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The Pension Puzzle: Your Complete Guide to Government Benefits, RRSPs, and Employer Plans
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19 new or used available from CDN$ 4.84
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Product Description
Millions of Canadians are covered by pension plans in one form or anotherâwhether that's CPP a company plan, or personal RRSPs. But pensions are the benefit least understood by employees. They're confusing and complex, but understanding pensions is crucial to every Canadian's financial security in retirement.
Since its initial publication, The Pension Puzzle has become the definitive book on the subject. Now completely revised and updated, The Pension Puzzle remains a true "owner's manual" for anyone with a pension plan:
- Explains what pensions are; how all the different types work; how government, employer plans, and RRSPs fit together; and how to judge whether your employer's plan is a good one.
- Shows you how to determine how much income you'll need in retirement; how much government benefits and employer plans will provide for you; and how aggressive you have to be with your own RRSP investments to supplement these other plans.
- Includes a new chapter on the funding crisis that many plans are facing, as the recent stock market plunge drove many into a serious deficit-how it happened and what it means to you.
- Features new information on: federal budget changes to pension and RRSP limits; changes in pension standards and regulations; pension plans that are not fully indexed for inflation; LIRAs, LIFs, and LRIFS; websites and other references; and much more.
- Helps you make sound decisions about your pension plan and how it affects your financial future, whether youâre planning your retirement, changing jobs, handling a divorce, or making decisions about early retirement. Includes practical forms and worksheets, tips, and examples.
- The Pension Puzzle is not just for those about to retire. It's for every working Canadian who needs to make decisions about their pension plan and how it affects their financial future.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #692268 in Books
- Published on: 2003-12-19
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 256 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.ca
Pensions were the untold story of retirement planning until The Pension Puzzle. When financial advisers talk to clients, they often concentrate on personalized retirement programs in order to sell mutual funds and other investment vehicles. But a retirement plan should be much more. It's often referred to as a three-legged stool: the personal plan is one leg, government-generated income (Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan) is another, and employer-generated pensions represent the third leg. With the amount of attention RRSPs get, you would think that they're the main part of the system. But consider that 95 per cent of Canadians get a government pension and 40 per cent are in employer-sponsored pension plans. These make up a significant part of a retiree's income, in many cases more than personal savings. The Pension Puzzle covers the neglected legs and how pensions contribute to a solid retirement foundation. Part 1 explains the ins and outs of the pension system. Part 2 gives answers to commonly asked questions, such as what if you retire early, what if you are highly paid, what if you split up with your spouse, and what if your employer goes out of business. It includes forms and worksheets, and a whole slew of valuable Internet links.
You might think that because of government involvement you can sit back in your lawn chair and wait for the money from CPP and OAS to pour in when you turn 65, or whenever it is you plan to retire. But it's more complicated than that. The Pension Puzzle explains how to shelter your pension from taxes, what happens if you decide to retire early or late, how to manage it as you balance the other two legs of your plan, and other contingencies. Fear mongerers (especially those who disparage government intervention) would have you believe that government pensions will go broke before the current bulge of baby boomers can collect. But the authors--personal finance journalist Bruce Cohen and actuary Brian Fitzgerald--show that there is no chance the system will break down. They also illuminate the complexities of employer-sponsored pensions, including the pros and cons of defined benefit and defined contribution. (The authors conclude that defined contribution is more advantageous early in your career when you are more likely to move around, while defined benefit is better when you are older and less likely to switch jobs.) In all, Pension Puzzle is the definitive primer for getting the most out of your various pensions. --Edward Trapunski
Review
"Spending each day as you choose and getting monthly cheques to pay for it is neither boring nor painful, yet the mention of pensions brings on tensions. Bruce Cohen and Brian FitzGerald are right on the money with a sensible, straightforward, and practical guide to how much you can expect, where it will come from, and whether it will be enough. Don’t leave work without it."
—Michael Kane, The Vancouver Sun
"If you’ve been looking for a basic book on pensions, this is it. The authors help empower the average Canadian with solid, plain-English information, and with tips and worksheets, that cover off a variety of retirement programs and scenarios."
—Deborah Lomow, Senior Vice-President Corporate Pensions, Scotiabank
"Cohen and FitzGerald have done the impossible—they’ve made pension plans understandable. The financial planning puzzle no longer has a missing piece. Excellent and thorough!
—David Chilton, Author of The Wealthy Barber
"The Pension Puzzle is a wonderful reference manual that takes some of the fear out of life after your corporate paycheque."
—Ray Turchansky, The Edmonton Journal
"In their exceptional book, The Pension Puzzle, Bruce Cohen and Brian FitzGerald effectively itemize and explain the various components of funding a retirement. The book also outlines the opportunity advisors have to help Canadians sort through their options."
—Darin Diehl, Advisor’s Edge
"[Cohen and FitzGerald] deliver the goods—the full monty, so to speak—on pension plans and what you can expect from them, whatever your stage in life."
—P.J. Robertson, Forum, the magazine of the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
"This book is the key that Canadians have been waiting for to unlock the pension puzzle. Reading it should leave you with a better understanding of what you need to do to build on the basic social security levels to achieve lifetime self-sufficiency. It should be required reading for everyone in, or about to enter, the workplace."
—Glorianne Stromberg, Investor Advocate and Former Ontario Securities Commissioner
"Clear answers to the two most important retirement questions: How much money will you need, and where will it come from? Before you invest in an RRSP, read this book."
—Rob Carrick, The Globe and Mail, and Author of E-Investing and The Online Investor’s Companion
"[The Pension Puzzle] will assist organizations to educate employees on calculating how much income they will need for retirement, as well as determining where that money will come from."
—HR Professional, the magazine of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO)
"It has always been difficult to find any book on pensions that is comprehensive and yet understandable to the average Canadian. This excellent book provides clear, readable definitions and descriptions of complex pension terms and issues, provides tips and worksheets to help the reader apply the information, and wraps the whole book in an historical context that is both honest and fascinating. It is an easy read, almost like talking to a very knowledgeable friend. It is a self-help book of the highest order."
—Gretchen van Riesen, Senior Director, Pension and Benefits Policy, HR, CIBC
"Cohen and FitzGerald cut through the sometimes tedious pension lexicon and provide an easy-to-read, yet comprehensive analysis and commentary on Canada’s multi-layered pension system."
—Jim Rogers, Chair, The Rogers Group Financial Advisors Ltd., and Past Chair, Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
"This book is destined to become the definitive reference book on retirement plans for advisors and their clients."
—Jonathan Chevreau, The National Post
From the Back Cover
The Pension Puzzle: An "Owner’s Manual" for Every Canadian With a Pension Plan
Millions of Canadians are covered by pension plans in one form or another—whether that’s CPP a company plan, or personal RRSPs. But pensions are the benefit least understood by employees. They’re confusing and complex, but understanding pensions is crucial to every Canadian’s financial security in retirement.
Since its initial publication, The Pension Puzzle has become the definitive book on the subject. Now completely revised and updated, The Pension Puzzle remains a true "owner’s manual" for anyone with a pension plan:
- Explains what pensions are; how all the different types work; how government, employer plans, and RRSPs fit together; and how to judge whether your employer’s plan is a good one.
- Shows you how to determine how much income you’ll need in retirement; how much government benefits and employer plans will provide for you; and how aggressive you have to be with your own RRSP investments to supplement these other plans.
- Includes a new chapter on the funding crisis that many plans are facing, as the recent stock market plunge drove many into a serious deficit—how it happened and what it means to you.
- Features new information on: federal budget changes to pension and RRSP limits; changes in pension standards and regulations; pension plans that are not fully indexed for inflation; LIRAs, LIFs, and LRIFS; websites and other references; and much more.
- Helps you make sound decisions about your pension plan and how it affects your financial future, whether you’re planning your retirement, changing jobs, handling a divorce, or making decisions about early retirement.
- Includes practical forms and worksheets, tips, and examples.
The Pension Puzzle is not just for those about to retire. It’s for every working Canadian who needs to make decisions about their pension plan and how it affects their financial future.
