Here are 10 areas with a few questions that will shed some knowledge on the subject of retirement if you are considering it. Thomas Berger, a well-known novelist, once said, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” 

Lifestyle Planning — Do you have a clear picture of what your retirement life will look like? How will you fill your day? Will you pursue new opportunities such as volunteer work, travel, a new business?  

Living Arrangements — Where will you retire? Will you sell your home and downsize to help finance your retirement? Will you buy a vacation property or move to a different climate?  

Income Security — Will you have enough income when you decide to stop working?  Should you apply for CPP early? Have you considered your pension options? What is your retirement savings “number” that will allow you to maintain your lifestyle? Do you have a financial plan in place that will allow you to retire when you want?

Investment Strategy — Are your investment objectives appropriate for the retirement phase of your life? How does your risk tolerance impact your asset mix and how does this affect your future income stream? How will you diversify your retirement income from a tax perspective?
Physical Health and Care Planning — Have you considered the impact of a life-altering medical event? Do you have adequate insurance coverage to protect you from the financial impact of being diagnosed with a serious illness or the future need for long-term care?  

Incapacity Planning — Do you have an enduring power of attorney to ensure that your assets are administered according to your wishes, even if you are no longer able to make the decisions?

Wealth Preservation and Transfer — Do you have a properly planned and prepared will to ensure that your assets will pass efficiently to your intended beneficiaries with a minimum of tax? Have you considered what assets in your estate will be subject to income tax at death? How much income tax will be payable at your death, and is there enough liquidity to pay that tax?  

Important Causes and Charitable Giving — Is your planning consistent with your values and goals? Have you considered donating assets such as publicly listed securities, life insurance or registered plans to improve tax efficiency for your estate?  

Asset Protection — Is there potential for family disputes or disagreement in settling your estate? Are your assets exposed to potential claims of creditors and others? Have you reviewed the ownership of your assets and your corporate structure in light of potential business risks?

Succession Planning — If you are a business owner, have you developed a plan for the sale of your business, or for the transfer to family members?  Is your succession plan tax-efficient?  

This is only a partial listing of the questions needing answers to plan for a successful retirement. If you would like to receive the complete checklist, please email me at pmurray@assante.com and I will send you the version that I use with my clients. •

Peter Murray is a senior financial advisor with Assante Capital Management Ltd. (Member CIPF) in Calgary. Email your questions or comments to Peter at pmurray@assante.com or check his website atassante.com/advisors/pmurray.

WASHINGTON DC – Engaged a relentless battle against time and fatigue, a select group of message scientists assembled by the White House’s Center for Narrative Control say they will take “all steps necessary” to contain a recent outbreak of scrutonium, a deadly poll-eating supervirus that attacks the immuno-hope system, leaving victims vulnerable to material facts.  

“Failure is simply not an option,” said an exhausted Mission Chief David Axelrod. “If left unchecked, this virus may actually force us to move back to Chicago.”

The recent re-infection of scrutonium into the body politic has been a harrowing turn of fortune for Axlerod and his scientific team. In November 2008, they had declared scrutonium “all but extinct,” although they kept small amounts of the strain for use in laboratory experiments with Republican tax returns. It was thought to be in containment as recently as five weeks ago, with scientists citing poll results showing resistance to doses of unemployment previously considered fatal.

All that changed on September 12 after an unexpected outbreak in Benghazi, Libya. Although it caught Axlerod and his team by surprise, they were temporarily able to keep it under control with a regimen of YouTube blame therapy and gaffe-meme injections. But the new Benghazi strain proved stubbornly resistant, and has continued to slowly spread.

Amid their battle to contain the Benghazi strain, a second – and even more deadly – outbreak appeared in Denver on October 3. Nicknamed “the Doomsday Strain”, the Denver scrutonium virus has thusfar been impervious to any attempt at containment.

“We’re dealing with the ultimate buzzkiller here,” said Senior Narrative Engineer Stephanie Cutter. “This one directly attacks voters’ ability to hallucinate happy thoughts, or even ignore the obvious – no matter how many squirrels we innoculate them with.”

Despite all-out efforts to contain the virus, by Friday daily internal gauge readings at CNC headquarters indicated a public opinion disaster was in the making. In order to buy time, Axlerod called on reserves from the 101st Media Narrative Squadron.

“With a virus this aggressive, you need boots on the ground to help fight any new outbreak and sterilize the area with distractions,” said CNC jounalistic affairs liaison David Plouffe. “Luckily, the 101st is highly trained, unquestioningly loyal, and completely immune to all known post-2008 strains of scrutonium.”

“That Mitt Romney sure seemed awful testy, didn’t he?” said hazmat-suit clad Lt. Ben Smith of the 101st’s Politico Company, sweeping the rubble of Denver for trace readings of scrutonium.

While Smith and others work around the clock to quarantine the virus, Axlerod and his team remain deep beneath the White House in a specially constructed containment laboratory, racing to find a cure before it has a chance to wipe out Washington as we know it. Although all their experiments have thusfar proven unsuccessful, Axlerod refuses to concede.

“If I’ve learned anything in this job, it’s that hope is a strategy,” he said, wiping flopsweat from his combover.

“For instance, maybe Joe Biden will find a cure Wednesday night,” he added.