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Retirement Planning Vancouver | Are You Ready To Retire
Unfortunately, many Canadians don’t even know how much money they need to have saved up before they retire, laments retirement planning Vancouver specialist, Thomas Chan. Everyone has grand ideas on how they want to spend retirement. Frequent vacations, golfing, go back to school, indulge their hobbies. But the sad reality is most Canadians don’t have enough to pay their living expenses, let alone lead an extravagant lifestyle. It’s as much about lack of knowledge about how much money they will need, as well as a lack of planning.
But this is exactly what Thomas Chan and his team are hoping to help Canadians with. Not only learn how much they need to live the lifestyle they want when they retire. But help them put together a plan that is both realistic and effective in reaching their goals. One of the first things that Chan and team does, is find out what goals people have for their retirement.
Avoid Retiring with Debt
They take into consideration things like debt servicing. How much debt will they still be paying? Optimally, none is the answer, but that’s not always the way that life works out. You will have to take into consideration that you will be continuing to pay that debt during retirement, according to Chan. If you’ve paid off your house, what other living expenses will you have?
Chan and his team will ask their clients what types of benefits they will have when they are retired. Many people don’t think about it, but their employee benefits cover the cost of things like dentists, optometry and physiotherapy visits as well as drug coverage. When you retire, you will still likely need those services, and if so, how will you be paying for them. These are just some of the considerations that the Thomas Chan team helps people figure out.
Retirement Planning Vancouver | Calculating Your Retirement Savings
It’s not just figuring out how many vacations you want to go on, it’s figuring out the minutiae of your day-to-day life when you no longer have an active income. Then of course, it’s figuring out when you want to retire. And that’s one of the most personal things about the entire retirement savings process. Some people want to retire as early as possible, while others, who get such enjoyment and fulfillment out of their career want to be able to do that as long as they can and will wait for their spouse to retire before leaving.
However, recent data suggests that the average age that Canadians retire is between 64 to 65 years. And of course, if you do retire at an early age, what do you plan on doing? Many people don’t really give it much thought, but many of the hobbies and activities that people want to do cost money, says retirement planning Vancouver expert Chan.
They will want to figure that in to the retirement savings plan. If you enjoy golfing as your hobby, that’s great, but you will likely need more in your savings than someone who’s hobby is the senior’s bridge club. By getting people to think about many of the costs that go into living after retirement, people can start to see how much they will need to retire.
A Realistic Path For Retirement Planning Vancouver
Many people also seem to think that the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) will pay them what they need to live. However, this sadly isn’t the case. The CPP only pays out enough money to amount to about a third of a retired person’s living expenses. And that’s with the assumption that their mortgage will be paid off. Armed with knowledge, and led by Chan’s expertise, people will be able to decide how much of their current income they are willing to part with in order to live a great life when they retire.
Canadians quickly realize that they will have to save more money to fund that sort of retirement life. Retirement planning has a way of quickly getting to the heart of what truly matters.“
Once people understand how much they need to put away, the conversation can switch to figuring out what product is best based on their needs, age, income and more. If you want to meet with Thomas Chan or his team to discuss retirement planning, they are a quick call away. “There’s no pressure to sign up with anything”, reassures Chan. Just by meeting with people and helping them reframe their retirement is enough Chan quips. “If we can help more people understand what’s involved, and start thinking about retirement, then I’m happy”.