Pensions options if you own or work in a small business

There is one option being pushed by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and which appears to be supported by the Financial Post. However the plan is not as good as it first appears to be and the writing of the article uses many weasel words and phrases (I have put some of them in italics)  to say one thing and imply another.

The findings of a Canadian Federation of Independent Business retirement poll of about 8,000 of its members paint a grim view of what’s on the horizon. That’s because a majority of respondents, 58%, said they do not feel they have sufficient income to take advantage of the various savings options available. Not surprisingly, 27%, said they planned to work to age 68 or later to be able to retire comfortably.

The overwhelming majority, 77%, reported they did not have a business retirement savings plan for themselves or their employees. That’s supported by other surveys that found 60% of Canadians have no work pension plan.

After the global market meltdown of 2008 and the loss many investors took to their retirement portfolios, the federal government floated a few options: increase CPP contributions or introduce Pooled Retirement Pension Plans (PRPP). The former option would be yet another blow to small business owners, said Dan Kelly, president and chief executive of the CFIB.

“Increasing CPP contributions would have a giant negative impact on employment in Canada because an increase is a mandatory thing and you have to do it whether you can afford it or not. It could be calamitous,” Mr. Kelly said.

The CPP option did not get the two-thirds consensus on the part of the provinces but there was interest in pursuing PRPPs. Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance), got a clear message from business owners. “Small business owners wanted this kind of option for some time to help attract and retain talent. The reason they hadn’t already offered a pension plan was because they didn’t want the responsibility of making the investment decisions, which is the case with group RRSPs, for example.”

Another big barrier: affordability and accessibility. “You have to be big to offer a full-on pension plan. If a small business has anything for employees it is a group matched RRSP, which is what we have here at the CFIB,” Mr. Kelly said.

“But RRSPS are imperfect as a company offering because the management fees are significant, ranging in the 2.5% mark, and if an employer puts money toward an employee RRSP, the employer has to pay payroll tax on the amount of the contribution. Depending on the industry, you could potentially pay an extra 20% to 25% in tax to put money aside for your employees’ retirement. It’s little wonder very few employers have jumped into that arena.”

Mr. Kelly said PRPPs can bring the pension vehicle down to the SMB level. Management fees are expected to be half those of group RRSPs and the federal government has confirmed PRPPs will be exempt from payroll taxes.

PRPPs are administered by the private sector: financial institutions, existing pension funds, credit unions — the options still are fairly wide open. Providers must qualify, show a track record of investments and customer relations before they are approved. The employer will choose from three or four products, which are still being developed. The process is simple for the employer, Mr. Menzies said. “They choose the plan and the administrator carries the fiduciary responsibility.”

PRPPs are entirely voluntary. And businesses that offer it don’t have to contribute to it. “If an employer opts in, they must offer it to all full-time employees who will be automatically enrolled,” the minister said. “The employee has 60 days to opt out. Just write a note to the employer you choose not to take part.”

The CFIB has endorsed the federal legislation, but here’s the rub: Provincial governments now have to put their own legislation in place and they can make it different. “We hope provinces will adopt a common framework,” said Mr. Kelly, whose organization is lobbying provincial governments to adopt the federal plan as is.

PRPPs can play a substantive role in retirement planning for small business owners and their employees, Mr. Menzies said. “RRSPs are still an option, but many people have not used it and there is a lot of contribution room available largely by middle- and modest-income families. Other countries have used pooled plans that have proven to be more successful.

“Some people save in other ways and that’s fine but not for everyone. This is low cost and the mandate is to return the best amount of money to the plan member. That will be in the regulations,” he said.

Mr. Kelly also thinks it could be a significant savings tool with huge uptake among entrepreneurs. “Many will view it as a great tool for themselves, especially for the self employed who have virtually no options other than an RRSP. For SMBs, the owner would be giving themselves a pension, too. It’s right up there with the value of their own business as a retirement savings tool.

“When you ask members what they have for their own retirement, it’s typically the equity in their business. And you can’t count on the anticipated value of your business when you are ready to retire. Look at what happened in 2008.”

The above was from "The retirement tool SMBs have been waiting for"written by  Mary Teresa Bitti  on Oct 16, 2012

You think English is easy?

This may prove you wrong!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear..

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor dog in the hotdog, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ?

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Chocolate

The following is from an article from Grandparents.com, which provides some interesting and informative articles for grandparents, and being a new grandparent I need as much help as I can get. This article is a good one for all those chocolate lovers like myself who may feel guilty about eating chocolate--of course in moderation :-0

The Skinny on Chocolate: 5 Surprising Health Benefits by Deborah Long

Folks who eat chocolate regularly are thinner than non-chocolate eaters!” Newspapers, magazines and bloggers have been quick to share the results of a recent study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study, conducted in San Diego, showed exactly that: of the women surveyed, those who ate the most chocolate had the lowest BMI. And this is just the latest in a long line of claims about the health benefits of chocolate.

Is chocolate really just what the doctor ordered? To find out, we went to Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

Can chocolate help you lose weight?

“At the risk of sounding like a killjoy,” says Dr. Weintraub, “The researchers were careful to point out that their study didn’t prove that eating chocolate caused weight loss. I think the research is promising, but it wouldn’t be right for me to tell my patients to start eating chocolate as a weight loss aid.”  So what can chocolate do for

It can boost your immune system.

Like many other plant based foods, cacao (the source of chocolate) is full of antioxidants, which play a key role in supporting a healthy immune system. The rule of thumb with antioxidants is that the deeper the color, the more antioxidants. Dark chocolate is the way to go here; milk chocolate doesn’t have nearly as many benefits. In fact, some sources suggest that adding milk negates chocolate’s healthful benefits.  As is true of most foods, the less processing, the better. Raw chocolate bars and truffles, which taste delicious, are now available online and in many health-food stores

Chocolate lowers blood pressure.

According to research, the flavonoids in dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, and they appear to improve LDL cholesterol levels, too. However, cautions Dr. Weintraub, “Red wine has flavonoids, too, but this doesn’t give us carte blanche to drink all the wine or eat all the chocolate we want. As a culture, we tend to think if a little is good, a lot must be better and with something as calorically dense as chocolate that could do more harm than good,” he says

It helps prevent tooth decay.

Chocolate contains a compound called theobromide. In clinical studies, theobromide has proved effective at eliminating the cavity causing bacteria, streptococcus mutans, which, of course, means fewer cavities. But before you throw away the toothpaste, remember that chocolate usually contains sugar, a notorious bad guy in the world of oral hygiene. If you want to keep your pearly whites in top form, your best bet is to brush and floss regularly no matter how much chocolate you eat.

Chocolate boosts your mood.

Yes, it tastes good, and things that taste good are pleasurable. For that reason alone, it may be worthwhile to let a square melt in your mouth from time to time. But that melting chocolate may also have a chemical effect on your brain because chocolate contains serotonin, also known as nature’s antidepressant. The endorphins stimulated by pleasure and enhanced by the serotonin can make you feel more relaxed and happy

It provides you with magnesium.

Like green leafy vegetables, dark chocolate is high in magnesium. According to the National Institute of Health, magnesium plays a role in more than 300 chemical reactions in your body. It helps to regulate the digestive, neurological and cardiovascular systems, and is part of the metabolic process that converts food to energy. Your muscles and nerves need magnesium to function properly, and it also helps to regulate your heart beat. One hundred grams of chocolate (about 3.5 ounces) will provide 176 mg of magnesium, more than half the daily recommendation for a woman over the age of 31.

The real skinny? Enjoy it in moderation.

“Food fads march in and out of our lives,” says Dr. Weintraub. “Chocolate is the latest media darling. The truth is it’s a good food with lots to recommend it, not the least of which is that it tastes good. If you’re someone who can enjoy a small square of it as a daily treat, that’s great. But you can’t eat chocolate instead of lean protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. And regardless of what you’re eating, you need to exercise regularly – ideally, for an hour a day, five days a week.”

A.A.A.D.D.

First posted at Northern Insights on April 19, 2012

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder: Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first..

But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Pepsi is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,

but first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day,
and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
and I'll try to get some help for it,
but first I'll check my e-mail....

Oh I almost forgott--Thanks to Chris for this