Your Last Year Before Retirement: 5 Mistakes Canadians Can't Afford to Make

Your Last Year Before Retirement: 5 Mistakes Canadians Can't Afford to Make

In this episode of the AskTMFG Podcast, Carlo Cansino breaks down the 5 mistakes Canadians can't afford to make in their last year before retirement. He covers the common pitfalls, like delaying the RRSP meltdown until age 71 forces mandatory withdrawals, picking a CPP start date without modeling it against your full income picture, and triggering the OAS clawback by accident once RRIF minimums, CPP, and OAS stack together, plus how to sequence withdrawals across RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered accounts and calculate the CRA's share at death before it catches your family off guard. He also shares a real example: clients with $800,000 in an RRSP who looked retirement-ready on paper, but without a drawdown strategy, the CRA stood to become the biggest beneficiary of that account. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/23EDkTKG-Lw [https://youtu.be/23EDkTKG-Lw]  Question for our listeners: If you're within a year or two of retirement, have you mapped out your withdrawal sequence and estate tax exposure, or are you still planning to figure it out as you go? 👉 Complimentary portfolio analysis: https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/ Follow us: LinkedIn: The McClelland Financial Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mcclelland-financial-group-of-assante-wealth-management-ltd/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca [https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca]  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/ [https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/]

Why Canadian Retirement Changes When You Get a Pension

In this episode of the AskTMFG Podcast, Carlo Cansino and John Iaconetti break down why having a pension fundamentally changes your retirement strategy. They cover the common mistakes Canadians make, like failing to account for the tax impact of pension income, ignoring inflation's effect on fixed payments, and overlooking spousal survivor benefits, plus how to coordinate pension income with RRSPs, TFSAs, and personal savings for a tax-efficient plan. They also share a real example: how a 58-year-old client used her pension as a foundation to retire early and bridge the income gap before her pension kicked in. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/Agks2XHEAhU [https://youtu.be/Agks2XHEAhU]  Question for our listeners: If you have a pension, have you coordinated it with your other income sources, or are you treating it as a separate piece of your retirement puzzle? 👉 Complimentary portfolio analysis: https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/ [https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/] Follow us: LinkedIn: The McClelland Financial Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mcclelland-financial-group-of-assante-wealth-management-ltd/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca [https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/ [https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/]

Age 67, $1M RRSP, No Pension: My Exact Withdrawal Plan

In this episode of the AskTMFG Podcast, Carlo Cansino walks through a step-by-step drawdown strategy for a 67-year-old retiree with $1M in an RRSP and no pension. He shows how CPP and OAS (boosted through deferral) form the income floor, why withdrawing $35,000/year from the RRSP before mandatory RIF conversion at 71 beats waiting, and how routing that money into the TFSA builds tax-free flexibility for later. Finally, he runs the real numbers at age 72 to show how this sequence keeps income safely below the OAS clawback threshold, protecting thousands in benefits that a "do nothing" approach would silently lose. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/RPGatlExy_g [https://youtu.be/RPGatlExy_g]  Question for our listeners: If you're retiring without a pension, are you drawing down your RRSP strategically before age 71, or just letting the mandatory minimums decide for you? 👉 Complimentary portfolio analysis: https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/ [https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/] Follow us: LinkedIn: The McClelland Financial Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mcclelland-financial-group-of-assante-wealth-management-ltd/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca [https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/ [https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/]

"The Retirement Gap". Why Retirement Is Not What You Think...

In this episode of the AskTMFG Podcast, Carlo Cansino and John Iaconetti explore why so many financially prepared Canadians still feel disappointed in retirement, a pattern they call the retirement disappointment gap. They dig into the psychological side of retirement that most planning ignores: loss of identity and structure after leaving work, how Canadian winters can deepen isolation, and how big life shifts (like sudden togetherness with a spouse, or losing one) reshape retirement in ways money alone can't fix. They also lay out a five-part framework, building a "purpose portfolio," easing into retirement gradually, and prioritizing community, for a retirement that's financially secure and genuinely fulfilling. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuJEQICrarw [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuJEQICrarw]  Question for our listeners: Are you planning for the money in retirement, or for what you'll actually do with your time? 👉 Complimentary portfolio analysis: https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/ [https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/] Follow us: LinkedIn: The McClelland Financial Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mcclelland-financial-group-of-assante-wealth-management-ltd/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca [https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/ [https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/]

RRSP to RRIF - The Conversion Trap Costing Canadians $50,000+

In this episode of the AskTMFG Podcast, Senior Financial Advisor Carlo Cansino breaks down the RRSP-to-RRIF conversion mistake costing Canadians with $1M+ in savings up to $50,000 -$200,000 in avoidable lifetime taxes. The conversation covers the mandatory conversion deadline at age 71, rising minimum withdrawal rates, and how those withdrawals stack with CPP, OAS, and investment income to trigger higher tax brackets and OAS clawback. Carlo also explains the "RRIF bomb" that hits surviving spouses, plus three strategies to fix it: early RRSP drawdown, pension income splitting, and using the TFSA as an overflow valve. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzs-7kSMxQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzs-7kSMxQ]  Question for our listeners: Have you mapped out your RRIF conversion strategy, or are you relying on the default minimums? 👉 Complimentary portfolio analysis: https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/ [https://tmfg.ca/portfolio-analysis/]  Follow us: LinkedIn: The McClelland Financial Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mcclelland-financial-group-of-assante-wealth-management-ltd/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca [https://www.facebook.com/tmfg.ca]  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/ [https://www.instagram.com/themcclellandfinancialgroup_/]