Becoming a RetireWare User

Free version of RetireWare You can register for a RetireWare account! Everyone who registered will receive an invitation in the next few weeks. This product is new and we are still testing the application, resolving issues and making improvements. Please report any bugs or functionality problems. You may find that...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 4:44 PM

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Registering for the Free Version?

If so, you can join my Leader's Group and get access to RetireWare retirement planing software. My Leader's Group is temporary and will be closed in the fall of 2013. Your account is set up so as to keep your information private and I cannot access it without...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 4:38 PM

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The Longevity Risk

What is the longevity risk? The longevity risk is the risk attached to the increasing life expectancy, which can eventually translate in needing higher than expected funds to meet expenses during retirement. In other words, as you spend down your savings during retirement, if you live longer than...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 8:00 AM

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Life Expectancy

About life expectancy Life expectancy is the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life remaining at a given age. Life expectancy at birth during the time of the Roman Empire was about 28 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, global average life expectancy...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 4:27 PM

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Data Security

Question: I'm a bit concerned about having personal data stored on-line. How accessible is that data to both Retireware employees and general public? Answer: All data is encrypted when stored to the database and decrypted only at time of use by the RetireWare application. So the database administrators,...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 9:38 PM

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Income Tax

Question: I have noticed that Retireware will calculate a decreasing amount of income tax payable annually. What are the underlying assumptions for calculating income taxes? Does the program use current year income tax rates and income brackets, and then escalate the income brackets with inflation? Answer: The program calculates income...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:51 AM

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Variable Rates of Returns

Question: Does the software have the capability to change projected rates of returns over the course of the calculation. For example, can you put in a return of 2% for say the first 3 years, then increase it to 3% for a few years and then 5% for...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:49 AM

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CPP Not Showing

Question: I have selected CPP and selected it as a source of income for my spouse and I and filled in all fields, but no CPP payments are reflected in the cash flow summary. Answer: If you indicated that you are already retired in 'Financial Information', then you...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:47 AM

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The Sequence of Returns Risk

When things don't go according to plan The sequence of returns risk is the risk of incurring low or negative investment returns in the early years of retirement and the erosion of the asset base caused by withdrawals, making it is difficult to recover even if you have...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 11:03 PM

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More on Pensions

Questions and Answers: 1. I have a widow with a child receiving a CPP survivor's benefit of about $700 a month till retirement but I cannot find anywhere to enter this data. Answer: if you want to include it in the spouse’s budget, enter it as 'Other Income'...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:27 AM

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Receiving Tax-free Cash Flows

Question: I'd like to know if there is a way to account for tax-free cash flows? (for example, an individual has agreed to lend a mortgage to someone. The capital payments that this individual recieves should be tax-free.) Answer: You can enter up to four different years' worth...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:28 AM

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Monte Carlo Simulation and Withdrawal Amounts in Retirement

Question: I have done extensive research on the Internet regarding using Monte Carlo simulators for retirement planning. From what I have read, it is more important to withdraw a fixed percentage (i.e 4%) of your total portfolio each year rather than a dollar amount. For example a $1...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:26 AM

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The 4% Solution in Retrospect

What would have happened if you retired 30 years ago? In my previous post, we talked about safe withdrawal rates. The withdrawal rate is a convenient approach that researchers use to determine how much a retiree can withdraw each year from a portfolio of assets and minimize the odds of running...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 11:48 AM

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Beta Release

Upcoming release dates First, a sincere thank you to all who have expressed interest in our new product. I think it is breaking new grounds and will help many Canadians prepare for retirement and monitor their finances using modeling tools that value design and sophistication. Status Our beta release date...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 5:21 PM

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Tax Deductions for Investment Loans

Question: Does your software take into consideration the tax deductibility of investment loans (i.e. do we have the option to make a loan deductible or non-deductible)? Answer: No it does not. This is a refinement we plan to bring in the future. ...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:31 AM

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Government Pensions

Question: Your calculations for the amount of Canada Pension and Old Age Security which I will receive increase dramatically over the years. What is the basis for these annual increases? Is there any provision made for Claw-Back of Old Age Security Payments in years when total income is...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 7:53 PM

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The 4% Solution

The infamous withdrawal rate A lot of research has been done in the last decade on determining a "safe" withdrawal rate. Basically, how much can you take from a fund each year so that the odds of running out of money (the "Probability of ruin") is almost zero...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 2:20 PM

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Going for the Long Haul

Withdrawal order Life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. So you must pace yourself and spend just the right amount during retirement in order not to run out of money. This is where more saving, more investing, and less spending will improve your odds. Your withdrawal strategy...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 10:23 AM

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CPP Pension

Question: I am having difficulty getting RetireWare to show my expected CPP pension income. I am currently semi-retired, age 56. I have no full-time employment earnings and have checked 'Already retired' in Financial Information. Nor am I currently in receipt of any CPP pension, so I can't enter...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 1:14 PM

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Will I have enough?

The days of being sent off in the sunset with a gold watch, a pension and health insurance for life are gone forever I'm afraid. We now have to rely on our own savings, the Canada (or Quebec) Pension Plan and Old Age Security. Only a lucky few...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 5:48 PM

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Updating Date of Calculation

Questions: 1. When I load my old file, which worked fine before, it says my retirement date is befoe the minimum date allowed? I picked same date from the calendar and got same message? 2. My Date of Financial Information also gives the same out-of-range message. I tried...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 5:47 PM

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Maximum RRSP contributions

Question: The program does not seem to increase RRSP contribution to the maximum allowed in coming years, even though the Government has announced increased limits. Answer: The RRSP maximum annual contributions for future years are in the program. You need two conditions to hit the annual maximum: high...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 3:42 PM

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Retirement Income Objective

Question: I have inserted a retirement expense objective of $33K. The client is 63 years old and retired with only an RRSP portfolio to draw from. For some reason, in the first year only, the objective is doubled to $66K and thus there is a large withdrawal from...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 3:41 PM

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Planning Your Life

You want to live a long and fulfilling retirement? You'll need sufficient funds to do all you want to do for the early years, and pay for medical care not covered by provincial health insurance in the later years. If you still have a number of years before...

By: RetireWare / Equisoft On 2:48 PM

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