Short Takes: New Year’s Edition

Ordinarily I disagree with those who follow the end-of-year tradition of complaining about the past year, but 2020 is a year I’m happy to see end.  After we pull through this COVID-19 winter, I’m looking forward to great times in spring and summer.  So far, I’ve made good use of my “lockdown” time sorting through the stuff in my house and giving away or throwing away much of it.  Each unwanted thing that leaves my house makes me smile, especially if it goes to someone who does want it.

The only post I managed in the past two weeks is a review of Annie Duke’s latest book:

How to Decide

Here are some short takes and some weekend reading:

John Robertson compares his free CPP calculator to the one created by Doug Runchey and David Field.  He also observes that “CPP has enormous, unmatchable longevity insurance benefits,” which are maximized when you delay starting CPP payments to age 70.

Ellen Roseman interviews Fred Vettese in the latest Moneysaver podcast to discuss retirement decumulation planning and the revision of his excellent book Retirement Income for Life.

Canadian Couch Potato compares the lineups of asset allocation ETFs from Vanguard and iShares.  In another post, he adds BMO’s asset allocation ETFs to the comparison.

Robb Engen has reached millionaire status.  However, he and I calculate net worth differently.  Now that I’m retired, the fact that I can only spend after-tax money is very real to me.  So, I discount my RRSPs and taxable accounts by my expected tax rates.  However, I also add in the after-tax present value of the CPP and OAS benefits I will start collecting when I’m 70.  So, if Robb were to switch to my (admittedly more complex) net worth calculation method, he’d likely still be a millionaire.

Big Cajun Man updates the CPP and EI rates for 2021.  Here’s one way to start a fight: “Long live CPP, expanded and mandatory!”