PensionsWhy two neighbours with similar careers can receive very different CPP pensions
Same street, same kind of job, same retirement year, and still a few hundred dollars a month apart. The gap is built from a handful of rules most people never see.
PensionsThe pension keeps arriving, the contributions start again, and a small extra benefit appears the following year. What changes, and what does not.
Health costsCleanings, fillings and dentures are on the list. Orthodontics, extra charges above the plan's fees and some pre-approved work are where the surprises sit.
HomeThe gap between the old house and the new one is not the money in hand. Commission, land transfer tax, legal fees and the move itself come off first.
Everyday moneyThe pension went up 2.0% in January. Groceries were up 1.7% over the year to September, beef 8.7%, gasoline 27.8%. Whether a household is ahead depends on its own basket.
Home, health and family
Health costsThe medical expense credit only starts after a threshold, it runs on any 12-month window you choose, and couples usually do better pooling on one return.
HomeNo monthly payments sounds like no cost. With interest added to the balance, a loan at an assumed 7% roughly doubles in about ten years. One illustrative loan, followed year by year.
Health costsOntario counts 153 days at home, Quebec counts 183 days away, British Columbia counts calendar months. The rules are provincial, and they are not the same.
Everyday moneyCanada has no gift tax, but a gift still has a source. Where the money comes from, whether it is a gift or a loan, and what that does to next year's pension income.
Also in Saude Animal
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Pensions
How a monthly pension budget changes when CPP and OAS start at different timesStarting one pension at 65 and the other later leaves a few bridging years that look nothing like the years after. A month-by-month look at how that plays out.
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Health costs
What the caregiver credit is worth when you look after a parent or spouseThe Canada caregiver credit is a line on the tax return, not a cheque. Who counts as a dependant, what it reduces, and the paperwork the CRA may ask to see.
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Home
The property tax deferral programs older homeowners can ask aboutBritish Columbia, Alberta and some cities will pay or postpone the property tax bill and collect it later, usually when the home is sold. Interest is the part to read twice.
Sections
- PensionsCPP and OAS from the household side: what sets the monthly amount, and what changes it.
- HomeStaying, selling, borrowing against the house and paying the property tax on a pension income.
- Health costsDental care, receipts, caregiving and travel: the health costs that land on a retirement budget.
- Everyday moneyGroceries, family help and the monthly arithmetic of living on a fixed income.