Planning for retirement may seem intimidating. For many people, it feels like stepping away from your success at work and into the unknown. However, what you’re really doing is making sure that your successes continue and know how to budget. Retirement is simply the point at which you stop working for your money, and your money starts working for you. But you’ll need expert advice on the best way to move forward and how to plan for it. 

Build your retirement vision 

Retirees are much more active and engaged than in generations past. Many professionals, particularly entrepreneurs, even keep a hand in their operations well into their retirement through consulting, volunteering, or sitting on boards. Others see their retirement as making more time for sailing, golf, gardening or grandkids.   

What’s important is how you plan to get to your ideal state and who you talk to in order to get there. As for the planning itself, with the right team the prospect can be exciting, and even fun. 

Collaborate on a realistic retirement plan 

Our longer life expectancy means planning for 20 or even 30 years of retirement. Now’s your opportunity to put the resources in place to ensure that phase of your life is stress-free and enjoyable. 

You’ve made plans before and set financial goals like budgeting for an education, buying a home or creating a registered savings account like an RRSP or TFSA. The same goes for retirement planning – you need to imagine what you want, set goals, save and invest. Just like any major purchase, you’ll need professional advice, which is where our advisors come in. 

We’re here to help translate your retirement vision into action. 

Prepare for retirement 

No matter how you see your retirement, there are some fundamentals to set yourself up for financial freedom. Here are four steps to help prepare you for retirement: 

• Get a handle on your debts: In an ideal world you would enter retirement without any loans or mortgages, but that isn’t always possible. Consolidating high interest loans and credit cards into a simple monthly payment can help reduce your monthly expenses. 
• Manage expenses: The old saying goes, the most expensive day of the week is Saturday. When you are retired, every day is a Saturday. Getting a list of your weekly, monthly and yearly expenses and then creating a budget will give you the confidence that you can achieve your dreams. This provides a great foundation for your retirement plan. 
• Discover your pension income: With the option to defer Old Age Security (OAS) and start drawing from the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) as early as age 60 or as late as age 70, the question then becomes when is the best time to start drawing income from government sponsored funds. The answer will be unique depending on your own circumstances. By working with an advisor, they can help optimize your retirement income and can potentially avoid or reduce OAS collections. 
• Use investment assets: In many ways this is the most dynamic – and possibly the most intimidating – aspect of retirement planning. But when you get help from an advisor, you can select different products and solutions to mitigate risk, maximize return and ride out volatile markets. There are solutions to every kind of challenge, and they’re infinitely flexible to suit your budget and your expectations. There’s no cookie-cutter approach. Your advisor will work with you to present the right mix to suit you – and that mix will change over time as you approach and enter retirement. Your advisor will stay with you through this process, and course correct as necessary. 
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Speak with an advisor today 

Our goal is to cultivate the kind of relationship with you that’s engaged, dynamic and suited to you personally. Over time, your goals, family, health or circumstances may change. It’s important that your vision, plan and preparations are adjusted each step of the way. 

We’re excited to be part of this process with you. Talk to us and we’ll set up an appointment with one of our accredited, trusted advisors. In the meantime, fire up that imagination. We can’t wait to hear what you have in mind for your retirement. 

Mutual funds and other securities are offered through Aviso Wealth, a division of Aviso Financial Inc. Financial planning services are available only from advisors who hold financial planning accreditation from applicable regulatory authorities.