My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Book Giveaway and Financial Survey

I have been writing about financial and wealth trends for over six years. Today, I provide a link to a survey about how these trends are affecting you personally. I would appreciate it if you would complete this survey. To provide incentive (at least I hope it is incentive since you are reading my blog) I will giveaway five copies of my book Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs to those who complete the survey. The survey will take you between 3-5 minutes to complete, so it is not time consuming and you will have the opportunity to receive a summary of the survey. I would suggest the survey is most applicable to those in their mid-forties and older.

A discussion of some of these trends and why they are important is provided below by Jonathan Townsend, the National Wealth Advisory Services leader for BDO Canada LLP.


Canadians Feel Financial Strain From Different Directions

By Jonathan Townsend

Recently, the trend of Canadians providing multi-generational financial support has come up as an emerging issue. At a time when many of us should be preparing to retire peacefully, numerous people have signed up for additional financial obligations such as housing, education, and health care—not for themselves—but for their children or parents. This added burden, along with longer life expectancies is putting considerable stress on many Canadians.

In a recent Globe and Mail article, 44% of millennials expect to receive financial assistance from their parents to purchase their first home. Many of them consider home ownership a priority; however due to increased housing prices many cannot fund the purchase independently. Instead, millennials are relying on their parents to make home ownership a reality.

Conversely, the parents of baby boomers are living much longer. Many of them may have not saved enough or are facing unexpected medical conditions which require special care or assistance. Again, many Canadians, especially baby boomers are stepping up to the plate. They are taking care of housing and health care costs for their parents, which have considerable costs. In a recent study by CIBC, it is estimated that these costs average $3,300 per year for a caregiver, and amounts to an estimated cost of over $6 billion to the Canadian economy.

The added financial commitments may not have been part of many Canadians financial planning. The time, energy and money being used to support parents and children is putting a huge strain on funding many of our own retirements. Significant numbers of Canadians are nowhere close to hitting their targeted retirement nest egg because their investment returns have not been what was expected in large part because of the cost of financially caring for their children and/or parents. While research shows it is physically and mentally beneficial to work longer, many people need to work longer, out of financial necessity, to support the family and fund lifestyles and retirement.

For those lucky enough to have cashed in on sky-high real estate prices in some Canadian cities or for those who have received an inheritance, they have decisions to make regarding the net proceeds of downsizing or their inheritance and how much goes to their children or parents.

It’s admirable that many Canadians are taking care of their families’ financial needs but it may come at a cost. BDO Canada is exploring these changes and added expectations that we are facing to see how it is impacting our retirement and financial planning. We invite you to participate in this national survey, which will form a report outlining the key insights we uncover. Respondents will be entered into a draw to win one of five, Let’s Get Blunt about Your Financial Affairs books, written by Mark Goodfield.

Complete the survey now by clicking this link. Please note the book giveaway link is at the end of the survey and takes you to a different location so that your survey comments remain confidential.

Jonathan Townsend is the National Wealth Advisory Leader at BDO Canada LLP. If you have any questions, please contact him at 519-432-5534 or jtownsend@bdo.ca.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

2 comments:

  1. Random comment about the survey.

    Only having "Do you Expect an Inheritance" on the screen is jarring. Never really quite know how to answer it when asked alone like that. I know it's coming, but don't want or need it.

    Should have been put on the same page as the following questions (how much, and is it part of your plan). Those follow up questions add enough context.

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    1. Thx aB, appreciate the feedback, I have had some other good comments sent to me privately. The test group failed their job :)

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