Canadian Dental Care Plan Renewal Deadline Approaches

Know Your Client!   It’s a daily commitment and requirement, especially in the work that financial advisors do with their clients.   It’s imperative that you ask about any significant changes in their lives. Has there been a significant new event:   a move to take a new job or go to university, a marriage or divorce, a new birth, a disability or a death? And, in the case of income tested benefits such as the Canadian Dental Care Plan, (CDCP) do they qualify?  Did they file their tax return on time to get it?  Do you know the deadlines for doing so?  Do you know when coverage ends if your client now longer qualifies?

The average Canadian with debt could have to pay an additional $130 per month for debt repayment, as interest rates are anticipated to rise over the next year. Advisors can help clients adjust to these changes – but what is the best strategy?

No doubt about it:  leadership is challenging these days.  Whether you are raising a child, coaching someone else’s child, directing a team to reach a common goal, or leading your clients towards their financial goals and objectives, the skills you need to navigate change – a leader’s, primary role – are themselves changing.  Your business and career growth, in fact, may depend on your ability to embrace new leadership requirements.

It was the go-to savings vehicle for generations of Canadians, and a gateway to more sophisticated investing for millions. But with Canada Savings Bonds (CSBs) off the table as of November 1, advisors should guide clients to another option that will occupy the same space in their hearts — and finances. There are five key reasons the TFSA should be an even better choice for Canadian savers.

Amidst calls by the federal government to improve “tax fairness,” a report by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) shows that while a mere three per cent of all tax filers earn $150,000 or more, they contribute over one-third of all federal income taxes collected.

With proposed changes looming to the eligibility for the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE), which becomes the Capital Gains Deduction on the personal tax return, tax and financial advisors are well advised to review the rules and have discussions with their clients on whether any year end planning opportunities should be pursued.

“Everything happens to everybody sooner or later, if there is time enough.” —George Bernard Shaw