Retirement - My Own Advisor

Welcome to my Retirement page.

On this page you’ll find stories, essays, case studies and more from those who have achieved financial independence and income security. Read on to learn what could be tailored for your plan.

How much do you need for retirement?

“It depends”.

I do know with a great deal of confidence with a $1 M personal portfolio (beyond our workplace pensions, beyond any Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits, beyond any Old Age Security (OAS) government payments) but assuming we have NO DEBT (!) we should be able to semi-retire in our 50s.

Quick Case Study #1 = $1 million saved

Let’s assume you have a paid off home and no debt when you retire. You are age 60. Let’s also assume you have $1 million saved and invested (i.e., RRSP, TFSA) by age 60.

Do you have enough? For the most part: YES.

Should your spending needs be moderate, I know almost for a fact you could spend $40,000-$50,000 per year or up to $4,000 per month for life from your personal portfolio without outliving your money (age 100) assuming at least a 5% rate of return.

Here’s how to build a million dollar portfolio – or something very close to it!

Quick Case Study #2 = $750,000 saved

Don’t have $1 million saved up? No problem, most people won’t.

With $750,000 invested, by age 60, assuming no debt, you should be able to spend $35,000-$40,000 per year or around $3,200 per month for life from your personal portfolio.

You can play with this calculator here.

My other favourite calculator is here – Variable Percentage Withdrawal (VPW).

I have more tools to run some math on my Helpful Sites page – all FREE.

Need some retirement income planning help? Hire me!

I also run a great new site called Cashflows & Portfolios, a site dedicated to helping you manage your cashflow and portfolio wisely including any drawdown plans.

After visiting the site, hit me up on our Contact page to find out more about our services.

I use professional financial software to deliver customized, personal reports to help you answer just some of the following:

Do you have enough to retire?
When can you retire?
How much can you spend?
Should you take CPP at age 65 or 70?
How do you minimize the OAS clawback?
Which account (and when) should you withdraw from for the highest tax efficiency and estate value?
And more and more!

The best part: because I’m not in the business of providing any direct financial advice, the cost of these services is well below what any financial advisor would charge!

Again, learn more at Cashflows & Portfolios about our low-cost income projections for you.

What about 4% safe withdrawal rate?

Heard of the 4% rule?

I intend to use some form of it for my retirement planning but I don’t take it as gospel. You shouldn’t either. The “4% rule” is a rule of thumb – at best. A good starting point. Here is the actual article from 1994!

The 4% rule remains a decent rule of thumb.

Here is a proven path to retirement ignoring the 4% rule.

One might argue does the 4% rule still make any sense???

Retirement planning is just one part of a Financial Plan

What is a financial plan and what should that cover? Read on in this comprehensive post about the elements of a financial plan.

You can find my own personal financial independence plan here!

I don’t really believe in FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), especially the “RE” part. I do believe in Financial Independence, Work On Own Terms (FIWOOT)!

When to take CPP or OAS?

These are the best options when to take Canada Pension Plan.

Should you defer CPP to age 65 or even age 70? Here’s when to consider that.

Don’t forget about CPP and OAS survivorship benefits – learn all about them here.

How can you generate retirement income? Check out this essential article:

How to generate retirement income

Curious about FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)?

Can you retire early on a lower income? It’s far from easy, but it can be done. Read on in this case study about what this reader can do.

This newcomer to Canada wants to achieve financial independence with his family by age 50. Is he on track? What will it take based on his desired spending?

These millennials want to FIRE at age 50. Can they do it? What will it take?

Do they have enough for FIRE at age 52? With $800k invested and a workplace pension? Find out.