Suzanne just started a new job. Kudos to her. Change is good. She figures about a decade to go before she winds down and retires.
Of course, retirement used to be the goal. Now it’s just scary. Once upon a time people got defined-benefit pensions, knowing how much income there’d be forever. Now seven in ten have no such thing, and are lucky to land a corporate plan with an unknown outcome. That’s called a ‘defined contribution’ pension, or DC.
Suzanne has one of those now. “In a few weeks I’ll need to determine if/how I’ll participate in their plan,” she says. “So I was wondering if you’d consider writing a post about how to take advantage of a company-matched RRSP plan while holding a B&D portfolio of low cost ETFs?”
Ask. And receive. Here we go…
First, the basics. Government workers, nurses, cops, firepeople, teachers, power or transit employees and most other public-sector employees still have DB pensions. The majority of private employers, however, can’t afford to run a defined-benefit plan. (In the US even some governments are finding them financially unsustainable.)
With a DB, the benefit (your pension payment) is defined, thus it’s known in advance and will never change. Contributions are made by both employer and employee. You can see how an employer would be on the hook for decades. In an uncertain world this is not something any corporation, public or private, would want – it’s unlimited liability (since people live so damn long).
With a DC plan you know how much you and the company are putting in, but you have no idea what will be there upon retirement. Just like an RRSP – since the money in the plan grows or shrinks with the assets selected. Typically the employer teams up with a financial outfit (the biggies are SunLife and Manulife) and your money goes into their mutual funds. The amount you end up with is determined by fund performance.
Most companies now match worker contributions, fully or in part and up to a certain percentage of income. That’s good. It’s free money, and you’d be daft not to take it. Astonishingly, millions don’t. A recent survey concluded that as much as $3 billion a year is piddled away by people who don’t understand their plans, are too myopic or to broke to make routine contributions.
Seems a third of people who are offered a matched DC plan don’t play. Many make lower incomes and are already stretched with kids and mortgages. Retirement saving just doesn’t figure into their life plans (big mistake). Other people eschew the company match in favour of making their own RRSP contributions and pocketing a tax deduction.
That’s also a fail. Workers get a tax break for the DC plan contributions, and when the employer matches the cash it’s akin to a 100% return on your money. You’d have to be an investing genius to routinely reap that kind of gain in your own plan. So do it. And if you’re not contributing to a company pension plan because you don’t trust your dodgy employer will survive, relax. The funds are protected. And matched contributions from the boss don’t reduce incomes paid to workers. How is this not a win?
Okay, back to S. Here’s her ask…
The company plan offers a 100% RRSP contribution match – on an initial 9% contribution from salary. The fees on the managed funds are obviously higher than low cost etfs but at the outset – it does seem worth it to get the contribution match (up to the maximum), while continuing to contribute outside – in my B&D portfolio, currently at 400,000 in registered/unregistered accounts incl full TFSA and over 50,000 in unused contribution room with a 5-10 year retirement horizon.
What fund allocation strategy makes sense when combined with an existing B&D portfolio? Do I try to choose an equivalent B&D strategy from fund offerings? Or fulfill a specific allocation – like just the safe stuff and rebalance outside this? Then what do I do with the funds once I eventually either change companies or retire – move them to my B&D and take the hit?
No idea.
This is easy. Most DC fund managers – like SunLife – give a choice of assets and most employers have arranged a reduced MER, so the fee hit is diminished (but still high). The best option is to pick one reflecting your own private portfolio mix. If you DIY invest, go with a balanced option with global exposure. If you work with an advisor, s/he should do this job for you (at no charge). If you’ve been a cowboy with your own accounts, pick a safer option in the DC plan. (Bond funds also come with lower mutual fees.)
Now, what happens when you (a) retire, (b) get punted or (c) quit that job?
Your plan should go with you. So contact the fund manager and have it moved into a personal account, typically a LIRA. That’s the same as an RRSP but the funds are ‘locked in’ until you reach retirement age, while you retain full discretion over how the assets are invested. Get into low-cost, liquid ETFs. Depending on your age and the terms of your corporate DC plan you might be able to move the money into a regular RRSP – not locked in. Make sure you don’t choose an annuity, however, since in an era of crazy-low interest rates you’ll be cementing lousy returns for eternity.
In conclusion: if your boss offers a matched DC plan, take it. Contribute fully. Invest sanely. Convert wisely. If you have a DB plan, we don’t want to know about it.
About the picture: “I wanted to share is my pupper Keta,” writes Colin. “Picked her up a year ago from a 2 day drive to Fort Nelson last year. My girl was tied up in a ladies yard, not fed and beaten. Not the first animal to be taken away from her. I got her at 6 months and take her everywhere. Almost a year now and life is very different. She has grown leaps and bounds. Sometimes pine cones can be scary and so can a sudden gust of wind but we are living our best life and thought we would share. This is Keta on her first multi day trip resting in the alpine wild flowers. Keep up the good fight.”
111 comments ↓
Alas, more proof of Canadians’ inability to do math….let’s see, I put in x% of pre-tax income into RRSP and employer matches???
No thanks!
I’d rather be an ostrich and YOLO!
Wow beautiful alpine landscape. Perfectly framed picture.
Where is that?
Gotta go and visit.
Makes me home sick for Austria.
Lovely dog, too.
Wow!
Some has to ask about whether to jump in to a employee/employer matched program.
Dont hesitate.
When my previous employer matched our RRSP contributions up to 6% of our salary I thought I had won the lotto.
NONE of my coworkers took advantage of the free money and RRSP deductions….as one of the “brainiacs” said, “I’m not giving my money to the company”
Not realizing the RRSP was his….
My God.
I left the company about 10 years later with about 100k in a LIRA which I immediately moved our of their high fee, dismal return grasp….
Switched it over the the balanced and diversified portfolio.
Never looked back.
Our tax dollars –> Monderna stock price. Record highs lately. MRNA.US
……
— Control over our movement/travel is the main goal in the New System. Has it yet gone away?
.US limits non-essential travel to Canada and Mexico through August 21(cnn.com)
— No fun allowed in Kanada. Just the Covid Protocls at all times. 24/7/365. Comrade do not let up. The Rules are permanent and global
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/residents-outraged-after-party-with-thousands-of-people-in-north-whitby/ar-AAMl3Vk
“Christina Brown lives a few doors down from where the party took place. She says although everyone was cordial, there were no COVID-19 protocols being followed.
“It was shoulder to shoulder; there was zero COVID protocols,” she said. “There was no masks. They were very very liberated.”
—–
— New System: we passed the Training and Compliance stages last year; now comes… You must prove yourself at each step. NO ONE gets a free ride in the New System.
.France forced to soften rules after coronavirus green pass backlash (politico.eu)
.Human Rights Museum in Canada set to open to Vaccinated only people (chrisd.ca)
I have a DB pension plan through a private company. Quite rare, though it used to be a part of a provincial utility, they maintain the liability and surprisingly still offer the DB to new hires.
Since it is a private company, my future planning takes into account the possibility that the company may not be around and my pension may only be worth 50 cents on the dollar. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind much if they switched to a DC plan as I am relatively young, though some colleagues obviously would.
Sorry, nothing to add on pensions except that everyone should have a government job.
But, for those interested in all things EV here’s a great drone shot video of the Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo being run hard in Desert and Arctic conditions.
https://christophorus.porsche.com/en/2021/399/drive-2-extremes-taycan-cross-turismo-johnny-fpv.html
” In both destinations, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo, the first all-electric Cross Utility Vehicle (CUV) from Porsche, conquers identically set courses.”
Hi Garth, what are the tax implications once you move it?
None when the DC plan is moved into a LIRA or an RRSP. – Garth
My wife and I are both DB. She’s a teacher and I work for a private company. Should I just buy an Audi now?
First, that was an excellent discussion Garth. It really was. Take the free money I say.
Been getting bummed out about Delta…all you read and hear about in Europe (and the US too). Decided to do some research, number crunching and share it with the Blog.
————–
Should Canada (and me in Italia) be WORRIED ABOUT DELTA?
ANSWER: NO.
CAVEAT: If 2 dose vaxd.
Used Gov UK data to arrive at the above. Compared data from their prior peak vs. this peak (in the making) from the dates Dec 28 & Jul 14 – similar wave upswing dates:
https://i.imgur.com/5slrvkd.png
On Dec 28 there was no vaxing in the UK and the Alpha (UK) variant was dominant. On Jul 14 lots of vaxing and the Evil Delta variant had brushed aside Alpha. Data comparisons:
https://i.imgur.com/wVo9cQ7.png
Summary Jul 14 vs. Dec 28:
+18% new cases.
-84% patients in hospital.
-95% deaths.
———–
CANADA: some worry but probably not as bad with Delta vs. others (e.g., Europe, USA). Low test rates vs. UK and vax rates plummeting:
https://i.imgur.com/P4PoSo1.png
https://i.imgur.com/045ir2B.png
Delta Canadian Debut?
https://i.imgur.com/CI0Y8lz.png
Who knows? Maybe not? Delta moves low and slow (US: April 0.1% of new cases, July 83% of new cases), little TESTING in Canada and mid June there were 4,000 cumulative Delta cases in Canada.
OVERALL NOT TOO WORRIED. Vax rates as of yesterday, higher than those in the UK & best in the World (don’t forget who supplies you with +90% of that vax):
https://i.imgur.com/cs5gK3z.png
If Delta hits Canada, hospitalizations and deaths ought to be greatly attenuated vs. prior waves as in the case of the UK. New cases may be high though.
Mind you, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED in this Pandemic (e.g., Cdn RE & Church Burnings).
——————
GARTH:
Due to plummeting vax rates you’re going to get your 70% All Vaxd for the August long weekend as in “Close enough for Government Work”, “Horseshoes and Handgrenades Close”:
Saturday July 31 My Projection numbers, 12+ eligible Cdn population:
1st dose vaxd = 81%
2nd dose vaxd = 69.3% or 70% rounded up to 0 decimal places in Google Sheets:
= roundup(69.3,0)
Actual vs. My Projection for recent July 20 data: max error = +0.86%.
ENJOY your August long weekend Canada – still, be wise and get vaxd the 6.6M of you unvaxd yet eligible.
———————–
Key sources to verify the above on your own:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases etc.
Our World in Data “Tests per thousand people” & “Share of people vaccinated against COVID-19”
CTV News Vax Tracker. I record and calculate using their EXCELLENT daily data on my own.
Another pending option for what to do with DC pension funds upon retirement is the so-called VPLA (variable payment life annuity). Introduced in 2019 Federal budget – regulations TBC.
The majority of private employers, however, can’t afford to run a defined-benefit plan. (In the US even some governments are finding them financially unsustainable.)
—————————————————–
I don’t know of any Govt. in the US that has a “sustainable” DB plan for the legions of Govt. workers. Note that the workers also get some sort of enhanced medical insurance on top of medicare.
The plan, by ALL western governments in the fiat money systems is to print the money, with perhaps some added confiscatory property taxes on the peasants.
Don’t whine about it, they voted for it, but plan accordingly.
How did we ever get to this position where only civil servants get the best and the rest get to foot the bill? I suspect they have greater value. Lol
Since DB pension contributions are calculated based on a person living to 84 (or whatever the average lifespan is if you make it to retirement) and everything is determined by actuaries and it is based on a low rate of return that is below the rate of return that you can get from the stock market because over a 40 year working life things can change quite drastically a person should be able to set up their own DC retirement plan that will do at least just as well as a DB plan and often do better, especially if your employer matches some or all of your contributions. All that is required is the discipline to keep making those contributions. The big benefit of a DB plan is that you don’t have to have any discipline at all, you can exist in a dreamland and not pay attention to anything and it will be there when you retire.
If I was starting out, I would take a DC plan over DB unless the DB plan was for the government or a bank. Those Nortel DB pensioners got cents on the dollar.
Remind me: Why would one need private pension plan in a functional, rich G7 country in 1st place? Shouldn’t there be a decent government run plan for that?
On another note: just watched the movie ‘Inside job’ again, highly recommend it. Kind of explains on where we are heading with the incompetents bureaucrats in power who can’t tie their shoes but are in charge of monetary policies and inflation statistics.
I used to work for one of the big canadian public pension fund.
The irony is that new employees (working to contribute) have now DC pensions instead of DB pensions…it was too costly for the crown corp… ;-)
For the private sector, and both sectors in the US the DB plans can have quite favourable options that make them extremely attractive to the pump-n-dump corporate shills whose financial horizon is naturally very short term. The biggest risk is financial moral hazard which hurts both long term investors and retirees alike.
In the US DB’s have been plagued by ludicrous assumptions on returns, risky and fraudulent investments and dubious management. State and municipal governments are notorious for kicking problems down the road so the funding ratios make the plans totally insolvent.
Canadian plans (corporate especially) have had to deal with:
1) COLA (deemed too risky) by either elimination or capping (usually the latter),
2) return risk (or top-up risk),
3) plan member’s increasing longevity
4) the inversion of the ratio of retirees to contributors
These are challenging issues but they exist to some extent for both DC and DB plans.
If your employer offers a retirement planning course I would certainly take it; preferably well before you plan on retiring. The ‘free’ courses are terrible and a waste of time; they consist of 2-4 hours listening to the sales pitch of a clueless commission salesperson.
The good ones have pension specialists, fee based investment advisors, health plan specialists and estate lawyers. They can usually give you multiple estimates of your retirement income based on multiple retirement date and contribution scenarios. Out of pocket they can run about $500 for a full day seminar but I have seen a few allow spouse/partners to attend at no additional charge. I’m not sure if the cost of the course is tax deductible.
Mindset. Yesterday a contributor nailed (or tried to) recent horrible flooding in Germany and Belgium to climate change.
When I lived there, spoke the languages, (work languages) way back when boomers had hair and sex appeal:
Flooding was caused by municipalities streamlining the riverbanks in their jurisdiction. This pushed the water problem downstream. So rather than having lots of spaces that can absorb water, they are removed. When that water finds a weakness…
The dikes in the Netherlands do not break but are undermined by the weight of water. When earth bubbles up, they rush to dump sand/earth on the bubbling before it fully opens.
The Netherlands watch water levels very closely for a number of reasons… one Dutch saying for “I feel trouble coming” directly translates to “I feel dampness”.
Might be climate change or might be a combination of things??
And there is an other options for “(c) quit that job”:
You can ask to keep the plan with them (DCPP + RRSP + TFSA if you which) with the same negociated MER for a 2$ a month fee (total, Sunlife). I did it. Fully managed, rebalanced and diversified for 0.29% (BLK LP Index 2045 Fund) was hard to pass on.
Ours is called a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP). It maxes out at 4%.
Is a LIRA locked in until one chooses to retire, or age 65?
100% match on 9% is very good. Max it out – you become accustomed to the smaller paycheck and enjoy a larger income tax refund.
DB pension plans serve secondary purposes. They lighten the government’s load taking care of the elderly, and they free up jobs for younger people as people are more likely to retire earlier when they have a DB pension plan. They are also a secure tax collection mechanism for the government because there is virtually nothing you can do to avoid the tax payable on withdrawals from the plan once you start collecting income from the plan. They also make it easier for governments to estimate yearly government revenue. So at least the government ones are never going away.
In some cases it is also possible to move the mutual funds without any problem elsewhere, no need for LIRA. You can do it even every year or so. I would ask about this option. It was possible for me when I worked for a small private employer in Ontario.
15 summertime – not to worry, the govt will make you a little better off.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-enhancement.html
19 Deckchair
“Flooding was caused by municipalities streamlining the riverbanks in their jurisdiction. This pushed the water problem downstream.”
Apparently also a major factor on the Mississippi.
6 Don G – cool vid. thx.
On the dog photo:
That’s karmutzen basalt = Vancouver Island. Sweet story about their dog. I’m sure she thanks you each day in her own doggy way.
#145 crowdedelevatorfartz on 07.21.21 at 1:46 pm
@#129 Faron
“Hubris is tacky crowdie. Get it straight.”
—
Snickering at Sail Away’s hubris ya goof. The flooding in Germany/Belgium and now China is very tragic. (weird that we are getting multiple one in a thousand year events all within a month…)
W/re being a millennial. That’s a heartless stab in the back (or brutal crop dust at least). I’m 4 years too old! Didn’t you notice the profusion of grey hairs when you were ogling my do last week? Have a look next time I’m on TV.
Hi Garth. Im one of those private sector people who have the defined pension. Even so, I dont consider anything secure. At my work(hospital) there is always infighting and lack of respect from nurses(who think they own the place), technical staff, and management. Hospitals in Calgary are not run correctly and taxpayers are ripped off. This is mostly because nurses are put in charge and nurses are not businesspeople, most of them.
Even with defined pensions, lifespan is at issue. How long is a defined pension for? Max of 120 years of life? What if a person lives longer than that? And then the issue is a pension will that be enough if a person needs to relocate? What about unforeseen costs?
I have all the stuff I can, mutual funds, employer allocation, RRSPs, stocks, however when will it be enough? Never.
And even if a person wins a lotto, there is something called mental setpoint of what amount of money feels comfortable. If you are an egomaniac like Bezos, Branson or Gates, no amount of money is ever enough. A person like myself knows that money is futile as there is always red tape getting in the way and wasting my time. Consequently while I work hard, most times I lack motivation as politics and opinions are what matters, not hard work.
There is no solution. Have enough money and live because eventually everyone dies.
All is well….in the garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgGvd1UPZ88&ab_channel=SergeChaly
Crane operators get DB pension. Funny thing happened with the emergency Covid money printing. That’s right, my pension is now solvent.
“The company plan offers a 100% RRSP contribution match – on an initial 9% contribution from salary. – Suzanne”
——-
Wow, 9% match is pretty good. In our company, matching this would put the senior folks past their contribution limit.
We match 5% and all staff do the full match- if someone resists, I explain that it’s free money they can choose to withdraw anytime they want, it is illogical to turn down free money, and illogical decisions are to be avoided in an engineering office. I don’t know if anyone withdraws, but expect not.
@#26 Faron
Grey hair. Pffft.
I had more grey hair than that before I was 30.
Age and grey hair arent mutually exclusive.
Extensive elevator rides might have something to do with it.
As for climate change.
Yep I believe in it.
I just think chortling over Saily’s possible demise is a tad tacky.
There’s a special place in Hell for humans who beat defenseless animals
#27 ‘calgary’ – you should read over what your DB plan says ‘the rules’ are. Most plans are ‘life’ plans – they pay a set amount for the duration of your life upon retirement based on formula that usually is some combination of years of service (the years you actually paid into your plan) plus a percentage based on an average of your highest consecutive years of salary. For most, that is generally the last 5 years they work prior to retiring. The plan likely has a clause that penalizes anyone who takes their pension prior to a combination of age plus years of service – for instance a ’85 factor’ is when your age plus service must equal 85 in order to receive an unreduced pension. Your plan may also have a predetermined age requirement before any pension would be paid in the first place. Most plans require members to be at least age 55 before they can commence pension benefits. Your plan may or may not permit you to commute it should you leave your employment. It is important to find out what the rules are because if you can’t take it with you, you will have to remember to apply for it when you do retire.
Best not to make too many assumptions about the “security” of pensions or any financial assets, for that matter.
These days it’s mostly digital ether, whether in DB/DC plans, stocks, GICS, ETFs etc…
Totally subject to mistakes, erasures, digital hacking (much more of that is probably coming, btw)
Here’s a couple in Halifax, NS, not exactly a ‘third world’ country. They had $10K ‘disappear’ for a month, with absolutely no explanation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/missing-money-wire-transfer-credit-union-1.6108684
How many similar stories are out there or on the way?
Multiply that example by the scale of our current digitized financial system and a few hundred more times based on the number of scammers and enemy regimes out there. Gives you an idea of how unstable the digital financial investment ecosphere can be.
On the other hand, dirt and bricks can always be identified, secured and defended.
Real estate rocks. It’s that simple.
Registered pension plans are secure. Your attempt to use a story about a misplaced wire transfer to discredit retirement savings illustrates why most people hate realtors. Go away. – Garth
#19 Another Deckchair on 07.21.21 at 3:20 pm
Might be climate change or might be a combination of things??
____________________________________________
Nice try, but the flooding that affected Germany also affected Belgium, and occurred as a result of bursting rivers and flash floods due to torrential rains:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/16/europe-flooding-deaths-germany-belgium/
DB plan is good. I have one. But. Many if not most are not indexed for inflation so the value goes down over time. My DB plan gives me tiny raises now and then but it is best to have a healthy RRSP and TFSA as well so you can give yourself a raise when you need one.
Karmutzen.
Thanks.
Funny name.
Definitely will go and visit.
Are there many bears?
Can’t relax, when there’s bears around.
I’ll take CEF along.
He puts them asleep with his anecdotes.
3 things to note:
Ask if an (R)RPP(at 9% of gross, 100% match more than likey) or a regular RRSP
Majority(all I had in different plans)of the funds you get are segregated funds , hence the higher MER , you basically pay for insurance.
They are the perfect ripoff as each company comes up with these funds that mirror other product they have or Blackrock,iShares and charge criminal MER’s for zero actual management.
You can build a B&D portfolio but you will be extremely limited to choices.
Convertion out laws are different based on fund type( federal regulated or provincial) and each province has their own regulations and even names for the final product.
Financial advisors that understand these funds are rare so ask lots of questions.
In conclusion ofcourse anyone who gets the opportunity should jump at such an offer, even with the below average returns you still get a ton of free money from your employer.
Push back upgrading the car ,the kitchen, eat out less ,whatever it takes to do the maximum contributions allowed.
#23 Lee “DB pension plans serve secondary purposes. They lighten the government’s load taking care of the elderly, and they free up jobs for younger people as people are more likely to retire earlier when they have a DB pension plan. They are also a secure tax collection mechanism for the government because there is virtually nothing you can do to avoid the tax payable on withdrawals from the plan once you start collecting income from the plan. They also make it easier for governments to estimate yearly government revenue. So at least the government ones are never going away.”
—————————————————————–
You forgot the part where they (Govt) can jack up taxes at any time to cover any shortfall.
RE: #34 Honest Realtor on 07.21.21 at 4:57 pm
On the other hand, dirt and bricks can always be identified, secured and defended.
=======================================
I guess you never heard about fraudsters taking out a HELOC illegally and the bank going after the legitimate owners anyway forcing them to spend $$ on lawyers etc…
Or places where there’s been some natural disaster that insurance just happens not to cover.
Or buried oil tanks coming back to bite former owners who never knew it was there during the short time they lived there.
The issue with DB plans is the return assumption. Put in an expected rate of 2% and the contribution costs are horrendous. Put in an expected rate of 6%, and there’s a strong possibility that somewhere along the line a large top up will be made. That’s assuming the company is still going strong at that point.
People like to think B&D will make 6% over the long haul, but it’s hard for a pension plan to take the kind of risks needed to make even a 6% rate of return going forwards.
I’m mean and nasty and yet I wouldn’t stoop to the frequent insults that Sara does. Faron is not much better.
What is it with you people who fantasize about supposed terrible lives and bad things happening to people you disagree with?
Do you really think that reflects well on you?
The self proclaimed tolerant left are the opposite, no surprise there.
#8 Shakabra on 07.21.21 at 2:31 pm
My wife and I are both DB. She’s a teacher and I work for a private company. Should I just buy an Audi now?
******************************************
You could but why set your sights so low?
Moving all my pension money to a LIRA 685,000 back in 2019 was the best move I made. After working 29 years with a big foods, beverage company I had to take it out.
Now it is locked in at 3.75% compounded yearly, 4.2% after compounded taken into account rate until 2026-Jan-30 with a big well known credit union. I knew interest rates would drop.
I am satisfied with my $201,352 compound interest over 7 years will supplement my retirement income by at least 15 years to keep up with rising cost of living. I will be getting my OAS the same year and am currently retired getting my early CPP $750 a month. My other investments bring in another $2,400 a month income and no debts.
This same company is now reducing and restricting pension transfers to LIRA’s now.
#25 Dr V on 07.21.21 at 3:55 pm
15 summertime – not to worry, the govt will make you a little better off.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-enhancement.html
19 Deckchair
“Flooding was caused by municipalities streamlining the riverbanks in their jurisdiction. This pushed the water problem downstream.”
Apparently also a major factor on the Mississippi.
6 Don G – cool vid. thx
***************************************
Cheers. I like the music accompaniment as well.
Arnie once famously quipped “I will be back”.
And true to his word, he seems to be back.
I’ve seen a few high profile interviews with him, where he outlines his view of the future of the Republican Party.
He’s pro Climate change and a strong critc of the anti vaxxers in the Party.
And, he’s not a fan of Trump.
He’s the founder of the Austrian World Summit which is one of the largest pro climate Summit in the world.
During their last summit a couple of weeks ago, their keynote speakers were Agela Merkel and (gasp) GRETA.
He was born in Austria, so he’s not eligible to run for President, but he believes he still has enough cloud and supporters that he can move the GOP forward and to the centre.
Maybe the Canadian Cons could adapt some of his ideas and become relevant again.
But it will be dificult to find a Terminator here in Canada.
@#34 Honestly! A Realtor?
“On the other hand, dirt and bricks can always be identified, secured and defended.”
++++
Tell that to the hundreds of people evacuated from their homes in the tinder dry town of Lytton and the rest of BC this summer.
I bet a large percentage cant afford fire insurance.
Most ENERGY (Oil, Gas, Hydro) companies also offer defined-benefit pensions.
#31 crowdedelevatorfartz on 07.21.21 at 4:32 pm
@#26 Faron
I just think chortling over Saily’s possible demise is a tad tacky.
——–
Unlike the vast majority of people, I actually believe I will die, and do see humour in death jokes.
So joke away, F… but understand that your buttons are a lot more sensitive than mine and you have infinitely more of them.
There is a Haitian saying: ‘Eggs have no business dancing with stones’
Wouldn’t a Liberal or NDP government try to tax a pension transfer to a LIRA, LIF, LRIF, annuity etc. and then instead boost current pension programs like the Federal supplement GIS, survivor for the allowance CPP etc.
I can see them charging a say 25% minimum pension transfer tax so they can divert that money to more of their BS social programs.
My employer DC plan through SunLife allows free transfers out once per year. We take advantage to transfer out my wife’s spousal RRSP to her self-directed RRSP to enhance our B&D and income split plan.
Hey @35 Cici;
I think I mentioned Belgium in the first paragraph.
For the record, I’m a firm believer in climate change, but not a fan of “simple” one-reason explanations for failure because there’s likely multiple reasons for it, a large one for sure (at least IMHO!!) is climate change. But I could be absolutely wrong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_floods_in_Europe
I do remember being in a small town in Austria late 70s/early 80s; a siren started, like an old air-raid siren, and the little river through the town I was in rose something like 9 feet in a matter of minutes. Not something I had experienced before, nor since.
I suspect that, like aircraft incident reports, there are at least 3 issues that combined to create the recent tragedy in Belgium and Germany, but nobody’ll wait until the report comes out to pin 100% blame on their favourite issue. Things are *always* more complicated than they look at first glance. Anyway, my thoughts, for what they are worth!
I had a DC plan at my former employer with Manulife.
It worked out very well for the 7 years i had it .
More than tripled with my and my employers contribution .
I selected a balanced fund at .35 mer .
When i quit they offered to hang onto to my money and were going to give me a discounted rate mer since i was a former customer of 1.70 . ( regular rate was 1.8 )
I told the clown the street rate mer for that exact fund was 0.93 .
It was a short conversation, as i moved the money to TD
and they covered the transfer fee when i asked them.
ZERO% DOWN!!!
Oh sweet. No need to save for a downpayment anymore.
https://financialpost.com/real-estate/mortgages/zero-down-mortgages-subprime-fears-canada/wcm/5e405264-4a44-41f4-80c2-c1d1f35461ac/amp/
#37 Ponzius Pilatus on 07.21.21 at 5:23 pm
Karmutzen.
—
Es ist Deutsch, Ja?
Anyhow, the karmutzen basalt is identifiable by its redness and grainy texture among other characteristics. It’s a geological formation associated with Wrangellia. It extends from Vancouver Island north to, well, The Wrangell St. Elias. Ironically, the town of Wrangell isn’t on the namesake terrane AFAIK.
https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/research/wrangellia/1wrang.html
These are proto continental scraps that were scraped off the Pacific plate onto the North American plate like jelly scraped off of a knife on the rim of a jelly jar. The Pacific plate was the knife, the North American the jar and Wrangellia the jelly.
So, there are lots of places to find it. My fave would be Haida Gwaii, but looks like this pic was from Vancouver Island.
#31 crowdedelevatorfartz on 07.21.21 at 4:32 pm
Fair enough. It would be tacky to giggle at another’s potential demise. I’m giggling at the hubris of Sail Away’s claim that climate change wont affect him meaningfully. Not the same thing. If luck is on his side, Sail has another 40 years on this planet +- neuralink. It’s a near certainty that something having to do with climate change will be a pain in his keister at some point.
#49 Sail Away on 07.21.21 at 5:56 pmkiesterkiesterkiesterkikiesterester
…infinitely…
—
Button pushing, eh? The realm of nagging little brothers and bullies of all ages. Nice — about time you owned up to it.
“infinity” Implies you have zero. Unlikely. Demonstrably false actually. pretty imprecise for an engineer even given acceptable tolerances.
#46 Ponzius Pilatus on 07.21.21 at 5:47 pm
Arnie once famously quipped “I will be back”.
—
Depending on the Democratic candidate, I would vote for Arnold if he was able to run for president. His video message after the 2020 elections aimed at soothing rancor was great (and referenced Conan FTW).
Keta now has a loving home. Thank you for rescuing her from hell. Happy trails to you both!
#52 Another Deckchair
I get you. I’m actually not sure that the flooding in Germany and Belgium was the result of climate change either. Probably too early to say, and I’m not a scientist. I’ll let them assess the situation and come to reasonable conclusions.
That said, I had just wanted to point out that torrential rains probably had more to do with the flooding than anything else. And I’m not sure that the streamlining of riverbanks in Germany would “debunk” the possibility of climate change having such a huge effect on both countries either.
One thing is for sure: as parts of the world get extremely drier, others are getting extremely wetter, and neither are cancelling each other out.
I have no respect whatsover for those thugs who ambushed Tory when he is simply trying to have a quiet dinner with his wife. This is not a civilized way to raise objections and will lead nowhere.
However, John Tory is one of these fellows born with a silver spoon is his mouth. Look up his Wikipedia page. Got his first job through his family friend Ted Rogers, through connections with his father. I lost any respect for him when he was the instigator of the attack ads on Chretein’s face, misaligned due to Palsy. Read this factual excerpt below from the Wikipedia page. Just another ass. Not an honorable fellow in my view.
“Tory later served as tour director and campaign chairman to then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and managed the 1993 federal election campaign of Mulroney’s successor, Kim Campbell. In his role as the Progressive Conservative campaign co-manager that year, he authorized two infamous campaign ads that ridiculed Liberal candidate Jean Chretien’s face, which is partially paralyzed due to a childhood disease. The ads were greeted with much outcry among the Canadian public. They were withdrawn ten days after their first airings, and the Progressive Conservatives would proceed to be decimated in the federal election.”
Garth what’s your opinion on the new Purpose pension mutual fund?
I think it’s interesting and for some a valuable addition for a modest portion
Wow!
Colin, what a great picture!
Lucky you and lucky Keta!
Did I read that right that Suzanne can get a 9% match from here employer? That’s spectacular. It is beyond obvious she should manage her contributions to fully receive that match. It’s like getting a 9% raise! And I think you get to claim your contribution at tax time (not sure about the company match but hey it’s free money!)
Once you leave the company transferring the money to your preferred institute is easy-peasy. Just provide the account info to your financial advisor and they’ll get the funds transferred for you. Sometimes you have to sign a form before the current institute will release the funds but it is no big deal. I’ve done it 3 times.
But be careful! Some employer matches don’t “vest” for a certain period of time, so if you quit too early they’ll claw back any “unvested” amounts. Read the fine print. A year is common but who knows what those sneaky HR people are up to. This is how they convert a seemingly generous RRSP match into a “retention incentive”. Oh well still free money if you plan to be there a while.
—————————–
My wife’s employer match is nowhere near 9%. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that number either. I think you find that mostly at companies that have a large number of union employees who have DB plans so the large match is more in line with what the DB employees are getting. Oh well still free money.
Our family went to the Malahat Skywalk today and it was very enjoyable while worth the trip and go early like 10 am.
#5 physicist on 07.21.21 at 2:22 pm
I have a DB pension plan through a private company. Quite rare, though it used to be a part of a provincial utility, they maintain the liability and surprisingly still offer the DB to new hires.
Since it is a private company, my future planning takes into account the possibility that the company may not be around and my pension may only be worth 50 cents on the dollar. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind much if they switched to a DC plan as I am relatively young, though some colleagues obviously would.
————————————–
Back in the day I was with a company that had both legacy DB and new DC plans. Eventually the DC option became the only option for new hires but most of them were going with DC already. Why? We were a bunch of engineers so we could do math. The penalties for leaving the DB plan early were harsh. Basically if you left early, either left for greener pastures or got fired, you’d be lucky to get paid out your contributions over the years, let alone any matches or gains. However the curve went exponential as you approached 65.
So, being a young and full of piss and vinegar group of engineers who all assumed this job was but a stepping stone to greatness, nobody went DB.
“First, the basics. Government workers, nurses, cops, firepeople, teachers, power or transit employees and most other public-sector employees still have DB pensions.”
—————————————-
Unfunded liability.
So there’s a huge cost, borne by taxpayers, whenever a public sector employee retires.
My current government pension is two ice cream’s a day.
Hard to tell at the moment if it will help me live a more comfortable life, or kill me early so I don’t get a real pension.
Didn’t some guy once say…
When the government gives you free ice cream, take it…
M47BC
funny I seem to remember in the 80’s when interest rates were high people turned up their noses at defined benefit plans, they thought they could do better managing the money themselves
I have four defined benefit plans!
two in USD which includes US Social Security (pays much better than CPP although you do contribute much more) two in CAD one of which is CPP
DELETED (Anti-vax)
#63 cuke and tomato picker on 07.21.21 at 7:50 pm
Our family went to the Malahat Skywalk today and it was very enjoyable while worth the trip and go early like 10 am.
————-
We’ll go there on our next trip to the Island.
And after that the Karmutzen.
StayStation here we come.
“It’s called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” — George Carlin.
#42 Mean Guy on 07.21.21 at 5:32 pm
I’m mean and nasty and yet I wouldn’t stoop to the frequent insults that Sara does.
===============
I think of it as a ‘tit for tat’.
#65 Barb on 07.21.21 at 8:03 pm
“First, the basics. Government workers, nurses, cops, firepeople, teachers, power or transit employees and most other public-sector employees still have DB pensions.”
—————————————-
Unfunded liability.
So there’s a huge cost, borne by taxpayers, whenever a public sector employee retires.
————————–
Not sure where you heard that. For example, the BC public service plan is over 108% funded along with most of the portfolios managed by the BC investment mgmt Corp.
I always hear this from private funds managers trying to entice people out of their plans.
Greetings from Miami on layover. The media is making much of the Covid stats coming out of Florida but no one here by the pool or anywhere I go actually, seems concerned whatsoever. It’s almost like things may be slightly conflated in the press.
I had a nice DC plan in the Middle East, except they call it a Provident Fund not a pension. Mandatory employee contributions were 5%, and the company contributed 12% of basic salary for the first 10 years of service, 15% after that. I put only the mandatory minimum into the company plan as the fund choices and MER’s were pretty bad and shovelled the bulk of my savings outside of the UAE (and Canada, for damn sure) and invested according to my Garth-like financial advisor. I may live elsewhere but my money lives in Switzerland and Ireland, all perfectly legal and legit. No way I will ever repatriate a cent into Trudeau-land. There is zero relative value in investing in Canada for an individual.
A a result of the minimum contributions the PF was only a small percentage of my holdings when I picked up sticks, about 280k USD. Pales in comparison to the returns on a proper B&D, tax-advantaged portfolio.
But the true power of working outside of Canada is the lower or in my locale, no income taxation. The power of this cannot be overstated. One memorable year when the profit share was god remember a single month’s salary being just under 140,000 AED, about 47,000 CAD currently. To see the SMS from my bank as that was deposited, along with it’s many brethren, without a single freakin’ deduction was heartwarming.
https://ibb.co/yqMjYFN
Say what you want about the expat life – there certainly are the jealous haters – but it has it’s advantages if you play them right.
I just smile when people sneer at the idea of the wealthy leaving Canada to avoid onerous taxes. They have no clue what’s coming. Life is too short to work hard only to give the proceeds to the lazy.
#65 Barb on 07.21.21 at 8:03 pm
“First, the basics. Government workers, nurses, cops, firepeople, teachers, power or transit employees and most other public-sector employees still have DB pensions.”
—————————————-
Unfunded liability.
So there’s a huge cost, borne by taxpayers, whenever a public sector employee retires.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Barb, you are such a typical twit, in your anti-civil service nonsense. Did you just leave a Trump rally, you fool?
Most public sector pensions are completely managed by third-party organizations, specifically to remove unfunded liability issues. They must fully account for actual foreseen costs, and cannot make them magically disappear as so often happens with private sector plans.
For almost all of these, there is no legal recourse to go to taxpayers to ask for more money. They have to get it right, the first time.
This is very unlike so many sad former Nortel (and others in the private sector) employees, still working well into their 60s to try to fund retirement after their underfunded pensions collapsed due to inadequate funding.
You are completely wrong about government DB plans.
Just stop it. You sound like an idiot.
#71 I must have missed the time CEF suggested you hang out at the end of the bar wearing too much red lipstick with your bra straps showing but ok, if it’s anything goes I’m fine with that.
69 Ponzie – Karmutzen? Like, Nimpkish Lake?
So just to clarify; if I have a DC with matching, that I can move into my personal self directed RRSP whenever I want(for a small fee), and I’m staying at my job with about 25 more years of work ahead of me, how often should I move it over? Yearly?
74 Marsha
“Most public sector pensions are completely managed by third-party organizations, specifically to remove unfunded liability issues. They must fully account for actual foreseen costs, and cannot make them magically disappear as so often happens with private sector plans.”
Marsha – is this your pension plan?
https://www.pspp.ca/page/pension-contributions
According to the link, the employer makes an equal contribution. This would mean the federal government, which in turn, means the taxpayer. While I acknowledge that you are also a taxpayer, by far the larger portion of that would be from non-fed taxpayers.
Do you see the issue here? Your employer can always make up any underfunding that could still occur despite best pension management practices. In the private sector, even well managed companies can fall on hard
times where pension contributions are reduced in hopes of making it up at a later time. I’m not saying that’s a good arrangement for employees, but maybe it’s realistically the most workable one.
I did see a program years ago about Stelco(?) and how its employees lost their pensions. It explained a lot of the shortcomings.
#73 Lazy Bob
I just smile when people sneer at the idea of the wealthy leaving Canada to avoid onerous taxes. They have no clue what’s coming. Life is too short to work hard only to give the proceeds to the lazy.
————-
Give me a break.
You working hard?
Reclining in the cockpit on autopilot and snoozing for most on the flight.
The G7s are already working on legislation to get after tax cheats like you.
@ Herr Ponz #79
News Flash: Tax Avoidance is not Tax Evasion.
#4 TurnerNation on 07.21.21 at 2:21 pm
.Human Rights Museum in Canada set to open to Vaccinated only people (chrisd.ca)
HA! The irony.
#42 Mean Guy on 07.21.21 at 5:32 pm
I’m mean and nasty and yet I wouldn’t stoop to the frequent insults that Sara does. Faron is not much better
Mean Guy, I’m not one to keep lists but if I were to do so and was keeping a list of people I wouldn’t want to sit down for a beer with, Faron probably would be on that list. So, to be clear here, I am not carrying water for Faron.
However this petty, school yard clique thing all began when a frequent poster, one who constantly bitches and moans about cancel culture publicly asked the host, Garth, to cancel Faron.
At that point the hangers on, the pile on to a smear campaign boys crept out of the shadows and began a campaign of being petty, hurtful and bullying towards Faron.
Who responded not so well. Seeing that his buttons could be easily punched, the group of sturdy conservative forum members ramped the campaign up.
Exhibiting all that is wrong with modern conservative discourse, all that is in place to ensure a majority conservative government in Canada remains a long way off, they, with plausible deniability of course, questioned his sexuality, his relationship with his partner, threatened his job.
It was the single most juvenile thing I have seen in all my years here and I weathered the Smoking Man debacles.
So if Faron sees an opportunity to slag one of the group and does so he gets all kinds of slack from me. If you, not knowing the back story or willingly deciding to ignore it, decide to toss in with the group of bully boys…and girl… then prepare to get walked. If not by me then by Faron who has less money than you maybe but ten times the intellect that you do.
As for Sara…well I leave you to her and watch with bated breath as she defends herself against the likes of you.
Know your back story or risk being the fool…or is it tool?
#73 BillyBob on 07.21.21 at 9:18 pm
I just smile when people sneer at the idea of the wealthy leaving Canada to avoid onerous taxes. They have no clue what’s coming. Life is too short to work hard only to give the proceeds to the lazy.
———–
Yep.
I too am a fan of leveraging the best of both worlds. The wealthy themselves may not leave permanently but their wealth sure does, haha.
#83 Sail Away on 07.21.21 at 11:43 pm
#73 BillyBob on 07.21.21 at 9:18 pm
I just smile when people sneer at the idea of the wealthy leaving Canada to avoid onerous taxes. They have no clue what’s coming. Life is too short to work hard only to give the proceeds to the lazy.
———–
Yep.
I too am a fan of leveraging the best of both worlds. The wealthy themselves may not leave permanently but their wealth sure does, haha.
———————————-
Wealth?
How much money can a wanna be engineer and a wanna be pilot have?
#73 BillyBob
Say what you want about the expat life – there certainly are the jealous haters – but it has it’s advantages if you play them right.
—–
Spot on, especially from the career opportunity and wealth building perspectives.
#82 Ustabe on 07.21.21 at 11:41 pm
“It was the single most juvenile thing I have seen in all my years here and I weathered the Smoking Man debacles.”
bwwaahahahahahahaa…
Sir Smoking Man was a LEGEND on this blog.
Even Garth and Mr. Influwenza agree to that.
SM is sorely missed and not soon forgotten.
In “picking a fund allocation reflecting your own private portfolio mix”, there is a potential tax gotcha called the Superficial Loss Rule. To avoid that, make sure none of the funds in the DC plan are identical, or essentially equal to, any funds you hold in a non-registered account. Otherwise, if you have or want to sell shares in your non-registered plan at a loss, you might be denied some of the capital losses you could normally use to offset taxable capital gains, as your DC plan is likely to purchase some of the funds back during the 2-month window surrounding the sale. Just something you want to be aware of.
#82 Ustabe
I don’t know or care about whatever juvenile nonsense you are talking about.
All I saw was Sara insulting CEF and Faron snickering over the idea that someone else would die.
It’s fine. I’m a little surprised that it’s no holds barred, but as I said, as long as I know what’s allowed.
Now what was that old line Dan Ackroyd used to call Jane Curtin on SNL? Looks like it’ll come in handy.
#73 Billy and #83 Sail away
I have lived outside of Canada for about 10 of the past 20 years, on and off.
There are a lot of advantages and very few disadvantages. I’d say crime rates are the only real disadvantage.
Where I like to go the cost of living is much less, everyone is much friendlier, and political correctness is non-existent.
Climate is better too, of course.
I’m getting itchy feet again and as soon as sanity returns to the world, I think I’ll be off.
Start in Argentina, hop over to Uruguay, head up the coast to Brazil. A couple of months in each, you don’t even have to renew a visa. Come back to Canada for springtime.
Uruguay has some potential as a tax haven to boot.
Faron a mill? He looks older than me!
M67.9NS
Garth, My parents are both almost 80 yrs old.
They have about 100k cash but are worried that if they need
to go to an old age home they don’t want that money taken away from them. What advice could you give?
Shane
“Change is good. ” – Garth
_________________________________________________________
The climate is changing.
Ergo, climate change is good.
Why’s everybody got their shorts in a knot?
Time to chill the eff out!
Of course do the matching DC.
Young people MUST find a way to invest over their working life. Take advantage of every incentive they can.
It’s almost a crime not to invest. Greaterfools indeed if they don’t.
Are we being primed for a full dictatorship? T3? Many would welcome. It Keeps Us Safe.
Why were the mail-in ballots already tested in Newfoundland – last year.
https://ipolitics.ca/2021/07/21/morning-brief-only-a-quarter-of-canadians-want-fall-election/
“— Only a quarter of Canadians want a fall election: A new poll by Nanos Research finds that only 26 per cent of Canadians support the prospect of a federal election in the fall. Thirty-seven per cent were upset at the prospect of one, while 34 per cent said they were unsure. The prime minister has continued to dodge questions about when a vote might be called.”
——————————
– A look into the future in the UK. What’s being planned? CV or ThoughtCrime criminals?
But guys we shut down due to Hospital capacity!!
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/four-new-prisons-boost-rehabilitation-and-support-economy`
“Four new prisons are to be built across England over the next six years.
Four new jails at heart of Government’s commitment to 10,000 additional prison places.
Two in the north, two in the south – supporting local economies and the construction industry with thousands of jobs”
—————-
— Australia’s permanent lockdowns. Amazing they have timed science down to the hour and days.
Of course submission, control over our movements is the name of the game. The State now owns your body.
https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstQLD/status/14180179526626467861
10 News First Queensland @10NewsFirstQLD
#Breaking: QLD will shut its borders to the whole of NSW from 1am tomorrow. Masks will remain mandatory for another 7 days, but other restrictions will ease.
#84 Ponzius Pilatus on 07.22.21 at 12:09 am
#83 Sail Away on 07.21.21 at 11:43 pm
#73 BillyBob on 07.21.21 at 9:18 pm
I just smile when people sneer at the idea of the wealthy leaving Canada to avoid onerous taxes. They have no clue what’s coming. Life is too short to work hard only to give the proceeds to the lazy.
———–
Yep.
I too am a fan of leveraging the best of both worlds. The wealthy themselves may not leave permanently but their wealth sure does, haha.
——–
Wealth?
How much money can a wanna be engineer and a wanna be pilot have?
———
BillyBob, Elon Musk and I currently have a combined net worth of around $164,000,000,000 USD. Most of that is held outside Canada.
#82 Ustabe on 07.21.21 at 11:41 pm
#42 Mean Guy on 07.21.21 at 5:32 pm
I’m mean and nasty and yet I wouldn’t stoop to the frequent insults that Sara does. Faron is not much better
Mean Guy, I’m not one to keep lists but if I were to do so and was keeping a list of people I wouldn’t want to sit down for a beer with, Faron probably would be on that list. So, to be clear here, I am not carrying water for Faron.
However this petty, school yard clique thing all began when a frequent poster, one who constantly bitches and moans about cancel culture publicly asked the host, Garth, to cancel Faron.
At that point the hangers on, the pile on to a smear campaign boys crept out of the shadows and began a campaign of being petty, hurtful and bullying towards Faron.
Who responded not so well. Seeing that his buttons could be easily punched, the group of sturdy conservative forum members ramped the campaign up.
Exhibiting all that is wrong with modern conservative discourse, all that is in place to ensure a majority conservative government in Canada remains a long way off, they, with plausible deniability of course, questioned his sexuality, his relationship with his partner, threatened his job.
It was the single most juvenile thing I have seen in all my years here and I weathered the Smoking Man debacles.
So if Faron sees an opportunity to slag one of the group and does so he gets all kinds of slack from me. If you, not knowing the back story or willingly deciding to ignore it, decide to toss in with the group of bully boys…and girl… then prepare to get walked. If not by me then by Faron who has less money than you maybe but ten times the intellect that you do.
As for Sara…well I leave you to her and watch with bated breath as she defends herself against the likes of you.
Know your back story or risk being the fool…or is it tool?
================
Actually, I have discovered with respect to the sociopaths and other bully types among us, that more satisfying results are yielded by taking an offensive rather than defensive approach.
Or one can ignore them altogether (they hate that), but it’s not nearly as fun.
Herr Ponz #79
Tax Avoidance is not Tax Evasion
‐—————————-
Does that not depend on where the CRA decides to draw the (somewhat arbitrary) line?
#79 Ponzius Pilatus on 07.21.21 at 10:33 pm
————-
Give me a break.
You working hard?
Reclining in the cockpit on autopilot and snoozing for most on the flight.
The G7s are already working on legislation to get after tax cheats like you.
=============================
So….I’ll pencil you in as “jealous hater”, then? Lol
You’d think an accountant would understand things like tax residencies but then, the whole Mandarin/Cantonese debacle comes to mind and it all fits.
A bit fragile today what with the late pool session last night. Good thing my science and expertise isn’t required until later tonight. The big reveal about how much wealth pilots and engineers can amass shall have to wait. Toodles!
Ustabe, Sara, Faron:
Care to try something?
Find any instances where I have personally namecalled, insulted or demeaned one of you (or anyone) in a personal manner unrelated to the discussion point at hand. Then see if you’ve done the above to me.
Fair warning- the results may be surprising.
@97 Damfino
It’s the distinction of having severed residential ties to Canada for taxation purposes…..residency status. As long as you obey the rules…
Sara on 07.22.21 at 9:59 am
…
================
Actually, I have discovered with respect to the sociopaths and other bully types among us, that more satisfying results are yielded by taking an offensive rather than defensive approach.
Or one can ignore them altogether (they hate that), but it’s not nearly as fun.
===================
Hi Sara,
Since we’re having fun here, I can assure that you are successful at coming across as offensive.
:)
Cheers, R
#99 Sail Away on 07.22.21 at 11:58 am
Ustabe, Sara, Faron:
Care to try something?
No, not really.
You poor fragile man. You play the victim card semi-well.
Go to Mark’s, buy yourself a new pair of cargo shorts, it will make you feel better.
Pedantic Ponzerrelli
“Give me a break.
You working hard?
Reclining in the cockpit on autopilot and snoozing for most on the flight.”
+++
Ah yes. Another sneering aside from “The Ponze”
I’m quite sure the next time you’re a passenger in a plane on final approach, struck by lightening, getting tossed around like a pinball in a thunderstorm….
You’ll be damn glad its a human at the controls rather than a computer with Autopilot software written for the lowest price from Bangalore.
@#101 Russ
“I can assure that you are successful at coming across as offensive.”
++++
Its just Sara to the rescue for Faron …. another weekly occurrence.
“Yawn”.
Mercy. First BillyBob admits to feeling fragile and now Sail Away has been called fragile. In the spirit of solidarity I will just admit feeling fragile as well. Anybody got a stash of Wild Turkey?
#102 Ustabe on 07.22.21 at 12:59 pm
#99 Sail Away on 07.22.21 at 11:58 am
Ustabe, Sara, Faron:
Care to try something?
No, not really.
You poor fragile man. You play the victim card semi-well.
Go to Mark’s, buy yourself a new pair of cargo shorts, it will make you feel better.
=====================
Poor SA. And did you know that the reason SA was banned from this blog for a time was because our host was just being mean?
Garth, is there a way to periodically transfer out to an RRSP or LIRA to avoid paying the mutual fund fees on larger amounts over a long term without impacting future plan participation? Or are you usually locked in to their high MER funds for the duration of your employment until termination?
#32 mitzerboyakaQueencitykidd on 07.21.21 at 4:33 pm
While I agree, I’m also hoping your vegetarian or humanely hunt your meat, otherwise I see some hypocrisy.
#102 Ustabe on 07.22.21 at 12:59 pm
#99 Sail Away on 07.22.21 at 11:58 am
Ustabe, Sara, Faron:
Care to try something?
No, not really.
You poor fragile man. You play the victim card semi-well.
Go to Mark’s, buy yourself a new pair of cargo shorts, it will make you feel better.
============================================
Meh. Save your tired amateur armchair psychology. Did you not earlier write a whole missive on how victimized Faron is? With some bizarre ramble to tie it to conservatism somehow? And now you’re accusing SailAway of playing the victim card? lol Hilarious.
I’m pretty sure SA was just trying to point out that the alleged victim is quite capable of hurling all sorts of personal insults that that fit “petty & hurtful” by definition, if not by effect. Your revisionist post omitted that critical fact, and now you dismiss it again. Heck I’ve had my profession belittled, my unemployment mocked, aspersions cast on my partner, only to name a few. Who cares? Insults are empty when life is good and I enjoy life too much to take it seriously. We all end up in the same place eventually, bitchachos.
The key difference is his intended targets just laugh and return fire in good humour. And that always enrages pompous asses. Sometimes I feel like all the Saras and Farons of the world really want is to be Taken Seriously, but it’s so hard when the material just writes itself. And I’ve sincerely tried to advocate we all adopt a lighter approach, but everyone now is just plain determined to be angry and offended. C’est la vie.
As to taxation, other than the US and Eritrea, it’s based on residency. Full stop. (And the US gives generous exemptions.) Only the very most entitled would expect people living, earning, and paying taxes elsewhere to subsidize their lifestyle back in Canada simply because the expat holds a Canuck passport. (Which incidentally, costs a lot more to renew outside of Canada than within. DISCRIMINATION!)
Oh, wait. Expecting everyone else to pay for them pretty much IS the default position of the Canadian taxpayer now. So yeah, I guess it makes a twisted sort of sense. But…no. I respectfully decline.
#106 Sara on 07.22.21 at 2:08 pm
Poor SA. And did you know that the reason SA was banned from this blog for a time was because our host was just being mean?
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Was I banned? Can’t remember. Not a very effective ban if so.
I believe I was suspended a few times: once for callousness about Covid deaths and once for questioning the banning of another poster.
Garth isn’t mean or not mean. He just is. Like the sea.
And my thing, if you haven’t noticed, is testing boundaries. Once established, all good. Not established? Let’s check the other side of the fence.
to me it looks like it is taken from Love lake overlooking Della Falls on Van. island.