' t t yi i ‘As Canada’s average age goes up - and “grey power” increases, ap-" | pealing to the over-60s has becn an - important feature of banking ser-: vices-in the, 1980s. Hyperinflation * followed. by recession, which _ characterized the-early years of the: decade, demonstrated the. special __ .yulnerability of those. on a fixed | in- _ come. . It has been recognized that: _ retirees (or those about to retire) are most concerned with getting the most from their. savings and keep- . ing costs as low as possible. _ _ Asa result, two areas have been _ ..emphasized in many seniors’ ser- vice packages — reduction. or elimination of service charges and — premium. rates of interest on savings deposits. Each bank hasits . own. approach, ‘but these two threads are a common: factor 1o all. Often a feature of the package isa card for use in the bank’s autom ated ” Maybe. you’ ’re an. “empty nester”? The children have grown, ~ and gone and you're finding the family house big and emply and a chore to maintain. So you're been thinking about renting an apart- ment. 7 “But what about acondominium? Certainly, there arc many ad-— vantages, although this late-1980s "living style docsn’t suit everyone - and if you do decide in favor, you'll want to check out the par- ticular property pretty carefully — before you make the big change. _ Qn the plus side, owning a condo apartment means you retain an ~ equity position in the marketplace and if you like to travel, you can. pull up stakes at short notice and: an ks offer special © services for seniors | teller machines (ATMs). People “who may have been reluctant to try « these machines are encouraged to ry theni ‘as one answer to waiting - in long lines. (Some ‘banks have extra staff at the counter to serve pensioners at peak periods.) Users of ATMs also have access to their . accounts after regular business - hours. ‘Normally there’s: a ‘commission - cost on purchase of moncy orders. or traveller's cheques. Then there are service costs to write cheques, pay bills or transfer funds between accounts, They ca can add up.. et Ask ‘or help . package. To gel these privileges, all a senior has to do is ask. “in your future? not worry all the time you ‘reaway about the empty house attracting - “ break-ins or burning down... | Choose with care Asyou lookat condominium op- portunitics, you "H discover there’s a wide variety of different cultures from building to build- _ ing. Consider carefully the degree of “neighboriiness” you enjoy and "* Jook for a condominium that of- fers just that.. Some condos are re miérocosms of | villages. ‘People are involved with. one another and are forever or- ganizing committces: and ac- tivities of all kinds. Others are less Seniors can talk to- branch staff S about how to get discounts of com- , pletely climinate, many ‘service | ‘charges with a ‘seniors’ service 7 SARA 0 Sgt te te ae y art aealiall RAS ait TR IE ter ae eke oa" “geet ma Seu Le iene ee cromserrat aaa EO oA Banks. also may provide sostal” cheques and deposit slips with duplicate copies, which provide a “copy of cach transaction as it is made. Many people find this lo be a conveniént record- ‘keeping method. . Planning for retirement is ; another way- banks are reaching out to” _ senior citizens, For example, banks -offer Registered Retirement Savings ‘Plans (RRSPs), and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF). Further. informa- ‘tion about services for seniors is available from your local branch. When it comes to banking, there ’ are advantages in having reached the golden years. - And that’s.the way it should be, (The Canadian Bankers’ Association has produced a new booklet, Steps to Relire- ment: Planning Now for Your Financial - Future. For a free copy write: Steps, The Bankers’ Association, P.O; Box 348, 2 Firs! a Place, Toronio, Ontario. MIX HEI) ; keep themselves. 10 » themselves. So. before you . decidé, by all ‘means talk to several owners in the buildings you're looking at to- ‘see whether the culture there is, _ justright for you.” Fitness) facilities - Many condominiums. offer out: - standing facilities for, physical fit- ness and swimming pools-in par- ticular offer exercise that many people can enjoy all their lives, Don't decide -in haste. Maybe - you'll conclude a condo just isn’t for you after.all. But only a thorough check of what's avail- able will help you: come. to the. right decision. By MARY CAMERON and DIANNE TREMLETT - : The concept of reverse mortgag- ing was developed to assist older homeowners who wanted to remain in their homes as long as possible, but who realistically did ‘not have the resources to maintain both their home and desired life- style. The only options available to them: were to sell the home or eut back on their standard of living. _ The theory of reverse mortgages is to take some of thé equity built upi in a home and convert it to an income stream. There are many variations onthe theme. Essen- ially the idea is to put a mortgage on the home. and invest the - proceeds in a financial product that will provide a higher month- ly cash flow than the cost of the . borrowing. The concept is not new, it has been offered in Britain and the United States for many years, but - fi has not been readily available in Canada. | program the children’s in- heritance may be reduced, Also, we strongly advise that inde- |/ “Then, should you decide to go [seniors keep homes | By setting up programs such as this we, as financial advisers, have. “been able to give homeowncrsad- - ditional valuable’ years in‘ their If. homes as well as allowing them to maintain their financial -inde- pendence. This is a wonderful idea; however, it is not appropriate for |} everyone. A decision to. proceed with any program should only be made after careful examination ofl], ‘the alternatives with a trusted and competent financial counsellor. * Consideration’ must be give to the effect on the family’s estate; as certainly by adopting this perident legal advice be obtained before proceeding with any plan. ahead it might also be a good idea to advise the children of your. decision. Mary Cameron and Dianne Tremlett are members of the Seniors Planning Group of Sutherland Investment Corporation. You can start CPP benefits at age 60 . Did you know you can start tocol- -Ject. your. Canada Pension Plan. -reuirement bencfits at any time after your 60th birthday? You don’t have - (0 wait to 65. Ifyou declare that you have' ‘sub- - stantially ceased employment” (which CPP interprets to mean that your annual earnings from employ-" ment or self-employment won "LEX _ ceed the current maximum of $6,516.72 a year) then you're pen- sionable! — For each month short of your6sth. birthday the pension you receive is reduced by 0.5 per cent. From then "on your monthly cheque -will be in- dexed butit-won’tsuddenly jumpto the “age 65 level” when you pass Incidentally, it works the other way around too, so that your-pen- sion increases 0.5 percent for-cach | - month you. don’t collect after age’ 65, to a maximum of 130 per cent. at age 70, which is the latest youcan apply. Take a year off The big news is that having made the initial declaration that you won't be eaming more than $6,516 in the next 12 months, the limitation is binding. only for that period. Once you qualify, you can continue » to receive your retirement pension even if your earnings subsequently. increase above the limit.» In other words, the limit is uscd only as aqualilying testonly for the . first year. mena ene ee ee mere nee meee eae a I ETE egret nae duaibem iil — 5 i; ay Tae wgitoy ce mee ee ee ep en et nel rege ia; a fe . : 7 . —_ =, * 7 . a is eerie tps ta. : “friendly” andi unit owners tend to. that birthday. When should you apply, whether _ foran “early” pension or to begin at 65? CPP says, “...about six months before you want to begin receiving the pension. You may apply up to one year in advance.” The form is . available from any of the Income Security Programs offices of Health and Welfare Canada. Check your blue pages for the office closest to you. Incidentally, if you decide to leave Canada temporarily or, permancnt- ly, your CPP retirement pension | is ° not affected; it's “payable in Canadian dollars anywhere in the world for your lifetime,” the CPP handbook says. Whether or not you're applying immediately, CPP publishes uscful brochures covering disability pen- When You’ re e looking for answers, look to these people. Got a dif ficult question about your personal or + business insurance requirements? One you. need answeres quickly? Any of these Great-West Life agents can help. We are qualified to _ analyze your problem and establish a financial planning program tailored to meet your - specific needs. We can assist you in the areas of life and health insurance, business and group insurance, pensions and annuities. Take the difficulty out of planning your . insurance. Call one of these highly-skilled representatives: from. Great-West Life today. 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