By Sheryl Smolkin

I have just returned from a three week odyssey to Australia and New Zealand, so there is a significant backlog of stories from both old favourites and newer bloggers to share with you.

Sean Cooper is anxiously awaiting the release of his first book Burn Your Mortgage. He made headlines around the world when he paid off his mortgage at 30 on a house he bought just three years before. In a recent blog he says that in spite of inflated home prices particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, the home ownership dream is still alive and well. However it is taking twice as long to save for a house because we are buying bigger houses.

Toronto Star Consumer Columnist Ellen Roseman has had lots to smile about since her media articles, petition and blog were a catalyst for the Ontario Protecting Rewards Points Act effective December 5, 2016 which provides that loyalty rewards points can’t expire. Roseman found out about the changes when she was being interviewed on CBC Marketplace. However, to date similar legislation has not been tabled in Saskatchewan.

If you are planning a winter vacation this year, chances are one or more people will approach you about buying a timeshare week or two in paradise before you fly home. Tom Drake believes the purchase of a timeshare is usually a poor choice, since they can be hard to unload, and they depreciate in value so quickly. However if you can get a timeshare on the cheap on ebay or some other online site, it may be a better deal. But you might be required to pay the current year’s maintenance fee at purchase time, or you could possibly be on the hook for closing costs and transfer fees. Be sure to read the documentation carefully to ensure that you understand the terms and requirements.

In Episode 77 of her podcast series, Jessica Moorhouse interviews Steve Cousins from Arkansas who retired as a millionaire by working a regular 9 to 5 job for the same company for 40 years. She learned that he made sure to get a university degree in a field that has a high demand for skilled workers. Cousins also says you need to understand when it makes sense to stick with the same company or if you should move on. And finally, you need to live frugally, invest wisely and have a plan how to continue earning money during retirement. For example, he has become a serial entrepreneur with four different jobs now that he is retired.

And finally, Steve Weyman on HowToSaveMoney.ca describes how he ALWAYS does extreme price comparison to make she he gets the lowest price. Take a look at his 10-step process.

• Choose your product
• Start with a light google search
• Track the lowest prices
• Check ALL  flyers using Flipp.com
• Use price comparison sites to compare prices fast
• Do a manual search of well-known stores
• Find the lowest past selling price
• Price match to save more money
• Tack on a coupon if you can

I guess I’m not up to Weyman’s standard because I don’t have the time or energy for extreme price comparison. But you’ve got to admire his persistence!

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Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

It’s tough to come up with ideas year after year for memorable holiday gifts, particularly for young adults. One gift that will stand the test of time is contributions to a retirement savings account with the Saskatchewan Pension Plan.

Anyone age 18 to 71 can join SPP. Participation is not restricted by where they live or membership in other plans. However, in order to contribute members must have available RRSP room. The member application form is available online and must be submitted with a photocopy of the prospective member’s birth certificate, driver’s license or passport.

Maximum annual contributions (which become locked in until retirement) are $2,500/year but up to $10,000 per year can be transferred in from another RRSP. SPP is designed to be very flexible and to accommodate individual financial circumstances. There is no minimum contribution. Even contributing $10 per month will build an SPP account and provide a plan member with additional pension at retirement.

Contributions can be made in a number of ways: directly from a bank account using the PAC system on the 1st or 15th of the month; at a financial institution using a contribution form; using a VISA or MasterCard; through online banking; or by mail to the Plan office in Kindersley. SPP also provides the option to make contribution online using your VISA or MasterCard.

This means you can make an SPP contribution as a one-time gift this Christmas or make recurrent gifts at regular or irregular intervals for future occasions. One way to encourage your friend or relative to continue contributing to SPP is to offer to match contributions up to a specified amount – much like employers do in company plans.

The Plan’s average return to members since inception (1986 – 2015) is 8.10%. The five year average is 7.57% and the ten year average is 5.25%.  SPP has independent, professional money managers. The funds are invested in a diversified portfolio of high quality investments to ensure a competitive rate of return.

Chances are that 20-somethings entering the work force today will have precarious work for at least the first few years of their career with organizations that do not offer a retirement savings plan. Once they are married and have children, retirement savings may take a back seat to mortgage payments and daycare costs.

Helping a friend or relative to develop the retirement savings habit and topping up their savings is an invaluable gift. Savings of just $2,500/year earning interest at 5% will result in a retirement savings balance of $237,672.11.

So make gift giving this year easy by putting  SPP under the Christmas tree!

By Sheryl Smolkin

If you earn income in Canada, you pay taxes. My father-in-law always said, “If you make money, pay what you owe, but not any more than you have to.” So to help you manage your 2016 tax bill, here are 10 top end-of-year tax tips he definitely would have approved of:

1. Defer income: If you think you may earn less in 2017 than you have earned in 2016 and therefore be taxed at a lower rate, defer income where possible. This is less likely if you are employed and receive a regular wage or salary. However, your employer may agree to pay out a year-end bonus in January.  Also, if you are a consultant or freelancer consider wait until the beginning of 2017 to invoice certain clients.
2. Contribute to SPP: SPP plan members with RRSP contribution room can contribute a maximum of $2,500/year. Contributions made until the end of February 2017 can be reported on your 2016 tax return, but the sooner you make your contribution the better.
3. Max RRSP contributions: Your 2016 RRSP contribution limit is 18% of earned income you reported on your tax return in the previous year, up to a maximum of $25,370 minus any contributions to a company pension plan. However, unused RRSP contributions can be carried forward. Therefore if you have not maxed out your contributions every year, you may have thousands of dollars of contribution room. By using up this room you will trigger significant tax deductions when you file your 2016 tax return.
4. Spousal RRSP: Where only one spouse is employed, opening a spousal RRSP will allow income splitting at retirement. Your permissible contributions to a spousal RRSP will depend on your available RRSP contribution room and you will get the tax deduction. Also, if your spouse withdraws funds within three calendar years of your contribution, it will be attributed to you.
5. Max TFSA Contributions: As of this year, cumulative total TFSA contribution room is $46,500. Contributions are not tax-deductible, but investments accumulate tax-free and there are no tax consequences when money is withdrawn. Contribution room is also restored in the year following withdrawal. If you are holding cash or investments in an unregistered account and you have TFSA contribution room, consider moving as much as you can into your TFSA. However, keep in mind this will trigger a deemed disposition as of the date of transfer and you may have to pay any capital gains tax in the year of disposition
6. Disability tax credit: Taxpayers who meet the criteria can apply for a non-refundable disability tax credit (DTC) of $8,001 in 2016. Where the disability has been in existence for some time, you can file retroactively for up to 10 years. However, the DTC requires Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) approval. Your doctor needs to complete a T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate for the CRA to review and approve, and you can only proceed once you have this approval.
7. Get rid of losers: If you have an unregistered investment account, sell off investments with accrued losses at year end to offset capital gains realized in your portfolio.
8. Charitable donations: You have until December 31^st to make charitable donations that will generate a non-refundable tax credit on your 2016 tax return. You can typically claim eligible amounts of gifts to a limit of 75% of your net income. You can also claim any unclaimed donations made in the previous five years by you or your spouse or common law partner. You can find charitable donation tax credit rates for 2016 here. First-time donors who qualify can get an extra federal tax credit of 25%. For more information, see First-time donor’s super credit.
9. Donate stock: There are plenty of ways to give to charity, but the donation of shares, whether publicly-traded or private company shares, can give rise to significant tax relief. Not only will you get a charitable donation tax credit but you will not have to pay capital gains tax on any appreciation in value since you purchased the shares.
   
10. Medical/dental receipts: Make sure you have receipts for eligible medical expenses for you, your spouse or common-law partner, and dependent children under 18 that have not been otherwise reimbursed. They can be claimed on line 330 of the federal tax return. Only expenses in excess of the lesser of $2,237 for 2016 or 3% of net income can be claimed for the federal tax credit. Generally, you can claim all amounts paid, even if they were not paid in Canada.

Dream of travelling? ­Retirement can be the time of your life – if you’ve planned ahead. Jamie Milton, partner of Uniglobe Carefree Travel of Saskatoon, meets many retirees making the most of these years.

“Travel is extremely popular among seniors. Those can be the years to see and do things you might otherwise not have had the time or money to experience earlier in life,” said Milton.

Two simple steps can get you that much closer to funding your retirement travel plans.

1. Become a member of a pension plan, such as the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. It is open to Canadians between the ages of 18 and 71 with available room to make RRSP contributions. The SPP is a good choice for those two-thirds of Canadians who do not have a workplace pension plan such as those self-employed or working for small businesses.
2. Contribute regularly as a member. Take advantage of time and compounding returns. For example, contributing $100 a month with annual investment earnings of eight per cent can grow to $150,030 in 30 years.

Find out how to become a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan and make your regular contributions by visiting our website.

Also See

Martin Firestone: What Snowbirds Need to Know About Travel Insurance
8 ways seniors can travel on a budget
Safe travel tips for Snowbirds
Snowbird? How to winterize your house

By Sheryl Smolkin

Today I’m interviewing Avinash Maniram, a partner and senior group benefits consultant in the Vancouver office of PBI Actuarial Consultants. Avinash is a frequent speaker on health and wellness topics at educational seminars and industry conferences.

We are going to talk about the health implications of the sedentary lifestyle many of us lead. In particular we’ll learn why “sitting is the new smoking” from a health risk perspective and what we can do about it.

Q: So before we start, let’s look at some vocabulary. How would you define physical activity?

A: Well when we’re looking at physical activity from the perspective of the World Health Organization, we’re referring to undertaking at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise per week. Moderate exercise includes walking, swimming, mowing the lawn, washing your car or gardening.  Things like running and aerobics are characterized as vigorous exercise.

Q: So what’s the flip side, for example, physical inactivity?
A: Physical inactivity, is really the failure to achieve that guideline of either 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise per week.

Q: What would you consider to be a sedentary lifestyle?
A:  A sedentary lifestyle is one that’s involves an excessive amount of sitting throughout the day.

Q: We’ve been hearing a lot in the media lately about the health risks of sitting too much. Is sitting actually that bad and how much is too much?
A: Recently a lot more studies have shown direct correlations between sedentary lifestyles and the incidence of various types of diseases and heart conditions. Research from the University of Toronto indicates that the impact of sitting on a person’s lifestyle or their health really kicks in for those who have been spending at least eight hours a day in a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, the average Canadian adult spends close to 10  hours a day in a sedentary state.

Q: What actually happens to our body when we sit too much?
A: Our circulation system is really developed to operate when we are in motion so when we’re spending too much time in a sedentary state, our muscles are no longer load-bearing.  They begin to atrophy and they become weaker.

Q: You mentioned heart disease but what other health conditions can too much sitting trigger?
A: What the studies have shown is that a sedentary lifestyle can impact the risk of certain types of cancers, most predominantly colon cancer and breast cancer. In the case of cardiovascular disease in Canada, approximately 25% of all cases are directly linked to a sedentary lifestyle. There are also links to diabetes. In addition, the more sedentary your lifestyle, the more prone you are to anxiety and depression.

Q: What about the impact of sitting on mortality rates? By the way, I want you to know that since we’ve started talking I’ve decided I can do this interview standing just as well as I can do it sitting so I got up from my chair.
A: That’s fantastic. Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada did a study which found that if we could lower the proportion of the time that we spend sitting or in the sedentary state by just 10%, that could result in a 30% lower risk of mortality.

Q: Does sedentary behavior also impact productivity?
A: It certainly does. You can imagine if you’re sitting at your desk in the usual crunched, hunched over thinking position, over time,  circulation is impacted and as a result your brain gets less oxygen. So colloquially I guess we would call this “foggy brain. Resulting  poor mental health and sore backs can also have an impact on productivity.

Q: The other thing that really surprised me is that sitting is viewed as an independent risk factor. So even if I’m getting my hundred and fifty minutes a week, that’s not enough if I sit all the time.
A: Absolutely. So much of the mainstream media has been focused on getting those 150 minutes of moderate activity in a week. But if you’re sitting at a desk for eight hours a day and then you head to the gym for one hour afterwards, that doesn’t undo the eight hours of damage caused by sitting. So for every 30 minutes of sitting we should be getting up and walking around for about five minutes. Those periodic intervals of activity do a lot more to reverse the damage done by a sedentary lifestyle.

Q: Are there any guidelines for the kind of activity we should be interspersing throughout the day and how frequently? Can you give me some examples?
A: This is the neat thing. So often when we go to sessions or we read about these things, the solutions often times are so impractical that it puts them out of reach. This is one of the areas where the fixes are actually quite simple. One of the things that we can do is we can set up some mental triggers so when the phone rings, if you’re in the office, instead of taking that call sitting down you can stand up.

If you are in an office tower you can walk up or down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Another obvious one is limiting the amount of time that you spend watching TV. For those in office settings, instead of sending an e-mail to your colleague across the floor or instead of phoning to ask them a question,  get up and walk over to have that discussion.

Q: What if any guidelines are there for parents with children who want to ensure that their kids are sufficiently active?
A: Well this is one of the biggest challenges that we have right now. If you look at the guidelines for children, they should be getting at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day. The experts also recommend less than two hours of screen time daily.

One suggestion is to replace the video games with outdoor activities. Sometimes you can use it as a bargaining chip. Often I find that when the kids go outside, I end up having to call them back in, because they’ve forgotten about their screens and they’re back to being playful children again.

Q: What about standing or adjustable desks or treadmill desks? How useful are they and how can employees convince their employers to pilot them or make them available?
A: Well on the surface they are very useful because they combat the immediate problem which sitting at the desk for eight hours a day. When you’re trying to sell the idea of an adjustable desk to your employer, try to convince the company that this is the right thing to do. You really just need to point to the health benefits — less time off work and less presenteeism for those who probably should be off work but insist on coming in everyday. The studies have shown that there is really no decrease to productivity with standing desks.

Q: You’ve been doing a lot of work on the impact of sedentary lifestyles. You’ve made some changes in the lives of yourself and your children. You are also a partner in your firm. Are your colleagues getting the message and have you been the catalyst for some of these changes in your own office?
A: We did a presentation on the impact of sedentary living and you could see the light bulbs go off in people’s minds. It’s something that’s really taken our little office by storm.

We see the message is getting through, just judging by the number of associates who have requested standing desks. They are not mandatory by any means but if an associate wants one we will certainly make it happen.

I’ve also noticed a lot more in-person meetings and fewer phone calls and e-mails to discuss work with our colleagues. When I do performance reviews, we go for walk, we go outside to have the discussion. Whenever there are smaller internal meetings, we may get up, buy a water or something and come back to the office and finish up.

Thanks for chatting with me today Avinash on this fascinating topic. My pleasure Sheryl.

 

 

 

Avinash Maniram, PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd.

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This is the edited version of the transcript of a podcast recorded in November 2016.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Today I’m interviewing Michael Drak for savewithspp.com.  He is an author, blogger and speaker based in Toronto and co-author of Victory Lap Retirement with Financial Independence Hub CFO Jonathan Chevreau. Thank you for joining me today, Michael.

Thank you Sheryl.

Q: First of all tell me, what made you decide to write this book?
A: The stress at work was affecting my health, and I was reminded of this each morning as I took my blood pressure pill. I began to look into the possibility of retiring and got my hands on every retirement book that I could. I found out that most of them were just filled with numbers and rules of thumb about how much money I would need in order to retire. None of them really told me anything about what I might actually do in retirement. I think Victory Lap Retirement fills that gap.

Q: What exactly does the phrase “victory lap retirement” mean to you? How does it differ from full stop retirement?
A: To me victory lap retirement means freedom. It’s freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it. In contrast, full stop retirement means pulling back — disengaging, sitting on the sidelines and becoming a spectator. It wouldn’t work for me at this point in my life because I still have a lot of game left in me.

Q: Is victory lap retirement essentially a synonym for an encore career or an encore job?
A: No, not really, because victory lap retirement is all about lifestyle design. The goal is to maximize the quality of your remaining years by creating a low stress, fulfilling lifestyle based on your own unique needs and values. An encore career is really work either paid or unpaid. But it can be an important component of the victory lap lifestyle. Part of my own victory lap contains a component of paid work, which I view as my fun money to fund new experiences for me and my family.

Q: Your coauthor Jonathan Chevreau coined the expression “findependence,” which is a mash up of the word “financial” and “independence.” Why is findependence the cornerstone and prerequisite to victory lap retirement?
A: Having financial freedom is what allows you work and live on your own terms. In other words, you can do what you want to do with your time and energy, not what someone else on whom you are financially dependent says you have to do. In short, “findependence” equals personal freedom and freedom is what life is all about in the end.

Q: How can people calculate how much they’ll need to be findependent and then reach that objective?
A: Findependence is best described on a cash flow basis. This is the way I was trained to think as a banker. It’s the point where your basic non-discretionary living expenses are covered by your passive non-work income. This is the amount of annual cash flow you need to keep a roof over your head, put food on the table and pay for the basic necessities such as heating, electricity, property taxes, etcetera.. Any additional non-discretionary expenses will be covered by the active work income that you generate during your victory lap, which we view as your fun money.

Q: As you’ve noted already, the decision to retire is not simply a financial one. In your book you counsel readers to beware of “sudden retirement syndrome.” What do you mean by this expression, and how can prospective retirees avoid it?
A: I really believe that they should put a label on retirement just like they do on cigarette packaging. Something like “Retirement could be dangerous for your health. Retire at your own risk.” Sudden retirement syndrome (not actually a medical condition) is a very dangerous thing. It’s the shock of withdrawal that occurs when a person suddenly ends their career. Not everyone goes through it, but I went through it, my father suffered from it, and I had a good friend die because  of it. Most people, unfortunately can’t relate to what you’re going through. They really can’t understand why you’re unhappy, especially when you don’t have to go to work anymore.

In my mind, it’s important to have a retirement mentor in your corner to help get you through this period to ensure that you do not do some dumb things like I did. I really believe that investment advisors should expand their offerings to include this service instead of just focusing on the investment piece. In my opinion, assuming you can just fall into retirement and everything will be okay is a disaster waiting to happen.

Q: How far in advance should victor lappers plan their exit from their current jobs or careers?
A: I’m teaching my kids that they should start aiming financial independence as soon as they start working. Victory lap planning is best done probably a few years before achieving financial independence. It’s always important to have an escape plan in place in case of emergency because these days with layoffs and mergers, you really never know what may happen. It really helps to know where you want to go in life and how you plan on getting there.

Q: How important is a social network to a successful victory lap?
A: To maximize happiness in retirement a lot of people are talking and writing books about it these days. Everyone says it’s really important to socialize with family and friends and continuing to work gives you an opportunity to surround yourself with fun, interesting people. Some people, for whatever reason tend to isolate themselves in retirement. They turn sour about life and that’s when bad things usually start to happen for them. Your social network will also provide emotional support and guidance as you work your way into your victory lap.

Q: The three stages of retirement have been described as go go, go slow, and no go. In that context, how long do you think your victory lap might last?
A: I love those descriptions of the stages and I totally agree with them. If things go according to my plan my victory lap will last into the go slow stage. This will be when I’m no longer capable of doing everything that I used to and it’s probably at this point that I would consider moving into a retirement home and letting others take care of me.

Q: Have you ever regretted your decision to leave the corporate world and embark on this new journey?
A: The only thing I really regret is that I didn’t learn about the concept of financial independence earlier in life. I really don’t understand why they don’t teach financial independence in school, and why the financial services industry doesn’t talk about it is puzzling. If I had known about financial independence I would have reached findependence that much earlier andhave left my high stress corporate job much sooner than I did. Life now is so much better on this side of the fence. It’s unbelievable.

Q: If readers are considering embarking on a victory lap retirement but are afraid to cut the ties to their former life, what advice do you have for them?
A: I acknowledge, it’s hard to leave a well paying job late in your career. The key is, if you don’t like your job, it might be better health-wise and also result in increased happiness if you make the change. I came to that conclusion for myself after reading Ernie Zelinski’s book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. If on the other hand, you like what you’re doing, why would you ever retire? People have to get over the fear of taking a calculated risk and making a change for the better.

That’s great. Thank you very much for chatting with me today, Michael.
My pleasure, Sheryl.

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Michael Drak can be reached at mi**********@ya***.ca. Victory Lap Retirement is now available for orders online. It can also be purchased for Kindle or Kobo. The paperback edition is available in bookstores, and from either Amazon or Chapters.

This is an edited transcript of a telephone interview conducted in October 2016.

Picture the lifestyle you desire during retirement.

Does it include relaxing under an umbrella on a sandy beach? Swinging the clubs on a lush golf course? Marvelling at natural wonders while on a hike? Or feeling the breeze on the deck of a cruise ship sailing the world?

Travel is a popular choice of retirees. Funding that dream can be made possible through a pension plan. But for it to work you need to act during your working years.

Join a pension plan. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is a great option for those two-thirds of Canadians who don’t have a workplace pension plan.

By contributing regularly to a pension plan such as the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, you can take advantage of time and compounding returns.

Get started now. Learn more about funding your retirement dreams by visiting our website.

Also See

Martin Firestone: What Snowbirds Need to Know About Travel Insurance
8 ways seniors can travel on a budget
Safe travel tips for Snowbirds
Snowbird? How to winterize your house

By Sheryl Smolkin

Lots of interesting reading this week from bloggers both old and new.

On Millenial Revolution, FIRECracker writes about How to Succeed at Anything. She says success is not linear so you have to keep on trying and eventually things will click.

For example, in 2013 she and her husband had two failed children’s novels and 75 rejection letters. But since then, they have had three books published by Scholastic. Their blog has also been internationally syndicated by CNBC and in less than six months it has grown to 650,000 page views.

If you can never figure out where all your money went (a key requirement for budgeting), take a look at Jordann Brown’s blog 50 Ways to Track Your Spending. From personal experience she recommends Mint.com, and best of all, it is free.

As a new homeowner, Jessica Moorhouse says the one thing she wishes she had researched more thoroughly is mortgages. Read 10 Questions You Need to Answer Before Getting a Mortgage to benefit from her experience.

Jonathan Chevreau advocates for “Freedom, Not Stuff.” In Survey finds financial security beats milestones like buying a home and a car on the Financial Independence Hub, he is happy to report on a survey released by Credit Canada Debt Solutions and Capital One Canada that reveals the majority of Canadians agree with him that that financial security beats milestones like buying a home or a car.

Making Financial Decisions? Beware of Confirmation Bias says Tom Drake on the Canadian Finance Blog. When it comes to making financial decisions, confirmation bias can lead you to stay the course with an investment that has changed fundamentally for the worst, all because you are sure that you can’t make a wrong decision, or because you dismiss the reasons that the investment is no longer a good choice.

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Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

All employed Canadians and their employers must contribute to the federally-operated Employment Insurance plan. So if you lose your job, three of the first questions you will likely ask are:

• How much can I expect to receive from EI?
• How long do I have to wait?
• For how many weeks can I receive benefits?

Generally in 2016, you get 55% of your previous income, up to a maximum of $537 per week after a two-week waiting period. You can receive EI  for 14 weeks up to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in your region at the time of filing your claim and the amount of insurable hours you have accumulated in the last 52 weeks or since your last claim, whichever is shorter.

However, in the March 2016 budget, the Liberal government announced some key changes  that will make collecting EI a bit easier in some situations. For example:

1. Eliminating new entrant, re-entrant rules: The Government amended the rules to eliminate the higher EI eligibility requirements that restricted access for new entrants and re-entrants to the labour market. As of July 3, 2016 new entrants to the workforce (think young workers getting their first jobs) or re-entrants (think stay-at-home parents who are going back into the workforce) have been required to work between 420 to 700 hours over the previous 52 weeks to qualify for employment insurance, depending on labour conditions in their area of the country. That’s a reduction from the previous 910 hours.
2. Two week waiting period reduced to one week: The EI waiting period is a period of time that must be served before a claimant can begin to receive EI benefits.  It has been set at two weeks since 1971. The reduction of the waiting period applies to regular, fishing and special benefits such as sick benefits, maternity and parental benefits. However, the number of weeks of EI benefit entitlement will not change.
3. New Working While on Claim pilot project: Between August 7, 2016 and August 11, 2018,  EI claimants collecting regular, fishing, compassionate care or benefits for the care of critically-ill children have two options that will allow them to earn some additional income while they are on claim. Under the “default rule,” the claimant keeps 50 cents of EI benefits for every dollar earned in wages, up to a maximum of 90 per cent of his/her previous weekly earnings (or, roughly four and a half days of work)^.. Above this cap, benefits are reduced dollar-for-dollar. The “default rule” will automatically apply to claims. Otherwise, claimants can choose the “optional rule” which allows them to keep the equivalent of up to roughly one day’s work (defined as $75 or 40 per cent of the benefit rate, whichever is greater) without any deduction from their benefits. Any amount earned above the equivalent of roughly one day’s work will be deducted dollar-for-dollar from benefits.
4. Simplifying job search responsibilities for EI claimants: The Government reversed the 2012 changes to the EI program that strictly defined the job search responsibilities of unemployed workers and forced them to move away from their communities and take lower paying jobs. Nevertheless, long-standing requirements that claimants must search for and accept available work while on EI will continue to be upheld. This change came into effect on July 3, 2016.
5. Extending EI regular benefits for regions affected by commodities downturn: Dramatic declines in global commodity prices since late 2014 have produced sharp and sustained unemployment shocks in commodity-based regions. In response, through Budget 2016, the Government made temporary legislative changes to extend the duration of EI regular benefits by 5 weeks, up to a maximum of 50 weeks of benefits, for all eligible claimants in the 15 EI economic regions (including Saskatchewan) that have experienced the sharpest and most severe increases in unemployment.

The Government also made legislative changes to offer up to an additional 20 weeks of EI regular benefits to long-tenured workers in the same 15 EI economic regions, up to a maximum of 70 weeks of benefits. These benefits became available for one year, beginning in July 2016, and will apply to anyone who started a claim for regular EI benefits on or after January 4, 2015, and is still unemployed.

By Sheryl Smolkin

First of all, I’d like to thank Tom Drake who blogs at canadianfinanceblog for starting the Facebook group Canadian Money Bloggers. Through this group I’m meeting lots of personal finance bloggers for the first time, who will make SPP’s weekly Best from the Blogosphere even more interesting.

Because the reaction to our October 17^th blog with video clips was positive, it will now be a regular monthly feature. You will find the second in the series below.

Jessica Moorhouse has co-opted her normally shy and retiring husband Josh to co-star in a video in which they discuss why the decision not to combine all of their finances helps to maintain their marital bliss.

On Tea at Taxevity, Actuary Promod Sharma interviews guest Gary Hepworth, an Elder Planning Counsellor and Advocate about three main components of planning for aging: a housing plan, a financial plan and a healthcare plan.

Bridget Eastgaard from Money After Graduation  answers the question from a reader, Should I use a Line of Credit to pay off Credit Card Debt?

In Won’t more working seniors squeeze millennials out of the work force? Rob Carrick chats with Lisa Taylor, president of Challenge Factory, about why seniors who want to keep on working do not typically take jobs away from young people.

And finally, as part of his Money School series, Prem Bannerjee tackles the potential pitfalls when it comes to figuring out How to split a bill at a restaurant.

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Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.