Taxation of Life Insurance – New Rules Offer a Window of Opportunity
Permanent life insurance, such as Whole Life or Universal Life, has long been accepted as a tax efficient way of accumulating cash for future needs. Soon the amount of funds that can be tax sheltered within a life insurance policy will be reduced by new tax rules which take effect January 1, 2017. These changes may make 2016 the best year to buy cash value life insurance.
The changes to the tax rules regarding life insurance have resulted in an update to the “exempt test” which measures how much cash value can accumulate in a policy before it becomes subject to income tax.
Highlights of the new rules and their effect
For Cash Value Life Insurance: Read more 
Changes to the Taxation of Estates
Estate, trust and tax planners have long favoured testamentary trusts as vehicles to pass along assets to beneficiaries or heirs. A testamentary trust is generally a trust or estate that is created the day a person dies. Commonly, these trusts are established in a testator’s will.
A significant benefit to testamentary trusts had been that income earned and retained in the trust received the same graduated rate of income tax as an individual tax payer. Unfortunately, under the terms of Bill C-43, after January 1, 2016, all income retained in the trust will now be taxed at the highest rate of tax applicable in the province in which the trust is resident.
There will be two exceptions to this new rule – The Graduated Rate Estate (GRE) and a Qualified Disability Trust (QDT). Read more
The Estate Bond
Growing your estate without undue market risk and taxes
Often we see older investors shift gears near retirement and beyond. Many become risk adverse and move their assets into fixed income type investments. Unfortunately this often results in the assets being exposed to higher rates of income tax and lower rates of return – never a good combination.
Or maybe the older investor cannot fully enjoy their retirement years for fear of spending their children’s inheritance.
The Estate Bond financial planning strategy presents a solution to both of these problems. Read more
Is it Time for your Insurance Audit?
Has it been awhile since you last looked at your insurance portfolio? Are you a little sketchy in your recollection of all the coverage you have and why you have it? Are you uncertain as to whether or not your portfolio reflects your current situation? If this is the case, this might be the ideal time to have an audit of your insurance policies. Circumstances can change over time and making sure your protection keeps pace is a worthwhile exercise.
A comprehensive audit should review the following:
- Is the total death benefit of your life insurance appropriate to your needs? A current capital needs analysis can help to determine this.
