Retirement Planning for Mercedes and Alejandro

Details About Mercedes and Alejandro

Mercedes and Alejandro have lived in Toronto, Ontario for the last 25 years since immigrating to Canada from South America in 1993. Married in 1989, the couple both work outside the home and enjoy an active social life.

Mercedes is currently 52 years of age (birthday October 22, 1968) and is the Office Manager for a furniture manufacturing company.

Alejandro is currently 51 years of age (birthday August 27, 1969) and is a Pharmacist by training. However, he was recently been promoted to the position of Regional Manager.

Alejandro joined Grande Pharmacia, a chain of retail pharmacies on January 1, 1998. In his current position, he is responsible for managing the operations of 12 drug stores across the city. For 2019, his annual salary is $88,000 (which is also equal to his total earned income for the year). On January 1, 2000, when he was first eligible, Alejandro enrolled in Grande’s defined benefit pension plan. He is now fully-vested in this plan. He earns an annual pension benefit of 2% up to the maximum permitted, in this non-contributory pension plan. Alejandro also understands that this plan is a “final earnings” plan, based on the employee’s final three years salary. For the last four years, Alejandro’s salary has remained unchanged.

Mercedes manages the head office administrative staff for Starlight Inc. a firm she joined on July 1, 2012. Her 2019 earned income is $102,000 and she participates in Starlight’s defined contribution pension plan. Her pensionable earnings are $97,000 on which she and her employer each contribute 5% of pensionable earnings. Mercedes has participated in the pension plan since joining Starlight. As of January 1, 2020, Mercedes’ pension assets have a market value of $75,333 and a book value of $54,000. Mercedes’ 2019 pensionable earnings will be $92,000, while her total earned income will be $102,000.

Together, Mercedes and Alejandro earn a total of $190,000. Each owns a self-directed RRSP, of which they are the respective owners. Mercedes’ RRSP account has a market value of $28,000 and a book value of $12,250. Alejandro’s RRSP has a market value of $67,800 and a book value of $18,000.

On October 31, 2019, a $7,000 Canadian dollar term deposit matured in Mercedes’s RRSP and she immediately re-invested this money into an investment that counts as foreign content. This investment is the only foreign content inside Mercedes’s RRSP.

Mercedes and Alejandro are both in the 45% marginal tax bracket.

Mercedes and Alejandro and now thinking about their retirement and how they should begin preparing for it in a way that will ensure they have a plan in place that will provide long-term financial security for them after they stop working.

They are now looking for your help and have given you the following list of questions to answer for them. When answering these questions, assume that it is January 1, 2020 and a maximum annual pension entitlement for a defined benefit pension plan is $2,697 per year of service. Disregard any legislative changes beyond this $2,697 limit.


Questions to answer and explain for Mercedes and Alejandro:


1.How much pension benefit will Alejandro accrue for 2020?

2.What will be Alejandro’s annual pension income if his employment continues and he retires from Grande Pharmacy on December 31, 2026 (assume his earnings remain unchanged).

3.Calculate the present value of Alejandro’s pension, at age 60, assuming the following:

?His retirement income is paid at the end of each month for 25 years, with no additional survivor benefit; and,

?An annual nominal interest rate assumption of 6%, compounded monthly,

4.What is the total value of the contribution deposited into Starlight’s pension plan on behalf of Mercedes for 2019?

5.What is the value of Mercedes’ pension adjustment for 2019? How will it affect her 2019 RRSP contribution room for this year?

6.Using Mercedes’ pension assets at January 1, 2020, estimate the value of these same current assets at the end of 10 years from now (2030), assuming an annual nominal interest rate increase of 5.5%, compounded annually, with no additional contributions.

7.If contributions to Starlight’s pension plan on Mercedes’ behalf continue at the same dollar amount for the next 10 years as the amount contributed for 2019, estimate how much money Mercedes will have accumulated 10 years from now (2030). Assume that these contributions occur at the end of each month, spread evenly throughout the year and that the accumulating investments earn an annual nominal rate of return of 6.25%, compounded monthly. Take into account her current pension accumulations.

8.Working with the information that Mercedes has provided in Question #7 above, a projection of Mercedes potential retirement income can be made by including a few more assumptions:

?She purchases a life pension, with payments to her at the beginning of each month, starting immediately at retirement;

?The life pension incorporates an annual nominal interest rate increase of 4.5%, compounded monthly, and;

?At retirement, Mercedes has a life expectancy of 25 years.

So, by also including the assumptions noted above and assuming that Mercedes has $274,794 of total pension assets available at retirement, what amount of retirement income will Mercedes’ pension assets buy?

9.Assume Alejandro’s RRSP assets total $100,000 when he and Mercedes retire when Alejandro is 63 years of age. Also, assume the RRSP assets convert to a RRIF to provide a retirement income. Alejandro would like to use the assets to provide a monthly income, paid at the end of each month, throughout retirement with no capital remaining at the end. Assume an annual nominal interest rate increase of 6% compounded monthly along with the standard rule of thumb for the retirement horizon. Assume his monthly payments always exceed the minimum required. How much monthly income in retirement can these retirement assets provide?

10.What will be Alejandro’s new RRSP contribution room for 2020?

11.What will be Mercedes’ new RRSP contribution room for 2020?

12.What will be the financial penalty resulting from Mercedes’ decision in October 2019 to convert the $7,000 in her maturing term deposit into an investment that is considered as foreign content?

13.If Mercedes makes an RRSP contribution of $2,000, what would be the tax savings that she would get from this RRSP contribution?

14.If Mercedes wants to contribute to her RRSP where the after-tax cost is $2,000, how much should she contribute to her RRSP?