Comments on: Just stick a fork in me when I’m 50! Ish.

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:48:41 +0000

I am not from the U.S., so I don’t know, Susan.

But the rules in Canada say that if I don’t start drawing from my RRSP (it’s the Canadian retirement plan) by the time I am a certain age, I pay a penalty.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:03:35 +0000

I am 71 and haven't started drawin off my ira will i pay a penalty

By: Setting the priorities for money « Fabulously Broke in the City

Setting the priorities for money « Fabulously Broke in the City — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:03:49 +0000

[...] (Read: “Just stick a fork in me when I’m 50-ish!“) [...]

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:12:47 +0000

Oh really? That’s surprising. The lady at the bank told me: “no way, you pay a penalty of 20% on top of the fees you’d pay as an income tax on your RRSP”

By: DDO pam

DDO pam — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:13:46 +0000

From what I understand about locked-in RRSPs, you can access them at retirement, which may be before 65. I received some locked-in retirement funds through my divorce settlement, and was eventually able to transfer them to my employer's pension plan, which I can access beginning at age 55. A caveat: make sure not to add any current RRSP contributions into the same fund, because they will be treated as locked-in as well.

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:12:28 +0000

It is a grandfathered plan under my old employer. I cannot withdraw the money until I’m 65 … it’s in the rules of when I contributed to the pension

By: CanadianSaver

CanadianSaver — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:17:37 +0000

One thing to remember too is the TFSA maximum is going to increase… so in a few years we'll be able to put in $6,000 then $7,000 then $8,000 So it won't be $5,000 x 20 years in my case, but might be closer to an average of $6,500 or $7,000 per year

PS totally off topic, but have you ever done a review or recap of your Portugal trip? I'd love to see where you stayed and what you did… am thinking Portugal or Spain would be a très cool place to visit next

By: Funny about Money

Funny about Money — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:46:58 +0000

saving: good
hyperventilating: not so much

Here in Forced Early Retirement Heaven, I've made the startling discovery that it's TRUE what they say…you don't need anything like as much as you think you'll need to live comfortably in retirement.

Because of that, an interesting corollary holds: with very light part-time work — possibly even just monetizing a hobby — you can earn enough to support yourself without having to draw down very much from your savings. I thought I would need to start pulling out 4 percent right away. But noooo. Nothing like it. As long as I can keep getting freelance jobs and lightweight p/t teaching gigs, I will be able to defer drawing much down from savings for a long time.

I have a decent retirement nest egg (for a U.S. American) but nothing like 800 grand. My financial adviser tells me that at a 4% drawdown it should last for 50 years. Since I probably won't live much longer than another 15 or 20 years, apparently there's little to hyperventilate about.

By: CanadianSaver

CanadianSaver — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:29:23 +0000

FB, I still don't understand the locking in your RRSP until age 65…

My goal is to put as much in my RRSPs, TFSAs and other savings now until age 55, then retire and use that money from age 55-60, then start collectin my pension from work and CPP, if I can work 18-20 years with my current employer.

I don't think you have anything to worry about… making 100K+/year and living well below your means, you will be rich by the time you retire

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:22:28 +0000

Or 5 and 5.