037 | The $9,000 Myth: What CPP Really Costs You w/ Aravind Sithamparapillai
If you're an incorporated chiropractor, you've probably heard the pitch from your accountant: pay yourself dividends instead of salary and save roughly $9,000 a year by skipping CPP. But is that actually true? In this episode, Chris and Scott sit down with Aravind Sithamparapillai of Ironwood Wealth Management — a CFP who ranked first nationally on his exam and has done deeper work on Canada Pension Plan than just about anyone in the country — to pull apart the real math behind the salary vs. dividend decision.
You'll learn why the true cost of "opting out" of CPP is closer to $5,000–$7,000 than $9,000 once you account for deductions, credits, integration, and the hidden clawback on benefits like the Canada Child Benefit. Aravind also makes the case for why CPP should be treated as a guaranteed, inflation-protected asset class of its own — not a tax — and why its after-tax return is a genuinely tough hurdle to beat, especially as you get older.
This one does get technical, but if you own a professional corporation and make the salary-vs-dividend call every year (whether you realize it or not), it's worth the listen. The big takeaway: this is a decision you get to make annually, and getting your accountant and financial planner in the same room is how you make it well.
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Guest: Aravind Sithamparapillai — CFP®, CIM®, MBA
Financial Planner, Ironwood Wealth Management Group
📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/aravind.sith.cfp/ [https://www.instagram.com/aravind.sith.cfp/]
💼 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/sithamparapillai/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sithamparapillai/]
✖️ X → https://x.com/AravindSitham [https://x.com/AravindSitham]
✍️ Substack → https://aravindsithamparapillai.substack.com/ [https://aravindsithamparapillai.substack.com/]
Check out some other podcasts that Aravind was a guest!
Is Anyone Doing Due Diligence? with Aravind Sithamparapillai | Rational Reminder 386 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyux4pBv4sY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyux4pBv4sY]
Aravind Sithamparapillai: Financial Planning Tips from a CFP® Gold Medalist | TWB Podcast #36 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8vgQoHzfEc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8vgQoHzfEc]
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🌐 Learn more about Align Wealth → www.alignwealth.ca [http://www.alignwealth.ca]