Wanting clarity for retirement and ensuring she can live the lifestyle she envisions
How TD Helped
Dominique has two children - Yvette, 25, and Paul, 20. She and their father divorced not long after Paul was born, and Dominique raised them as a single parent. They are extremely close and Dominique has no plans to remarry.
While she is financially secure, Dominique does not consider herself wealthy by any means. She is worried about major expenses that could affect her own retirement plans and children's future. She has about $650,000 in investable assets and would like to retire within the next five to seven years.
Dominique's advisor sat down with her and reviewed everything she had working for her, from her home and vacation property, to her registered Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and savings accounts. He also helped her map out her cash flow, so they both had a clear understanding of where her money was coming from, where it was going and where they could find opportunities.
Expand Education planning
Paul was working hard to pay for his education, but I wanted to be able to make up any shortfalls along the way. My advisor outlined a number of different solutions for us to explore.
He made everything so clear and weighed the options, but in the end I decided to borrow because I was able to get a very low interest rate.
Expand Cash flow analysis
I had thought about borrowing to help Yvette and her husband, but then my advisor suggested I use my Tax-Free Savings Account instead.
Not only would that save me the interest cost, but the withdrawal was tax-free and I could put the money back the following calendar year, using my year-end bonus from work.
Expand Estate planning
I was really undecided about what to do with the cottage. I wanted to leave it to the kids, but I didn't want to leave my estate with a huge tax bill as well. My advisor called in TD specialists in estate planning and succession planning to go over my situation and explore a number of possible strategies, including claiming the principal residence exemption on the cottage instead of the family home, transferring the property to one or both of the kids now or dealing with it through an inter vivos trust deed or my will. We ran through all the scenarios together.
In the end, I decided to leave the cottage to the kids in my will and take out an insurance policy to cover the taxes. In fact, our conversation about the cottage was the starting point for a more in-depth review of my whole estate plan. I was pleased to learn that I could name TD Wealth Private Trust as the executor of my estate. Now I can rest easy, knowing that my estate plan is up-to-date.
Expand Investment management
When the market dropped, I have to admit that I panicked at first. But my advisor referred back to my plan and reminded me that I had a well balanced portfolio.
We reviewed market movements over the past years and he reassured me that my strategy is focused on long-term growth. We even looked at adjusting my portfolio to take advantage of possible market opportunities. Just over a year after the decline, my RSPs had regained almost all of the value they'd lost.
Expand Retirement planning
I didn't understand a lot of the financial language in the retirement package from my employer. And I had no idea if my combined assets would be enough to provide me with the retirement income I wanted.
My advisor worked with other specialists at TD to set out a retirement income plan that would work for me. They factored in government benefits (CPP and OAS) and my registered and non-registered assets to project my income based on a number of scenarios. They even showed me what my future might look like if I decided to move to a smaller home.
They helped me to see that I really had a lot of options, and that I could choose the lifestyle that I wanted. It was really reassuring and very empowering. Ultimately, I chose to stay working for at least another few years.
* Not real customers. Composite created for illustration only.
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can help you
TD Wealth has helped many pre-retirees like Dominique create a plan based on their unique goals. To find out how we can help you reach your goals, speak with an advisor today.
Call 1-800-577-9594 or find an advisor in your area.