Investment department
Retirement, planned with numbers you can actually check
A retirement plan isn't a hope — it's a set of numbers: what you're saving, what it grows into, what government programs add, and what the total produces in the years you stop working. We build all of it, and show you all of it.
Our philosophy
Plan the income, not just the balance
The most common retirement mistake isn't saving too little — it's saving a lot and never connecting it to the income you'll actually need. A $1.2 million portfolio means nothing until you know what it produces per year, alongside CPP and OAS.
So the plan starts with the destination: a realistic picture of retirement spending, the government benefits you're entitled to, and the gap that savings must fill. Everything else — contribution levels, account types, investment mix — flows from there.
- Clear goals stated in dollars per year, not vague "comfort"
- Assumptions shown — return, inflation, withdrawal rate — so you can test them
- Regular reviews, because a plan that isn't checked is just a document
What's in the plan
The four questions every retirement plan answers
1 · What will you need each year?
A grounded estimate of retirement spending — housing, essentials, healthcare out-of-pocket costs, travel, and the things that make it worth it. Your lifestyle, priced realistically.
2 · What do CPP and OAS contribute?
Canada's public pension does real work in a retirement budget. We map your expected CPP and OAS — including the timing choices that affect the monthly amount — so the private plan only needs to fill the real gap.
3 · What must savings produce?
With the income gap known, the plan works backward: how much the portfolio needs to be by retirement, and what it needs to produce each year. The retirement calculator shows this projection with your own numbers and stated assumptions.
4 · How do you get there?
Contribution levels, account types (RRSP, TFSA, employer plans), and an investment approach matched to your timeline and comfort with risk — reviewed regularly and adjusted as life changes.
Investment & risk considerations
Retirement planning and investing are the same conversation. Here's how we treat it:
- Time horizon first. Money you need in five years is planned differently from money you won't touch for thirty. The plan respects that.
- Risk, honestly discussed. We talk about volatility, sequence risk near retirement, and what drawdowns have historically looked like — not guarantees, because there are none.
- Diversification as a discipline. Spreading across asset types and geographies reduces the weight of any single outcome. It doesn't eliminate risk; it manages it.
- No guaranteed-return promises. If anyone tells you a portfolio guarantees a return, walk away. Past performance never guarantees future results — we plan around ranges, not promises.
Try the retirement calculator. Project your savings at different contribution levels, retirement ages, and return assumptions — including a sensitivity table showing what a more conservative return would mean.
Who this is for
- Anyone within 30 years of retirement who wants a plan, not a guess
- Business owners with no employer pension and irregular income
- People within a few years of retiring, planning the income switch
Retirement FAQ
Common questions
How much do I need to retire in Canada?
It starts with what you'll spend, minus what CPP and OAS will pay, then the gap gets divided by a sustainable withdrawal rate (the 4% figure is a common planning heuristic, not a guarantee). For a household spending $80,000 a year with $40,000 in public pension, the savings target is in the region of $1 million — before considering any existing portfolio. The calculator runs this exact logic with your numbers.
Should I be contributing to an RRSP or a TFSA?
Both have a role, and the right mix depends on your current income, your expected retirement income, and your province's tax rates. A simple rule of thumb: contribute to the RRSP first when you're in a higher tax bracket now, and to the TFSA when you expect to be in a higher bracket in retirement. There's a fuller walkthrough in our RRSP vs. TFSA guide.
Is it too late to start planning at my age?
Probably later than ideal, but rarely too late. Catch-up strategies exist — higher contributions, account type choices, CPP timing — and even a five-year runway changes the math meaningfully. The honest answer is in the numbers, which is why the first step is always a projection, not a verdict.
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Open the calculatorFind out if your plan is on track
One conversation, your real numbers, and a written summary of where you stand. If you're on track, we'll say so. If there's a gap, we'll show you the math.