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Selfâ€"directed RRSPs offer more flexibility ver the past decade, more and more OCanadians began contributing to RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans). They discovered that getting a tax break for their contributions and earning taxâ€"sheltered income is an unbeatable way to invest for retirement. As RRSPs have grown in popularity, and governmentâ€"set limits for contributions have increased, many people are now finding they have accumulated significant amounts in their plans. Given that current interest rates are so low, these savers have begun to investigate selfâ€" administered RRSPs with an eye to broadening their investment portfolios, particularly to include publicly traded shares. As any chartered accountant will tell you, taking on the responsibility of a selfâ€"directed RRSP to invest in equities has its advantages and disadvantages. A selfâ€"directed RRSP is similar in most respects to a regular RRSP. However, instead of buying an RRSP qualified investment, you make your contribution to a special RRSP trust and then decide how to invest the funds in the trust. An administrator, usually a broker, investment dealer,; or trust company, oversees the trust. With the selfâ€"directed plan, you can invest in specific stocks, rather than being limited to pooling your investment in a (See ‘Selfâ€"directed‘ page 26) Retirement cost could be borne by workers‘ employer (Continued from page 24) retirement. Lack of retirement funding will become a political issue. Some politicians will look to corporations and attempt to shift the inevitable financial responsibility to them. The rationale would be that the corporations have profited from their labor force and now must assume some of the financial burden of maintaining that work force during retirement. You may agree or disagree that an organization should be liable for the retirement of its work force. In a democratic society, the majority rules. It is reasonable that there would be more voters agreeing with receiving retirement funds from corporate Canada than those who would not. Consider all the other costs that have been passed to organizations, such as OHIP payments. It could be just a matter of time for government to shift one more financial burden to companies. Business leaders must be aware of the potential liability of not adequately preparing their employees for retirement. It could be just a matter of time for government to shift one more financial burden to companies. Business leaders must be aware of the potential liability of not adequately preparing their employees for retirement. Next week, we will discuss some of the options that organizations have to build retirement funds for their workers. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, RFP is the president of Peter Watson Investments Limited â€" an Oakville firm specializing in retirement planning, RRSPs, and investment planning. He can be reached at 842â€" 7602. Francis Richardson bravely man‘s the barbecue last weekend during M M Meat Shops‘ drive to raise funds for Crohn‘s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. In addition to the Fourth Line location, Oakyville‘s Sixth Line store also participated. The Fourth Line outlet raised $1,105. for the cause while the Sixth Line store netted $1,020. The company‘s barbecues at its 130 locations across Canada raised $355,000 for the Foundation. In the last six years, the company has raised $1.3â€" million to fund medical research in trying to find a cure for inflammatory bowel disease. ROYAL LePAGE uy Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Broker Aim Higher WE ROYAL LEPAGE in uce t n in Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Broker Aim Higher FORD O‘BRIEN Sales Representative David Higgins, Sales Manager, is pleased to announce that Ford O‘ Brien has joined the sales team at Royal LePage‘s 326 Lakeshore Road East office in Oakville. Ford bring to us 16 years of experience in the real estate industry. Please join us in welcoming Ford to our office and feel free to call him anytime at (905) §454267 for information on buying or selling a home. [PANTANO CONSTRUCTION JUST COMPLETED 19 FERNST., WATERDOMN Private Court Location CHERYL SMITH Sales Representative David Higgins, Sales Manager, is pleased to announce that Cheryl Smith has joined the sales team at Royal LePage‘s 326 Lakeshore Road East office in Oakville. Please join us in welcoming _ Cheryl to our office and feel free to call her anytime at (905) §45â€"4267. VALUE WATERDOWN VALUE WATERDOWN VALUE «_ Clay Brick Const. with Stone Accents Ultra High Efficiency Gas Furnace Large 4â€"Bedroom. 2â€"1/2 Bath Polaris Gas Fireplace Pee the difference QUALITY WCRAFTSMANSHIP make. Built with Care. One House at $ 2, 500 S9ft. 00 2 69 OOGSTincluded FERN ST. 2 JA PÂ¥A * s Call Brad Rayner, (A J HAMILTON StT. ‘ id Exclusive Agent, M.H. Rayner Realty Ltd., Realtor 689â€"7344 ‘pe oung ‘AepHq YIAVIG HHL â€" Sz