Doing Retirement Right
You did the right thing. You ditched your high-fee advisor and high-fee mutual funds and created considerable wealth by keeping your fees super-low. You invested in a sensible portfolio of stocks and ETFs. You might be lucky enough to have a workplace pension in the mix. Now, you want to get to a place where you know your retirement is secure.
If you’re in the accumulation stage you want to make the right moves to set yourself up for retirement success.
Retirement Club will take you there.
Creating a retirement plan can seem daunting and complicated. But relax, it’s not. 🌴 The goal of Retirement Club is to demystify, to make retirement a breeze.
“Since I joined the club, my confidence has skyrocketed.”
“Questions like when to take CPP, OAS… Should I have insurance… How do I decumulate? These used to stress me out. Now I’m in the driver’s seat. I have a plan and the confidence to execute” — Rob Cocroft, Club Member
The three pillars of retirement funding are CPP and OAS, workplace pensions and portfolio assets such as RRSPs, TFSA and Taxable accounts.
*Entering retirement with very low (or no) debt can also be a pillar for many.
Simplifying retirement
While retirement is more complicated than the accumulation stage, retirement success can come down to paying attention to and understanding some key basic concepts.
We’re going to run a retirement cash flow calculator to create the most tax-efficient and durable retirement income plan. Two of our Zoom presentations look at retirement cash flow calculators. You’ll learn how to use them to full effect.
That is, you’ll discover the optimal spend rates and order of account harvesting – when and how much to take from RRSP / RRIF / LIF / TFSA / Taxable accounts and other sources. That process will include a look at when to take CPP and OAS. For most, there will be a considerable benefit to delaying those government programs for the much greater payments. CPP payments increase by 42% from age 65 to 70 while OAS payments increase 36%.
“Dale is a tremendous resource. He’s enthusiastic and easy to understand. He takes the BS out of the scary world of self-investing and supports your growing confidence to make the decisions that are right for you.” — Club Member
RRSP / RRIF Meltdown strategy
You might consider an ‘RRSP meltdown’ strategy. That’s when your portfolio bridges the gap, allowing you to delay those CPP and OAS payments. The meltdown strategy is often one of the most beneficial retirement moves you can make.
You’ll learn how to match each investment portfolio to the task for each account. The good news is that traditional balanced portfolios can work wonderfully in retirement. Check out this Cut The Crap Investing video …
We’ll show you what we think is a superior portfolio for retirement – compared to traditional models. We like the idea of using defensive retirement-friendly stocks in concert with bonds, cash and gold. The success of that strategy in recent decades is incredible.
Income splitting and pension credit
We’re going to income-split with our spouse (if that applies) for tax efficiency.
We’ll then take advantage of the first $2000 pension income tax credit, for you and your spouse.
You’ll consider tax efficiency, longevity, the estate, gifting, insurance needs and more.
Other key topics:
- Is there a place for annuities?
- The cash pile
- Monthly income ETFs
- Dividend stocks and ETFs
- The Purpose Longevity Fund
- De-risking before retirement / removing sequence risk
- Managing emotional risk
- The 4% rule
- Using home equity
- Insurance as a retirement tool
The Life Plan
And you’ll also consider the ‘Life Plan’. You may decide to spend more in your early retirement go-go years. Your life plan will shape the money plan.
Retirement spending might be U-shaped, higher in the early stages, a dip in the mid stage, with a spike in the later stages of life as healthcare costs and retirement home fees surge.
We like to call it a “You-shaped” retirement plan.
That said, we also explore the soft side of retirement. The life plan means creating a retirement filled with meaning and purpose, friendship and pleasure. Think of it as a holistic approach to retirement, from wealth to well-being.
Retirement planning isn’t just about money—it’s about living life to the fullest.
“This has been a great place to learn more.”
“There are many more considerations to prepare for retirement other than collecting your pension and having an RRIF. The club covers many topics that a person might not have paid much attention to. Cash flow optimization is one such piece of the puzzle that is key.”
— Sylvia R. Club Member
What is Retirement Club?
Retirement Club is an online retirement club for Canadians. It’s for those in retirement and for those preparing for retirement. Together, we’ll make sure we do retirement right.
We get together in three ways.
Monthly newsletters set up the content of the Zoom calls. Here’s a snippet from Newsletter One …
Retirement Club ‘Homework’
How much do I need? How much can I spend in retirement? How should I arrange my portfolio in retirement? These are key concerns for readers and most retirees and near retirees.
I will point you to a key post on Cut The Crap Investing –
Creating retirement income from your portfolio.
That rich post sets the table with a look at the “4% rule”, the success of 4%, 5% and 6% spend rates, plus an example of a very poor start date. The Norm Rothery Chart is worth a few thousand words and a few Zoom calls. That is the best chart I’ve seen that frames portfolio spend rates and success rates.
There’s also a link to a variable spend rate strategy. That should be employed by most everyone …
In the Zoom call we further explored the 4% rule, when we use it, when we break it and how it might fit into the optimized retirement cash flow plan. It is key that we run one of the retirement cash flow calculators.
(insert video)
Retirement Club also has its own secure online community space, we call it our private island. That’s where we learn, share and connect. The community space is resource rich, covering all of the Zoom call topics and much more.
Members can post their own ideas and links within each space (topic). They can ask for help on certain topics; the community can ride to the rescue. It is a form of retirement crowdsourcing. You can also tag Dale or Brent to ask questions. If we don’t know the answer we’ll consult with an industry expert.
Retirement Club is a community. And there’s strength in numbers. With each new member we’re richer for the experience and curiosity that each member brings.
Together we make sure that we’re doing retirement right, or if you’re in the accumulation stage, you’re setting yourself up to do retirement right. We know that the club can and will be life changing in some way.
Join us and make retirement a breeze.
Dale Roberts, Chief Retirement Officer
Brent Schmidt, Community Captain
More about Dale – a former advertising writer and creative director and long time index investor. In 2013, he followed his passion to become an investment advisor, and then trainer at Tangerine Investments. He won Advisor of the Year in his first year. He left Tangerine in 2018 to start Cut The Crap Investing where he helps investors learn how to use ETFs, simple stock portfolio models and Robo Advisors to full advantage in the accumulation stage, and especially in retirement. A ‘hyper-focuser’ Dale has spent thousands of hours studying retirement – from the financial planning aspects to the portfolio models that make it happen. He wakes up at 4 am to read retirement stuff, so that you don’t have to.
More about Brent – a longtime brand strategist and facilitator who now brings his skills to the Retirement Club as Community Captain. Brent works with Dale to shape the member experience and support the community—online and during monthly calls as the resident Zoom wizard and tech host. He helps make sure members feel welcome, supported, and confident as they build their retirement plans.
Still in the accumulation stage himself, Brent is reinforcing his financial foundation after learning the hard way what happens when you don’t plan—or don’t stick to one. Now in his 50s, he’s sharing the Club with friends and family, and learning right alongside them. His goal: a retirement that’s not just financially stable, but full of meaning, freedom, and peace of mind.
Join Retirement Club
The cost for one year, with full access is $250.
Use the Contact Dale form on this page to:
- Get more info
- Sign up for a guided tour of Retirement Club via Zoom
- Sign up today
*Retirement Club is a learning resource and not advice. But the tools and educational experience are designed to help you do retirement right.