June, 2009
Volume 2, Issue 1
In This Issue
MFG FINANCIAL DISPATCH
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Win One of Two $25 Starbucks Cards
A New Newsletter Series
After several years we are resurrecting our former newsletter series entitled “Financial Dispatch”. This is the first in this new series of communications which we intend to send you on a monthly basis. We want to provide you both timely and timeless information and advice regarding financial issues. Articles will generally be brief and to the point. Archived issues will be available on our website.
The bar on the left has links to the articles in this issue. We hope you enjoy reading it and find value in the information provided. If you would prefer not to receive these communications, please reply to the email with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line and you won’t receive another one.
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Win One of Two $25 Starbucks Cards
We want you to read this newsletter because we think it will prove beneficial to improving your financial knowledge. To encourage you to read it we’re giving you the chance to win a small prize.
If you’re interested, please just click on the word “WIN” and it will take you to a very short (four questions) multiple choice knowledge questionnaire on our website. (All the answers to the questions are found in the articles in this newsletter.) We’ll make a random draw from all the correct entries and award a $25 Starbucks card to each of the two winners. Good Luck!
Are You Paying Too Much For Your Mortgage Insurance?
You may have taken out the insurance that your bank or credit union offered you when you applied for a mortgage. If you did, that was good thinking. What you owe on your home is probably the single biggest debt you'll ever incur, so it makes sense to have it fully insured.
But, like many other people, you might not know that you may be able to obtain better coverage at a lower rate by buying your own individual insurance policy! There are several good reasons to consider replacing the bank issued mortgage insurance for your own policy and here are a few of them.
Generally speaking, the insurance offered by the bank is a "one size fits all" product. Individual insurance, on the other hand, is based on your own medical condition. If you're in good health, why would you want to pay the same rate as someone who smokes a pack a day?
If you change banks when your mortgage renews, you may lose your bank insurance coverage and have to reapply at your new lender. With an individual policy, you're free to shop the market for the best mortgage rate at renewal – you can take your insurance coverage with you without ever having to submit new medical information.
The financial institution is named as beneficiary on insurance from the bank. You pay the premiums, but they'll get the money should something happen to you. An individual policy, however, allows you to name your own beneficiary – meaning your loved ones can decide when (or if) they want to pay off the mortgage or if they'd rather invest the proceeds instead.
If you're interested in getting a comparison quote or learning more about how an individual mortgage insurance policy could work for you, please contact our office and we’ll be happy answer all your questions.
Proposed Changes to CPP
On May 25, 2009 Finance Canada announced some proposed changes to how Canada Pension Plan will work.
The changes are proposed to take effect over a period of time from 2011 to 2016, so will affect anyone planning to retire after 2010.
In brief, the proposed changes are as follows:
1. Early retirement (before age 65) will result in a larger reduction in benefits. If you begin to take your pension at age 60, your payments will be cut by 36%, rather than the current 30%.
2. On the flip side of this, late retirement (after age 65 but before age 71), will result in CPP benefits being increased more than the current rate. So, if you wait until age 70 to take your CPP, the benefit payments will be 42% higher, compared to the current 30% increase.
3. You won’t need to stop working in order to begin taking your CPP benefits at age 60.
4. If you continue working after you reach age 65, even if you are collecting CPP, you can decide to continue contributing to CPP in order to increase your benefits.
5. Currently the lowest seven years of earnings are deleted from the calculation for CPP benefits. Under the proposal, the lowest eight years would be omitted so that the benefits are not weighed down by low earning years.
If you would like more detailed information on these proposed changes or you have any questions, again, please contact our office.
Our Contact Information
As you probably know, for the past several years we have had our primary administration office in Gibsons. In December/08 we moved that office into new premises right down in the village of Gibsons Landing, overlooking the marina.
You may have noticed the Gibsons address showing on your recent portfolio statements. This is simply because our designated “Head Office” is now the Gibsons office. Our Vancouver office is still alive and well and the place that we meet with our Lower Mainland clients. And, although our primary mailing address is the Gibsons one, you can use either office address when mailing us documents.
We can be reached at either office by telephone through our Main phone number – 604-737-8886. Below is all of our contact information:
Telephone
604-737-8886 - Vancouver Office (Main line)
604-886-8879 - Gibsons Office
888-737-8886 – Toll free (Main line)
Fax
604-737-8719
877-707-8719 – Toll free
Addresses
Main Mailing Address
PO Box 70
Gibsons BC V0N 1V0
Gibsons Office - Map
292 Gower Point Road, Unit 13
Gibsons BC V0N 1V0
Vancouver Office - Map
1275 West 6th Avenue, Third Floor
Vancouver, BC V6H 1A6
Our website address is macintoshfinancial.com If you are on your smart phone you can also find our contact information on our “.Tel” page at macintoshfinancial.tel.