By Sheryl Smolkin

For many years you have been focused on saving and investing for retirement by maximizing contributions to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) and other retirement savings vehicles.  As you plan for retirement, you need to consider the best way to shift from accumulation mode to the decumulation phase of retirement savings.

You may choose an annuity from SPP and receive a pension for the rest of your life, transfer the funds to a locked-in account with a financial institution, or choose a combination of the annuity and transfer options. If your account balance is small you may be able to have your account paid to you in a lump sum instead of receiving monthly payments.

SPP members may begin receiving benefits from the Plan any time after age 55 and must be retired from the Plan by the end of the year in which they reach 71. At SPP, “retirement” simply means you are receiving pension payments. You can still be employed and receive a pension from SPP.

SPP annuity options

All SPP annuities pay you a monthly pension for your lifetime. The amount of your monthly pension is based on your account balance, your age at retirement, interest and annuity rates in effect and the age of your joint survivor (where applicable).  SPP annuity income qualifies for the pension income credit and for pension income splitting. Each annuity option treats death benefits differently.

If you decide to purchase an annuity, your individual account balance is transferred from the SPP contribution fund to the SPP annuity fund and a pension contract is established. The annuity fund holds investments in high quality long-term bonds.

Here are the kinds of annuities offered by SPP:

Life only annuity
This annuity provides you with the largest possible monthly pension for your life. When you die all payments stop.

Refund life annuity
This annuity pays you a monthly pension for the rest of your life. When you die any balance remaining in your account is paid to your beneficiary in a lump sum. If you name your spouse as beneficiary of your account, CRA allows death benefits to be transferred, tax-deferred, directly to his or her SPP account or to an RRSP, RRIF or guaranteed Life Annuity. Tax-deferred transfer options are also available if the beneficiary is a financially dependent child or grandchild.

Joint survivor annuity
The joint survivor annuity also pays you a monthly pension for the rest of your life. If you choose this option you must name your spouse as survivor. When you die, monthly payments continue to your spouse. If your spouse predeceases you, the payments stop with your death. Benefits are based on your age and the age of your joint survivor.

Pros and cons of SPP annuities

When you opt for an annuity which pays a fixed monthly benefit, you are buying peace of mind. You know how much you will receive and you can budget accordingly.  Because you purchase the annuity directly from SPP, there are no commissions or referral fees and you can be sure you are getting competitive rates.

Essentially, SPP assumes the risk associated with the investment and you receive pension payments for your life time.

With interest rates at historic lows, you may be reluctant to opt for an annuity. However, it is important to keep in mind that your benefit reflects an integrated blend of cash flows:

• Interest on your money.
• A portion of your contributions back.

Example: August 2012/Joint survivor is the same age as retiree/lump sum of $100,000*

	Age 55	Age 60	Age 65	Age 70
Life only annuity	$451	$494	$554	$637
Refund annuity	$433	$464	$505	$561
Joint survivor annuity 100%	$406	$434	$473	$529

* Your annuity benefits will reflect your own age, interest rates and the balance in your contribution account.

If you are considering retiring from SPP, call the toll-free line
(1-800-667-7153) for an estimate of your monthly pension based on the various annuity options available and your personal information.

By Sheryl Smolkin

To contribute to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan you must have Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution room.  Therefore it is important to understand what “RRSP contribution room” means and how is it calculated.

Your RRSP contribution room is the amount of RRSP contributions you can deduct for income tax purposes in a particular year. For 2012, RRSP contribution room will be the 2012 RRSP deduction limit appearing on the notice of assessment (or reassessment) you receive once you have filed your 2011 income tax return and it has been processed.

The RRSP deduction limit for each year is the lesser of:

• 18 per cent of your previous year’s earned income,* and
• The RRSP dollar limit for the year ($22,970 for 2012).

*Earned income is the annual total of:  employment income, net rental income, net income from self-employment, royalties, research grants, alimony or maintenance payments, disability payments from CPP or QPP and supplementary UIC payments.

However, if you belong to a workplace registered pension plan (RPP), your annual RRSP contribution room will be reduced by a Pension Adjustment (PA) representing the value of both employer and employee RPP contributions.

If you do not use up your RRSP contribution room in any year, it is added to the next year’s RRSP contribution room and carried forward indefinitely. When certain kinds of income are transferred to your RRSP such as a retiring allowance or an amount received from a deceased spouse’s RRSP, contribution room is not required.

If you want to calculate your 2012 RRSP deduction limit, use Chart 3 on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website.

The maximum annual contribution you can make to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is $2,500, even if you have additional RRSP contribution room. You can also transfer an additional $10,000/year from another RRSP to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan.

Since you have already used up RRSP room when you made the original RRSP contribution, you will not need additional RRSP contribution room to make an RRSP/SPP transfer of up to $10,000 each year.

Also read:

RRSPs and other registered plans for retirement

RRSP contribution limits

Frequently asked questions: RSPs

Q. What investment options does the Saskatchewan Pension Plan offer?

A. Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) offers its members two investment choices:

• The balanced fund (BF)
• The short-term fund (STF).

Members are permitted, but not required, to choose how to direct their contributions in the Plan’s funds. The default fund is the BF – if a member does not give us directions, contributions are deposited to the BF.

Q. What are the objectives of the balanced fund?

The objective of the BF is capital accumulation – growing member accounts to provide them with retirement income in a prudent, risk-controlled manner.

The BF diversifies investments between several asset classes including bonds, equities, real estate and short-term investments. As a further diversification tool, the assets of this fund are divided between two investment managers.

Q. What are the objectives of the short-term fund?

The objective of the STF is capital preservation. Therefore, the money is invested in one asset class – Canadian money market instruments. The STF benchmark is the DEX 91-day T-bill Index. This fund operates on a cost-recovery basis.

STF returns will likely be lower than the BF as the objective is to preserve account balances rather than provide long-term growth.

Q. Which fund should you choose?

A. To answer this question you have to gauge what level of risk you’re willing to accept in a given investment. Factors that will influence this include your investment goals and your retirement timeline. Here are some questions and statements to consider when choosing between the BF and STF:

Balanced Fund	Short-Term Fund
Is my main investment goal to seek higher returns and build up the value of my account significantly?	Is my main investment goal to make sure I preserve the money I already have in my account?
Do I prefer a mixed portfolio of stocks, bonds, and short-term investments?	Am I willing to accept a smaller return in exchange for less investment risk?
How long do I have until I retire?	How long do I have until I retire?
If my pension plan takes an unexpected loss, do I have enough time to recover from it before I retire?	If my pension plan takes an unexpected loss, do I have only a short amount of time to recover from it before I retire?
Am I comfortable with risk in my portfolio?	Do I need more certainty in my portfolio?
Can I tolerate a moderate short-term loss and remain focussed on my long-term goals?	Will a moderate short-term loss seriously jeopardize my future plans?
“I’m a long-term investor who can comfortably tolerate a moderate level of risk and can accept a short-term loss along the road to long-term gains.My goal is to steadily increase my account balance through consistently investing in a balanced portfolio over a long period of time.”	“I’m a short-term investor who can willingly trade the opportunity for higher earnings for a less risky investment. My goal is to guard my money and keep my account intact. I am less concerned about earning a high rate of return.”

It’s a good practice to re-visit these questions periodically when monitoring your investments to ensure that you are still matched with the correct fund. If any of your answers to these questions change, consider whether you want to remain in the fund, or whether a switch would be more suitable. You may wish to seek the guidance of a financial professional for assistance in making your decisions.

By Sheryl Smolkin

When you save for retirement, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether your money is in good hands. With the Saskatchewan Pension Plan you can be confident that your money is managed by professional investment managers based on a written statement of specific quality, quantity and benchmark standards.

A Board of Trustees appointed by the Saskatchewan government administers the Plan and acts as Trustee of the Funds. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the investments are managed prudently. Responsibility for safekeeping of the assets, income collection, settlement of investment transactions, and accounting for the investment transactions has been delegated to a trust company.

No one can guarantee how much your investments will earn over time, but SPP’s Statement of Investment Policies and Goals for the investment and administration of plan assets is based on a “prudent person portfolio approach.”

Non-retired members can invest their assets in either the balanced fund or the short-term fund. These two funds are collectively known as the Contribution Fund.  Assets of retired members are held in the Annuity Fund.

The purpose of the SPP Balanced Fund is to accumulate member assets and invest them in a prudent, risk-controlled manner for long-term growth. The short-term fund is designed to preserve capital and provide a stable cash flow.

In order to achieve the long-term investment goals, the balanced fund invests in assets that may have uncertain returns, such as Canadian equities, foreign equities and bonds. However, the Board attempts to reduce the overall level of risk by diversifying the asset classes, diversifying within each individual asset class and diversifying by manager style.

Risk is also addressed through quality, quantity and diversification guidelines and by retaining an Investment Consultant who monitors investment performance and reports to the Board on Investment Manager related issues that may have an impact on performance.

As a further risk control measure, management reviews compliance on a monthly basis of each of the managers with the quality and quantity guidelines contained in this policy. Finally, investment managers provide quarterly reports to the Board on compliance with the investment policy throughout the reporting period.

The short-term fund eliminates most risks by investing solely in a high quality money market portfolio. The remaining risks are accepted as the costs of providing a high level of capital preservation.

You can review SPP’s balanced fund, short-term fund and annuity fund investments at December 31, 2011 on the Plan’s website.

SPP allocates 100% of the market rate of return, less operating expenses of about 1% to members monthly. With all of the checks and balances in place, you can be confident that your money is in good hands, and will be there to help fund your retirement when you need it.

Also read:

Is my money safe in a company pension plan?

Four key questions about the safety of your pension

Is the money in my RRSP safe?

Tim Calibaba podcast

Hi,

My name is Sheryl Smolkin. I’m a pension and benefits lawyer and journalist. Today I’m continuing with our series of interviews with the people behind the scene at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan

Tim Calibaba has an extensive background and experience in many aspects of the financial services industry going back more than 30 years.  In 2009 he received a designation from the prestigious Institute of Corporate Directors, Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto.

Currently he is serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. He is also on the Boards of Directors of both Stone Investment Group and independent wind energy firm, Kineticor Renewables Inc.

Today Tim is going to answer some questions about how the Saskatchewan Pension Fund is invested.

Welcome Tim. Thanks Sheryl.

Q.  Tell us a little more about your investment background and experience.

A. Well, I’ve been in the mutual fund industry for many years. I started my own business back in 1986 in Saskatchewan. At that time we were just a small Saskatchewan based-company only operating in that province. Since then we expanded over a 20 year period from British Columbia right through to Ontario.

When we sold our business and merged with Berkshire Investments we had 400 advisers across Canada and over $4 billion in assets under management. As an independent mutual fund dealer, we were primarily focused on looking for the best investment managers for our clients’ money.

Q. What role do the Trustees have in investing funds deposited by SPP members?

A. Well, the first thing the Board has to do is set what is called the Investment Policy Statement. So we make a decision about where we want the funds allocated to from the standpoint of various countries, the portion in stocks, bonds, real estate – that sort of thing.

We set the policy and then we search for the best managers to fulfill that policy and make those investments on behalf of our customers. Then we basically follow through on the selection and monitoring of those managers.

Q.  What style of investing does the Board adhere to?

A. The Board has always had a very diversified style. One of our two managers is Greystone and that company has a growth style. The other manager is Leith Wheeler in Vancouver which has more of a value investment style.

As part of those styles then we also allocate to different countries, so we have a portion invested in international funds and the U.S. We feel that diversification is very important with a combination of styles and allocation of assets on a global basis.

Q. How does the Board monitor and get advice on investments?

A. The Board meets quarterly and at every quarterly meeting we have our independent consultant Aon Hewitt who does the management research for us. They review the manager’s performance – not just of our managers but of other managers that are available to pension funds and they report to us every quarter how our managers are doing and if there is any changes at their firms we should be worried about. And at every meeting we bring in one of the managers as well as Aon Hewitt so we can talk to them face to face.

Q. How has the SPP balanced fund performed as compared to market benchmarks over its 25 year history?

A. It’s actually done very well. It’s had a performance of 8.2% for 25 years which is pretty outstanding and approximately one percent better than the benchmark. Part of the reason is the low cost and efficient operation.

With the expense ratio around one percent it obviously helps the investors.

Q.  Why do you think SPP is a good investment to build retirement savings for members?

Well first of all, I think you have to look at the 25 year history. A fund that has been around that long and has done that well has obviously proven itself and that’s important if you are looking for a place to invest your money for retirement.

We have also have a low management expense ratio, as I mentioned before. We have a very diversified style with the two different management styles and we are diversified internationally with a real estate and bond component. So I think overall we have a very strong portfolio. With the balanced approach it does help to minimize the effects of the ups and downs in the market.

We also have a pension plan available to small business owners that is very low cost and very simple for any business, whether Saskatchewan based or outside of Saskatchewan to participate in.

Thanks very much Tim. I appreciate that you were able to take time from your busy schedule to talk to us today.

Small business owners can increase recruitment and retention success in a competitive labour market by strengthening their employee benefits package. Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) is a smart, simple way to offer pension benefits to employees (full-time, part-time, casual or temporary).

Furthermore, there are tax advantages for employers who make contributions on behalf of employees. Having a pension plan shows you are committed to helping employees save money for retirement. As a true pension plan, money invested in SPP remains locked-in until retirement.

Here are some FAQ about adopting the SPP as your company’s retirement savings vehicle.

Q. How much will it cost me if I add the SPP to my employee benefits program?

A. SPP offers all the benefits of an employer-sponsored pension plan – but you bear no cost for plan administration.

Contributions can be made:

(a) By the employer as an employee benefit;

(b) By the employee through a payroll deduction;

(c) Or cost-shared by the employer and employee.

There are no sales commissions when members contribute or retire and there is no cost to set up your business plan.

Q. I’m very busy. Is SPP complicated to administer?

A. Administration is simple. SPP assists with the initial paperwork and implementation of the Plan. Employers can then receive monthly, quarterly or year-end reports that serve as the reminder for their next contribution. All employees between the ages of 18 and 71 may participate in the Plan, including full-time, part-time, casual and temporary staff.

After the intial set up SPP handles the distribution of receipts and statements to the employees.  The employer has no liability for the investment decisions or future pension obligation to their employees.  Investment instructions are provided by the employees and SPP directs and monitors the investment managers.

Q. Do I have to contribute every month?

A. You can tailor the plan to your company’s size and budget. Contributions to the Plan can be made monthly or any time of year. There is no minimum contribution, and no obligation to contribute every year. The maximum is $2,500 per year.

Q. Do all my employees have to participate?

A. Unlike plans that require a minimum enrolment before the benefits can be offered, SPP has no minimum. Even if only one employee is interested, you can start an SPP Business Plan – and you can just as easily add members to the Plan at any time.

Q. How is SPP treated for tax purposes?

A. SPP allows your business to put pre-tax dollars into investments for your employees. The employer contributions are deductible as a salary expense and employees may deduct the total contribution within RRSP limits.

Q. What happens if an employee leaves my company?

A. Should an employee leave your company for any reason, they simply take their SPP Plan with them, without any additional paperwork or sign-off for the employer. As Plan members, they can contribute to the Plan regardless of where they live or who employs them.

Q. Is there a waiting period until my employees can participate?

A. Many other pension plans require that an employee work at a company for a certain length of time before they are eligible to contribute. With SPP there is no waiting period; employees may begin participating at the employer’s discretion. Contributions belong to the employee as soon as they are invested.

Q. How do I tell my employees about SPP?

A. SPP will help employers with this.  Please contact SPP and arrange for someone to speak to your employees.  There are tools available on our website, including a wealth calculator, as well as opportunities to learn more about SPP on our blog (savewithspp.com), Facebook and LinkedIn.

Q. What do I have to do to get started?

A. Each employee will need to fill out a membership application, which is available online, and provide a copy of a proof of age document such as a passport or driver’s license.

Employees are then listed on the “Employer contribution statement” which is also available online.  Mail all the paperwork into SPP and we will set up the accounts for each of your employees and an employer number for you.

Contributions for your employees can be submitted by cheque, automatic payment or credit card.  Contribution amounts are flexible and voluntary and employers are free to use SPP as an incentive or bonus.

For example,  the employer may decide to match an employee $500 per year or may choose to offer SPP as a place for employees to deposit any bonus money. SPP is flexible and can be customized to fit your business!

By Sheryl Smolkin

Although you require RRSP contribution room to make contributions to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP), there are some fundamental differences between this pension plan and an RRSP.

One key distinction is that funds you contribute to the SPP are locked-in until you choose to retire from the plan between ages 55 to 71. This means that the money you need to supplement government benefits and other savings will be there when you need it for retirement.

In contrast, your RRSP accumulated contributions can be withdrawn at any time, subject to payment of income tax on withdrawals in the year of receipt. In addition, there are several programs that allow you to borrow and then repay RRSP funds including the Home Buyer’s Plan (15 year repayment), and the Life Long Learning Plan (10 year repayment).

However, by withdrawing RRSP funds or borrowing from your RRSP, you reduce long term growth potential in your account. The tax-free savings account (TFSA) may be better suited as an emergency fund or to save for shorter-term goals, as contribution room is not lost when withdrawals are made, and funds can be replaced in the next year.

The SPP also gives you flexible options for using your money when you retire from the plan. You may choose an annuity from SPP and be assured of receiving a pension for the rest of your life; transfer the funds to a locked-in account or prescribed RRIF with a financial institution; or choose a combination of the annuity and transfer options.

If you choose to allocate all or part of your SPP savings to an annuity option, funds stay invested with SPP; there is no transfer fee; and, the SPP assumes the investment risk and the obligation to pay a pension for your lifetime. RRSP accounts must be transferred to a life income fund before an annuity purchase can be made from an insurance company.

Saving in the SPP or a registered retirement savings plan should not be an either/or proposition. The SPP is an ideal basic building block for your retirement savings. And if you have more contribution room, you can still save and invest additional money in an individual or group RRSP.

Also read:

Pensions & RRSPs

Retirement Planning: 10 common mistakes

Griffiths: 6 reasons to avoid RRSP loans

Planning your pension

Want to save tax? Look to Saskatchewan

Mark Stockford podcast

Hi,

My name is Sheryl Smolkin. I’m a pension and benefits lawyer and journalist. Today I’m continuing our series of interviews with the people behind the scene at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan.

I’m pleased to be talking to Mark Stockford. Mark is an independent insurance broker with 4 employees. He offers his staff the Saskatchewan Pension Plan as part of their employee benefits package.

Welcome Mark.

Hi Sheryl, thanks for having me.

Q. How long has your group been part of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan?

A. I believe we first started in March 2003.

Q. Why did you decide to get involved with SPP?

A. Well, we wanted to provide our employees with an RRSP program allowing them the opportunity to accumulate retirement funds at a faster rate. We match their contributions and hopefully it improves employee retention.

Q. So why did you select SPP as opposed to a Group RRSP from a financial institution.

A. I believe in supporting the local and provincial economy and this is a local, provincially operated pension plan.

Q. How many of your employees are enrolled?

A. We have all our employees involved. When they are first hired there is a six month waiting period and then we offer it to them. To date, everyone who has had the chance has jumped at it.

Q. You mentioned that you match contributions. Tell me a little more about that.

A. It’s an employee benefit I want to offer to my employees, so on a monthly basis we have money taken out of our account and 50% is charged back to the employee via payroll deduction.

Q. You said you contributed $50/month when the contribution limit was $600/year but you are in the process of upping that?

A. Yes. We have been advised by SPP that they can now accept annual deposits up to I believe $2,500, so to make it easy we’ve gone to $200/month. We are paying $100 of that, so each employee will have the benefit of $2,500/year.

Q. Some employers may find the amount of paperwork they have to fill out to administer a pension plan overwhelming. Does this apply to the SPP?

A. Actually it’s very simple. Originally when we signed up for it was a one page application each employee filled out, and Kindersley insurance supplied a monthly withdrawal authorization form to SPP along with a void cheque.

Since then it’s just been a matter of us sending emails to the SPP contact regarding any changes. SPP supplies the statements and income tax receipts for each employee. All I have to do is provide the information on the T4s for the employees. SPP makes it very easy for me, as the employer.

Q. What feedback have you had from employees regarding the opportunity to participate in SPP at work?

A. They’ve been very happy with it. Any time we’ve offered it to employees there has been no question that they have all wanted to participate. We don’t make it compulsory. It’s something they can do if they want.

It seems to be a good RRSP option. The returns in the past have been good. It’s been a little bit slower in the last few years with the economy but it’s been good.

Q. Have you disucced your participation with other employers, and what kind of a reaction do you get from them?

A. I’ve spoken to some people in town. Some seem interested. Some are already doing it. Of course, there are others who don’t see the benefits. But I feel the benefits to my operation are great. The employees like working here. They see the benefit and its one more reason not to leave Kindersley insurance.

Mark, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today. I’m sure other employers and their employees will be very interested in the reasons why you offer the Saskatchewan Pension Plan to your employees.

You are welcome, Sheryl.

Derek Foster retired at the age of 34 despite spending his 20s backpacking across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand – and living a number of years in Asia.  He has written six books including “The Idiot Millionaire” and most recently, “The Worried Boomer.”

On February 13, 2012 he was interviewed by Patricia Lovett-Reid Senior Vice President with TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. for Business News Network. When asked for one tip that is not out there in mainstream personal finance, here’s what he said:

“Join a pension plan. Why doesn’t everybody join a pension plan? There is a pension plan available called the SPP run out of Saskatchewan and anybody in Canada can join it. It’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. Have a few eggs in that basket here, a few over here, a few over there….

…The reality is that a lot of people don’t belong to a pension plan and they are going to have to create some sort of income stream in retirement. There’s talk of OAS changing, who knows what will happen to CPP? The SPP is another stream of income. If you put all these baskets together, eventually you have enough to live fairly comfortably.”

Shouldn’t YOU join SPP?

BNN interview

You Tube video: Meet Derek Foster

This man admits he’s an idiot millionaire

By Sheryl Smolkin

Saving for retirement is hard. You fully intend to put away a percentage of every paycheque but mortgage payments, car payments and new shoes for your children get in the way. When you have a few dollars in your pocket after paying the bills, travel and the latest tech toy are powerful magnets.

But you can make saving much easier, by adopting one simple financial planning principle: “Pay yourself first.”

“Pay yourself first” as a cornerstone of investment philosophy was popularized in this country by David Chilton, the renowned author of The Wealthy Barber. Simply put, it means that before you pay your bills, before you buy your groceries, before you do anything else, set aside a portion of your income to save. The first bill you pay each month should be to yourself.

Decide on the purposes for which you want to save and the amount you want to save each pay period. Then arrange for automatic withdrawals by your bank or other financial institution.

Here are three reasons why paying yourself first makes sense:

1. You are making savings a priority. You are telling yourself that your future is just as important as all of the current expenses you are responsible for.
2. You are developing sound financial habits. Most people spend money in the following order: bills, fun, savings. By putting savings first, you put the money aside before you find reasons to spend it.
3. You are building a cash buffer. Regular cash contributions are an excellent way to build a retirement nest egg. You can also allocate a portion of your savings for an emergency fund or to purchase a home. Paying yourself first gives you the freedom to choose.

You can even use the tax system to “Pay yourself first” and get a raise. If you are saving regularly in the Saskatchewan Pension Plan or a registered retirement savings plan, you can complete a T1213 form and request permission for your employer to deduct a lower amount of taxes at source,

By reducing your withholdings at source, you are paying yourself and not the Canada Revenue Agency first, and increasing your net take home pay. You are effectively giving yourself a raise all year long, not just once at tax time.

You can contribute up to $2,500/year to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan and contribution options include directly contributing from your bank account on a pre-authorized contribution schedule.

Developing the “Pay yourself first” habit can help you build up a substantial retirement nest egg. For example, if you deposit $2,500/year in the SPP and earn five percent over a 40 year career (age 25 to 65) you will have a lump sum of about $317,000 in your account.

For additional retirement or other savings, you can also direct your financial institution to transfer regular amounts to savings vehicles like tax free savings accounts and registered retirement savings plans.

Also read:

The Wealthy Barber

The Automatic Millionaire

The Richest Man in Babylon

Pay yourself first

Pay yourself first?

Pay yourself first

Sheryl Smolkin is a Toronto lawyer, writer and editor. She blogs for the Toronto star on moneyville.ca and can be contacted through her website. You can also follow her on Twitter @SherylSmolkin.