#54 — Frederick Vettese: Retirement Planning Advice on CPP, Annuities and More
4/28/202643 min
Our guest this episode is Frederick Vettese — former Chief Actuary at Morneau Shepell (now Telus Health), longtime Globe & Mail columnist and one of Canada’s leading voices on retirement planning. Fred is also the author of four books on retirement, including the bestselling “Retirement Income for Life.”
In this episode, Dave and Frederick cover a wide range of retirement topics from why many Canadians may be more prepared than they think to how annuities can fit into a retirement income plan. They also discuss reverse mortgages, whether it makes sense to delay OAS, RRSP meltdown strategies and how thinking around withdrawals has evolved over time. Along the way, Frederick shares thoughtful perspectives on carrying a mortgage into retirement, gifting to adult children, universal life insurance and his own estate planning approach.
Whether you’re approaching retirement or simply want to better understand the key decisions that shape it, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world advice from one of Canada’s top experts.
Show Notes (00:00) Intro & Disclaimer (00:55) Intro to Fred Vettese (02:21) How Fred Comes Up With Writing Topics for The Globe & Mail (04:30) Fred’s Career as an Actuary & Author (06:45) Why Many Canadians Are Better Prepared for Retirement Than They Think (10:31) Longevity Risk & the Case for Delaying CPP to 70 (12:15) The Role of Annuities in Retirement Income (14:29) When Reverse Mortgages Make Sense (16:32) Delaying CPP: Why Canadians Are Finally Coming Around (18:47) Should You Also Delay OAS to Age 70? (21:10) RRSP Meltdown Strategy & Income Smoothing (23:20) How the Industry Shifted on RRSP Withdrawal Thinking (25:27) Will People Get Married for the Financial Benefits in Retirement? (27:12) Insurance Products: Universal Life & When They Make Sense (29:38) Carrying a Mortgage Into Retirement (31:13) Gifting Money to Adult Children & The Risk to Your Own Retirement (34:02) Fred’s Own Estate Planning & Will Strategy (35:43) Fred’s Personal Investment Mistakes & Lessons (39:31) How the Financial Advice Industry Has Improved (41:10) Some Grandparents are Upsizing (42:14) Conclusion
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDave Chilton· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hey, it's Dave Chilton, The Wealthy Barber and former dragon on Dragon's Den. Welcome to the Wealthy Barber Podcast, where we'll be hosting some of the top minds in the world of personal finance. Yes, that's to balance me out. The podcast is about making the subject not just easy to understand, but dare I say, even fun. Honest. Whether you're trying to fund your retirement, figure out how to build a down payment, save for your kid's education, manage debts, whatever, we'll be here to help you do it. Before we jump in, a quick but important note, nothing we discuss here should be taken as investment advice. We don't know you and your personal financial situation, so we're not here to tell you where specifically to put your investment dollars. We're here to educate, get you thinking, and we hope, entertain. But please do your own research and/or consult with your financial advisor before taking any action. Hey, it's Dave Chilton, The Wealthy Barber with Wealthy Barber podcast episode, I don't know what, 50-something. Thank you again for following us. It's great that we're building all this momentum, but I wanna get straight to the guest today. I am very excited about this guest. A true legend in the Canadian personal finance field. Anybody in our field, any advisor, any writer, any educator follows Fred Vettese. He has been around for a long time. He is an actuary. He has a tremendous reputation, a great mind, has written for The Globe and Mail for a long time. I