Should you consider buying prescribed annuities now to avoid 2017 tax increases?

Living longer than people in previous generations is great but more and more people are now worried about the possibility of outliving their savings. 

Because of this, guaranteed-for-life income solutions are becoming a vital investment component for many Canadians. 

Within the available choices of guaranteed-income solutions, prescribed annuities provide much higher annual take-home income than you'll get from other typical guaranteed savings choices due to both their structure and the overlay of significant tax benefits. For example*:

A 60 year old in the 40% tax bracket using $100,000 in savings to provide income for life :

Scenario 1: 2% GIC is purchased

Gross Income: $2,000

Taxable amount: $2,000

Net Annual Income: $1,200

Scenario 2: 5% Prescribed Annuity purchased

Gross Income: $5,000

Taxable amount: $1,054  (if purchased in 2016)

Net Annual Income: $4,578 

*Please note that this example is for illustration purposes only.

Your annual taxable amount is set for life when you purchase prescribed annuities.  If this same 5% prescribed annuity is purchased in 2017 the taxable amount is expected to increase from $1,054 to $1,450. 

It is also important to consider how various retirement income streams might lower or even eliminate your income tested government benefits such as your Old Age Security pension (OAS). For the 2016 taxation year OAS clawbacks begin when your total annual taxable amount (not your total income) exceeds $72,809.  OAS benefits are completely eliminated when your net income (including your OAS income benefit) is just over $118,000.

Prescribed annuities provide the benefits of higher incomes and low taxable amounts. This often a win-win-win for people looking for higher incomes, lower income taxes and getting the most from their income tested government pension plans.

You may now be asking yourself these questions:

• How do prescribed annuities or other guaranteed-for-life income options work?
• How is prescribed annuity income guaranteed and for how long?
• What is the value of my prescribed annuities to my estate, spouse and other beneficiaries when I die? 
• Are annuities suitable for me? Would they be suitable for my dependants?
• Are there guaranteed for life income annuities that allow me to access my capital just in case I need it? 
• Should I get prescribed annuities now to avoid tax increases coming in 2017? 

As always, please feel free to contact us anytime. We make every effort to answer these and any other questions you might have within one business day.

Best Regards


Jack

Do you have charitable gifts in your Will?

Do you have charitable gifts in your Will?

The great things that you wish to accomplish with charitable gifts in your Will may be affected by changes to Canadian tax rules in Bill C-43 that come into effect January 1, 2016.


The new rules are generally more advantageous to gifts in Wills than the existing framework. They allow executors to allocate charitable tax credits to the donor’s final tax return, the previous year’s return, and/or any of the first three years of estate returns. Also, charitable gifts will also be valued on the day the gift is received by the charity. This is a major change – previously, the gift was receipted based on its fair market value on the donor’s the date of death.

You should also know that the first three years of an estate are now called a Graduated Rate Estate, or GRE. This means that income taxes paid by an estate in it’s first three years are based on a graduated scale. After three years estate income is taxed at the highest marginal income tax rate.

Your estate may be impacted if your charitable gifts are distributed after the three year GRE period. If this happens, the charitable tax receipt can only be applied against that year’s estate tax return, and can’t be allocated retroactively to the tax returns of the deceased or any of the years of the GRE’s existence.

If you want to donate appreciated assets to charities, the capital gains tax exemption for gifted property will no longer be available to the estate after the three year GRE period. This may result in smaller settlements to all beneficiaries due to unintended additional income taxes owing by the estate.

In many circumstances, the new GRE will be a non-issue. However, it may become expensive if your estate is complex and takes more than three years to settle, since your estate can lose the advantages of the GRE. For example, this may happen when charitable gifts are delayed until your spouse dies, or where other entities are involved such as corporations or family businesses that may need more time to be settled or restructured. The possibility of challenges to the Will may be another concern.

In fact, anything that may delay an estate from winding up before the 3 year GRE period expires may become an unintended and expensive situation for an estate that expects to use charitable donation tax credits and other tax-friendly strategies available only to the GRE. If your valuable charitable tax credits are forced to go unused, this will almost certainly throw a wrench into your best-laid estate plans.

If nothing else, Bill C-43 is a compelling reason to get proper legal and financial advice on your circumstances today to determine whether any changes should be made to your Will and to your current investments strategies to ensure that all of your legacy intentions will be met tomorrow.