Money Matters Seniors face important decisions on future income People who are turning 71 must make an important decision about how to convert their Registered Retirement Savings Plan into a source of in come The choice they make is crucial because the result will likely be their primary source of income during retirement Traditionally investors have had two options either withdraw all their money in cash or con vert their RRSP into a life or fix ed term annuity Withdrawing was less attractive because most people would be taxed heavily So the majority of people chose annuities life plans that guaranteed them a regular in come for the rest of their life Some annuities also offered guarantees for a fixed period so that if the investor died payments would continue to be made to hisher estate However most annuities dont protect against inflation The buying power of people who con vert their into annuities shrinks each year Since 1986 the situation regar ding retirement income options has improved dramatically with Registered Retirement Income Funds emerging as one of the best vehicles to handle in vestors retirement Income needs A is a contract that pro vides periodic payments to the in vestor from the starting date un til the investor reaches age For many years RRIFs were un popular because their rules were inflexible Then after the federal government loosened the rules many people began converting their into RRIFs instead of annuities Under the new rules investors can own more than one RRIF As well there is no limit on the amount investors may receive from their RRIF each year However they must withdraw a minimum amount calculated by their current age subtracted from age 90 see below Another RRIF advantage is that investors can begin receiving payments from the RRIF immediately after purchasing it rather than being obliged to wait until the next calendar year Also a continues to allow investors to ac cumulate funds taxfree until they are withdrawn Here is how payments work Each payment investors receive is a frction of the value of the investors capital at the start of the year This fraction is equal to one divided by the difference between your age and So if you have a plan valued at and you are 70 years old the pay ment you will receive is l20th of the fund or this is the minimum annual payment in that year It can be higher if you wish but withdrawing too much money too soon can deplete your funds and the excess is subject to a withholding tax As you get older the fractional amounts increase so that when you are 71 you will receive when you are 1iSth when you are and so on When you become you will receive that is 100 per cent of the remainder While a disadvantage of a is that investors must ex haust all the funds money by the ITS YOUR MONEY Paul J Rockel time they turn the advantages of a RRIF can make it far more attractive than an annuity Consider two of them First a offers a wide and varied range of investment choices Unlike an annuity which is based on fixed income returns a RRIF can be invested in growth or balanced investments such as mutual funds Second a RRIF with growth producing investments will sur pass annuities in generating in come and compensating for infla tion Suppose at you bought a annuity invested at per cent over 30 years You would receive each year until you reached and your cumulative total would be On the other hand if you had bought a with the same principal investment of also invested at 12 per cent you would receive in the first year Since less money is withdrawn in the early years of the more money is left to compound and grow taxfree in the following years By the loth year you would receive By the 20th year and by the year over Over 30 years you would receive a total of 963000 6 times as much as the annuity Now lets assume that inflation HI J R jK fe Lucky draw winner Presenting Janet Allison of Georgetown with the Georgetown Travel arranged the trip holds up tickets she won for a trip to Atlantic in a draw a pamphlet illustrating some or the delights Atlantic hosted by the Georgetown Kiwanis Club and City has to offer The draw was made the annual Georgetown Travel Is John past president Kiwanis Lobslerfesl held on June 1 1W Herald of the Kiwanis Club Jane from SALE THIS WEEK THE LOWEST PRICES EVER ON ALL BRAND NAME FURNISHINGS Ontario Chesterfield Wholesalers Auto Moll GualpK COOLEST I SALE ON NOW J 71 Main St S Georgetown 8732441 Enhance off rear parking lot DISTRIBUTORS SPORTING GOODS CLOTHING SPECIALIZING IN TEAM CORPORATE WEAR 8730500 Mom St Georgetown remains at five per cent during the next 30 years That means the final annual annuity pay ment would actually be worth on ly in 1989 dollars By com parison the final pay ment of approximately would be worth in cons tant dollars With this in mind think what would have happened if you had invested your in a mutual fund that has the potential of yielding an average of 15 per cent- a year During years you would receive a return of 18 million For a FREE booklet on calculating retirement needs and a chart comparing the per formance of an actual mutual fund RRIF with a per cent RRIF investment over the last 12 years contact Peter C Masson Regal Capital Planners Ltd 10 Fagan Drive Georgetown Ontario or phone Paul J the author of the best seller Why Invest in Mutual Funds and President of Regal Capital Planners Ltd SAME DAY TAX RETURNS Guelph Si Georgetown 8772217 THE CORPORATION OF THE Town of Hilis Halton Hills Drive PO Box 128 HILLS Georgetown Ontario L7G COURTESY NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING WARD 1HIGHWAY NO Council tar the Town of Halton Hills conduct a Public Meeting In order to examine end discuts the details of a proposed to permit an industrial plan of subdivision con sisting of fifteen lots The subject property is located on the west side of Highway Ho north of the fine with the property being described as Part of Lot 3D Concession Town of Halton Hills Ac ton Further Information Is available In the Planning Department ALL INTERESTED CITIZENS ARE WELCOME Time Date Tuesday March 1991 Location Council Chambers Halton Hills Civic Centre 1 Hills Drive Town Halton HiUs Georgetown Ho 012 Rhone Valley Investments Inc ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH TAX Do You Have Questions About The 990 Tax Return Get The Answers TAX RETURNS PREPARED Computerized Fast Accurate for Individuals Farms and Businesses Tax Planning Consultation Accounting Bookkeeping Financial Statement Preparation GST Consultation Advice JOHN A GIBSON CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT 8770807 Pi Georgetown