Retirement Tax Planning

When to reach out to a Retirement Tax Planning Advisor

Thinking about retirement? It’s essential to consider the tax implications. Here’s when you should consider reaching out to a retirement tax planning advisor.

If you own a business, your retirement plan involves complex tax strategies that a tax advisor can navigate. On the other hand, if you’re an employee with a straightforward financial situation, you might not need extensive tax planning.

Remember, it’s never too early or too late to consult a tax advisor for retirement planning. Whether you’re just starting your career or nearing retirement, expert advice can help you secure your financial future.

At Achen Henderson CPAs, we offer tailored retirement tax planning services to help you make the most of your retirement. Talk to us today to secure your financial future.

How we help you get the most from your retirement

It’s crucial to take a holistic approach to planning your retirement to ensure all areas and all your objectives have been thoroughly considered. Our planning process involves these steps:

1. Determining how much money you’ll need to support your desired retirement lifestyle. Many people don’t do a proper analysis of their financial requirements and end up in a less-than-ideal situation.
2. Taking stock of all your assets and potential sources of retirement income, including your business, investments, and pension plans.
3. Determining your life insurance, medical, and long-term disability needs.
4. Advising you on the various options available to you, the costs of implementing those alternatives, and the potential tax savings available to you.
5. Implementing the options you have chosen.

Retirement planning, what to consider

While there’s a vast array of options to consider when planning your retirement, our advisors frequently discuss:

• Passive assets
• Lifetime capital gains tax exemption
• Savings and Pension plans
  • Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs)
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
  • Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)
  • Individual Pension Plans (IPPs)
  • Long-term disability planning
  • Life insurance planning
• Changes in legislation

We’re more than happy to have a quick call (or an in-person meeting if you’re near our Calgary office) to help guide you through the various options.

Below, we look at the key considerations in more detail. 

Passive Assets

You can choose to accumulate passive (non-operating) assets / investments in your business to provide you with a steady retirement income. This defers the income you receive from the business—you’re only receiving income and paying tax as you receive the money generated by the passive assets. While this is a common strategy for business owners, it may not be as favourable as RSPs.

Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption

If you’re planning to sell your business to help fund your retirement, careful consideration and planning need to be undertaken for any investments in passive assets to avoid jeopardizing your access to the lifetime capital gains exemption. In order for the capital gain to qualify for your exemption, your company must have held at least 50 per cent of its fair market value in active business assets for two years prior to the sale, and at least 90 per cent of its fair market value in active business assets on the date of the sale. If your company doesn’t meet these criteria, you’ll need to take steps to reach the required levels—“purify” the company—well in advance of a sale.

Savings and Pension Plans

Saving plans and pension plans can be used alone or in combination with other strategies in retirement planning. Some savings plans are:

• Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs) or Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). Although both provide for retirement income, an RRSP has tax-deferral benefits along with the ability to include your life insurance in the plan.
• Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). Contributions to the account are made with ‘after-tax income’ then income earned in the account is tax-free, even when withdrawn.
• Individual Pension Plans (IPPs). While it requires an initial investment, you can set up an Individual Pension Plan in your business. You and your business contribute to the plan and the business contribution is a deductible payment. You can withdraw the contributions later in life. We have access to some of the best providers of IPPs in the country.
• Long-term disability planning. Based on the needs of your business, other shareholders or partners in your business, and your family, you can set up insurance to make sure there is no interruption to your business in the event of a critical illness.
• Life insurance planning. You want to ensure that your family is well taken care of in the event of your death. You may have business partners who would not want to end up in business with your spouse if you died. A life insurance plan can be a fantastic investment vehicle. There are many reasons that life insurance is a critical component of a well-thought-out estate plan.