Comments on: Ellen Roseman: Financial Literacy Starts with Being Suspicious https://www.hoyes.com/blog/ellen-roseman-financial-literacy-starts-with-being-suspicious/ Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. | Ontario Licensed Insolvency Trustees Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:10:40 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 By: J. Douglas Hoyes, CA, Trustee https://www.hoyes.com/blog/ellen-roseman-financial-literacy-starts-with-being-suspicious/#comment-215 Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:55:43 +0000 https://www.hoyes.com/blog/ellen-roseman/#comment-215 In reply to CanadianDaniel.

Hi Daniel. Excellent comment. As bankruptcy trustees we are not experts in the myriad of retirement funding options available, so in general we would not be qualified to offer advice on issues such as taking CPP early, and the other points you mention. We would generally refer people to other resources or experts in those areas, although I agree with you that those other resources are limited.

]]> By: CanadianDaniel https://www.hoyes.com/blog/ellen-roseman-financial-literacy-starts-with-being-suspicious/#comment-214 Sat, 08 Nov 2014 21:28:14 +0000 https://www.hoyes.com/blog/ellen-roseman/#comment-214 I got a lot out of your discussion with Ellen, thanks Doug.
While the FCAC has said that they will work towards showing low-income seniors how to maximize their government entitlements, right now practical resources are limited. We can go to the Service Canada website that describes OAS, GIS and other government plans but the portal doesn’t show seniors how to optimally arrange their affairs.
Would government entitlements be something that a bankruptcy trustee would discuss? For example, applying early for CPP at age 60 could make sense for a low-income senior since the total payout is arguably greater (until you’re about 100 years old, I’ve read). Taking out RRSP income after age 65 would reduce the GIS payout, so are RRSPs right for low-income people? Poverty expert John Stapleton says contributing to an RRSP after 65 makes more sense since it will increase GIS amounts by 50 cents for each dollar contributed to the RRSP by lowering taxable income. I’m pretty sure these concepts aren’t regularly discussed at my bank branch.
I know that Hoyes-Michalos has published some great stats about how indebted Canadian seniors are, so you’re keenly aware of their money problems. In practice are government entitlements something a bankruptcy trustee would address or would they refer clients to other resources?

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