Here in Canada, we are fortunate to have a fantastic registration program known as the RRSP, or Registered Retirement Savings Plan.
Unfortunately, lots and losta people have almost no idea what they are talking about when it comes to their retirement savings.
"Hey Eboo! I just invested in an RRSP!"
Me: "Um. No you didn't. You invested in a savings account, GIC, mutual fund, etc. and registered it."
I have understood the basics of RRSPs since I first heard about them, thanks to a swell guy named Dave F. who took the time to explain it properly to me.
When we head into that time of year when the financial institutions start flogging their RRSP products (read loans), you should have a basic understanding of how it works before you even give them the opportunity to confuse you. Because they will.
Here is a great article that my hero and financial Sham-Wow, Gail Vaz - Oxlade wrote on her blog to help explain it in the simplest of terms. Please take a minute to go read it, and tomorrow, I will post more on the RRSP and how to use it to your advantage.
The Feds take about about $160.00 a pay period out of my husbands paycheck for SSI (social security). The State takes a little more than that for Sate retirement, we put 10% of the gross away automatically into our own retirement savings, then we contribute again to an investment account. But we don't take home much money. I hope we can live better in retirement.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia our employers pay 9% into our super ( retirement funds. at the moment I'm not contributing extra, we always used to, and I'm going to start contributions again soon.
ReplyDeleteBetween our 2 pension plans and what we're putting away ourselves, we should be able to make ends meet. Add to that whatever the government benefits are when we reach retirement age and I think we'll do just fine.
ReplyDelete~ Makky's Mom
Am I saving for retirement? - you bet your sweet bippy I am! But I don't "invest" per se as my risk tolerance is low and I don't have enough years until retirement to invest longterm. So I have my defined benefits pension to look forward to, CPP and OAS, and my savings and RSP's.
ReplyDeleteI am also working on downsizing, having bought my place out in PEI, so that when I retire my cost of living will be a lot lower. I think (I hope) I have it covered! But of course I have NO CONTROL over the economy!