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moneysense.ca, 5/02/07
Interview with Margot Bai – Part I
We no longer live in a society where you can just work and spend, pay off your mortgage in 25 years and expect to retire on government and work pensions at 65. Being able to retire at all depends on saving effectively. Even Chilton’s well-respected book, The Wealthy Barber, seems antiquated when you realize that with longer life expectancy and aspirations for early retirement, for many people saving 10% just isn’t enough.
Read Part II of the interview.
moneysense.ca, 5/02/07
I haven’t read Ms. Bai’s book yet (I’ve requested it from the library), but I wonder about her conclusion that people can’t “…expect to retire on government and work pensions at 65.” I recently read a book called “Why Swim with the Sharks”, authored by an Edmonton couple. In it, they suggest that it’s quite possible for somebody to retire with nothing more than a government pension and a work pension, with no RRSP savings whatsoever (the point being that your expenses are typically low enough in retirement that you will have enough cash).
Ms. Bai seems to take the tack that you should keep your lifestyle within your means, but if that’s the case, shouldn’t that same logic apply once you’re drawing a pension?
George,
I think it all depends on WHEN you expect to retire. Can you guarantee that OAS and GIS will be available when you turn 65? I can see how CPP will last for a while, but OAS and GIS are paid by current tax dollars.
FT
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com
George: I did a review of “Why Swim with the Sharks” and found their assumptions to be too positive. Note that many people today do not have a work pension and I’ll second FT that who knows if OAS/GIS etc. will be around in two decades.
George I think it’s important when reading financial advice of any type to always be somewhat skeptical of what you read and also try to determine how that advice fits your situation and goals. Books that advocate a particular retirement strategy (Swim with the Sharks) run the risk of being irrelevant to a lot of potential readers because not everyone wants to have the lifestyle that is provided by only public pensions. Personally I do think the OAS & CPP will be there for a long time but I’m hoping to have more income than that. My ideal retirement goal is have the same lifestyle in retirement as I do now (minus the diapers). In order to do that I need to do a lot of planning to see what my basic expenses are now – extrapolate forward and try to determine what kind of ‘nest egg’ I’ll need in order for that to happen. At my age (38) I need to make a lot of assumptions of what will happen in the future but at least I can determine if I’m on the right path. As I get closer to retirement, there will be less assumptions to make.
My point is that by reading books like “Spend smarter, save bigger” and other financial books, I can learn different things/ideas to help me in my planning. Learning about things like low cost investing and how to save money on purchases and expenses (without necessarily changing my lifestyle) will only help me with my goals.
I have to agree with Mike. Personal Finance is just that ‘personal.’ Read everything you can and take everything with a grain of salt and make up your own mind.
For example, I know CC & FT don’t think OAS will be there but I do. I don’t think the benifits will be the same, but I can’t predict that so I use today’s numbers and add a bit of cushion to the overall calculations.
I’m looking forward to part II of the interview CC.
CD
George, thank you for your comments sparking some lively discussion.
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I have also heard suggestions that one should aim to retire with no $ in their RRSP so as to avoid the OAS clawback and even try to cash in on the GIS. Though some people have mastered the art of living well on a surprisingly low income, I suspect most of us want more.
Today’s workplace pension plans are far less generous than in the past. While our parents may have retired gracefully on government and work pensions, it would be risky for most people to rely on that strategy today.
Many people today want to retire well before 65. While some work pensions can pay out at age 55, CPP must wait until age 60, while OAS and GIS are strictly a 65-and-up proposition. Plus, cashing in on pensions early means reducing the monthly payout. So, to achieve the ever-coveted early retirement and expect to be comfortable into our 90s definately requires some big savings on our part.
I hope this helps…
Margot Bai
Mike,
Thanks for your support of my book. I totally agree on the importance of reading lots of different ideas and deciding for yourself what works best for you.
There is a great proverb that so often comes to mind: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22).
Margot Bai
[...] Here is the second part of my interview with Margot Bai, author of Spend Smarter, Save Bigger. If you haven’t read it already, the first part is available here and don’t forget to enter in the book giveaway (details at the end of this post). [...]
Hello, what advice do you have for any young professional trying to purchase their first condo?
Hi Joseph,
I’ll be honest – I’m not a condo expert as I live in the burbs (Markham).
However, I would recommend that you shop around carefully and look for a condo offering excellent value compared to other condos in the area. If you can get a price advantage on the purchase end, then you will enjoy relatively bigger gains when you go to sell.
A couple things to beware: new condos buildings often do not close on time and condo fees usually only go up. Buy something well within your affordability and be prepared for rising fees.
If you are buying resale, you will pay more for a completely “finished” unit. You should be able to get a better price buying a unit that needs some cosmetic work. Then you can build in some equity by decorating tastefully.
I think you will find the principles I discuss in my chapter on buying a home are applicable to condos too.
I wish you the best of luck!
Margot Bai
http://www.spendsmarter.ca