Why Protect?We’ve helped hundreds of clients move confidently into retirement.
Careful planning and pinpoint execution are important even at the latter stage of your career as there remain a number of important financial decisions to make. Here are three key points to consider.
Time to make coverage adjustments
As you approach the slow-down or retirement phase, there are a number of possible paths such as teaching or grooming an associate. The choices you make will affect the coverages you have in place and we can advise you accordingly.
With increased age comes increase risk
Hopefully you’ll be one of the lucky ones that never needs to use their disability insurance coverage. But the reality is that most disability claims come from dentists in their 50s and 60s. We are ready to provide you with guidance and claims assistance if you need to file claim. And if you do, it will be a tremendous relief to know that dealing with the complexity of the paperwork and the claims process is not a burden you’ll need to shoulder alone.
Managing the accumulated wealth
The end of your working career is also the beginning of the deaccumulation of assets built-up during your life. We are experts in helping clients ensure that their assets last as long as they do. With various tax-advantaged solutions including permanent life insurance, IPPs, RRIFs and annuities, we can make sure you achieve the retirement lifestyle you deserve.
Solutions for Near RetireesWe have what you need
It’s time to take a critical look at the plans you have in place to ensure that your needs are still being met. Often you will need to tweak, trim or change coverages to reflect your changing personal and professional circumstances.
Disability Insurance
In some cases income needs remain high, in other situations they decline as family obligations subside. If your personal production is declining as a share of the practice production, business overhead expense disability insurance can be adjusted to reflect your new reality.
Life Insurance
The time for large term insurance policies may have passed, but you are likely taking advantage of the tax-preferred aspects of permanent life insurance to ensure that your estate objectives and obligations are met. Whether that’s to address taxes on death or to transfer wealth, we can advise you accordingly.
Wealth Management
Once your practice is sold, and you enter the deaccumulation phase, you will want to make sure your portfolio is properly diversified to ensure it is protected from mortality risk – the chance of outliving your investments. We have a number of potential solutions to this challenge.
Frequently Asked QuestionsWe have you covered
We’ve helped jump start the careers of thousands of dentists from all across Canada. Working closely with you as a trusted Advisor, we’ll get you quickly on the road to financial success.
Do I cancel my disability insurance after I sell my practice?
Business Overhead Disability Insurance is typically cancelled after the deal closes. The time of practice sale is an ideal time to review your personal Disability coverage, but provided you continue to work in some capacity (as an associate or locum or in another field), it us usually kept to age 65.
Does my disability insurance automatically cancel at age 65? What if I plan to work past age 65?
First, let’s look at a claim scenario. If you are on a claim, payments will generally cease in the month that you turn 65. One exception to this rule is if you remain disabled at age 65 and have not yet received benefits for 24 months, your claim will continue until you are no longer on claim or reach 24 months of benefits.
Second, let’s look at the no claim scenario. Your current policy expires at 65 but that doesn’t mean you have no coverage options if you continue to work past age 65 on a fulltime basis (at least 30 hrs per week, and 10 months per year). A few months before your 65th birthday, the insurance company will send you an offer to continue coverage and we will discuss whether it makes sense for you to continue the policy.
Should I cancel corporately-owned life insurance once I sell the Practice/DPC?
No, in most cases, it makes sense to keep the coverage for personal reasons. But more importantly, it is critical to address the ownership of life insurance before the DPC is sold. This is especially true if there are cash values, but even term policies should be moved prior to sale.
How should I invest the proceeds from selling my practice so I don't outlive my savings?
Only a generation or two ago, this was not a significant issue in financial planning. In 1980, the average life expectancy of a Canadian was only 75, meaning that most people lived around 10 years in retirement. Today the average Canadian lives to 82. There are a number of investment products and strategies that can address the potential of investors living to a “ripe old age”. The most obvious one is to use some of your wealth to purchase a life annuity – a guaranteed income stream for life.