Planner/Advisor (CFP)
Estate Planning Specialist
Insurance Specialist
Lawyer
Accountant/Tax Specialist
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
Certified Executor Advisor (CEA)
There are definitely unique situations in many families and things can get complicated so please use this when you feel it’s applicable.
Contact us about helping you get your estate planning in order so you can gain peace of mind that your family is taken care of.
