This sixtysomething couple seeks financial strategies during times of instability. Plus, how predicting lifespans is affecting financial plans

Content from The Globe’s weekly Retirement newsletter. Sign up here

When they retired, Anne and Zoe sold their cottage and one of their two rental properties, investing the proceeds in financial markets. They own their Ottawa-area house and the remaining rental property outright.

Anne is 67 years old and Zoe is 64. Anne owned a successful consulting firm, while Zoe worked as an analyst.

“A large portion of our investments are in the stock market, and we worry about a market correction – or worse, an economic collapse – given the political environment down south,” Anne writes in an e-mail. Uncertainty arising from the election of president-elect Donald Trump has them on edge. “We would like some strategies for the preservation of capital that we have worked so hard to attain.”

“We see ourselves travelling twice a year, love to entertain, and foresee an annual budget of about $120,000 a year net of taxes,” Anne adds. They wonder when they should sell the remaining investment property – before or after they begin collecting government benefits.

One of the women has high medical expenses because of a chronic health condition.

For this Financial Facelift, Matthew Ardrey, a portfolio manager and certified financial planner at TriDelta Private Wealth in Toronto, takes a look at Anne and Zoe’s situation. Mr. Ardrey also holds the designation of advanced registered financial planner.

This former investment banker quit finance to make music for himself and his community

Vikas Kohli had an aptitude for numbers growing up in Mississauga, Ont. So, , writes Radhika Panjwani in this Investing article, he pursued an honours degree in mathematics, adding an MBA and CFA later. Armed with an impressive resumé and outgoing personality, Mr. Kohli landed plum roles at elite investment banking firms in the U.S. and Canada. From the outside, it looked like success, but he couldn’t leave behind his deep love for music.

Today, Mr. Kohli is an award-winning film composer, music producer and the executive director of both MonstARTity Creative Community, a not-for-profit organization that runs concerts, workshops and mentorships for the South Asian community, and FatLabs, a music studio.

Here, Mr. Kohli talks about how he pursued a new vocation for himself – with a lot of planning and some serendipity too.

Xem thêm : Get an annual financial checkup for peace of mind

In this new series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world.

How does exercise affect your life span in retirement? The case for fitness and finance

We can all agree that regular exercise is good for you. But does it actually affect longevity?

In this Charting Retirement article, Frederick Vettese, former chief actuary of Morneau Shepell and author of the PERC retirement calculator, makes the case for fitness and finance.

In case you missed it

Predicting lifespans is becoming more achievable. How is that affecting financial plans?

A small cohort of advisers in the U.S. is beginning to use clients’ genetic and health information to create more personalized financial plans and longevity risk assessments, writes Kelsey Rolfe in this Globe Advisor article. Doing so, they say, not only gives retirees more certainty that they won’t outlive their money but also helps them make the most of their good years.

Clients’ lifestyles, family health history and genetics can affect their longevity significantly and the number of years they may need care, says S. Jay Olshansky, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who researches aging and human longevity. Traditional approaches to financial planning aren’t capturing those factors.

“We’re moving in the direction of a pretty dramatic change in the way wealth management and financial planning is done,” he says.

Mr. Olshansky, also chief science officer at Wealthspan Advisors LLC in Grand Rapids, Mich., worked with the firm’s advisers to create a software platform that generates personalized lifespan and health-span assessments, called Wealthspan AI. The platform uses clients’ answers to a health questionnaire and genetic information, such as the raw data from a 23andMe profile.

The questionnaire covers clients’ smoking status, body mass index, marital status, education, family history, physical activity, sleep patterns and, for women, the age of menopause – all of which are correlated with longevity. Genetic data and family history may also reveal whether a client has a genetic likelihood of living a long time.

Jeff Stukey, president and co-founder of Wealthspan Advisors, says more precise assessments are crucial for couples.

Read the full article here.

Can eating chocolate help ward off Type 2 diabetes? Yes, suggests a new Harvard study

From advent calendars and yule logs to Hanukkah chocolate coins and boxed chocolates, it’s the time of year many of us love to indulge in the rich flavour and velvety mouthfeel of chocolate.

Turns out, writes nutritionist Leslie Beck in this Food for Thought article, there may be another reason to celebrate chocolate over the holidays (and beyond).

Xem thêm : Why This is Not the Time to Change Your Investment Strategy

According to a large study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, including chocolate in your regular diet may guard against Type 2 diabetes.

There’s a caveat, however. The benefit of chocolate depends on which type you eat. The study, published this month in the BMJ, investigated the association between milk, dark and total chocolate (both types) and risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Here’s what to know about the new research findings.

Retirement Q & A

Q: I’m a retiree with a sizable investment portfolio. Some of my investments have unrealized gains and others have losses. Are there any tax tips I should be thinking about before year-end to minimize my taxes payable?

We asked Aaron Gillespie, a partner with the Private Enterprise Tax Group of KPMG in Canada to answer this one.

A: We’ve heard a lot about the tax treatment of capital gains this year. Effective June 25, 2024, the rate of tax on capital gains increased from approximately 26 per cent to 35 per cent. The good news is that these changes come with relief in the form of an exception for the first $250,000 of capital gains realized in a year, which will continue to be taxed at the “old” rate of 26 per cent (using the top rate in Ontario).

As of this date, these changes have yet to be passed into law. However, the long-standing position of the Canada Revenue Agency is that taxpayers should follow legislation that is in draft form.

These changes present new considerations. If you are disposing of investments and realizing significant capital gains, you will want to consider which year you realize those dispositions. Consider whether it would be better to realize capital gains smoothly over multiple years, rather than in a single year to avoid exceeding the annual $250,000 exception. In addition, you may choose to defer the disposition of investments until the new year in order to defer the taxation of accrued capital gains by a year.

Where your investments have accrued capital losses, you may decide to dispose of those investments this year, since capital losses offset capital gains realized in a given year. Losses can also be carried back to offset capital gains in the three previous tax years. This can reduce the taxes you will be required to pay. Keep in mind that it often takes two business days for trades to settle and the loss to be realized.

Lastly, if you carry forward losses under the new higher capital gains tax regime, you may be able to save more on taxes. Due to the $250,000 exception, this decision should only impact those with considerable capital gains.

Have a question about money or lifestyle topics for seniors? E-mail us at [email protected] and we will find experts and answer your questions in future newsletters. Interested in more stories about retirement? Sixty Five aims to inspire Canadians to live their best lives, confidently and securely. Sign up for our weekly Retirement newsletter.