By Joe Gilinsky, FCIS, TEP, RHU I had insured a client and his wife 8 years ago as it was their wish to protect their mortgage in the event of death so that the survivor would be in a position to retire the mortgage if he or she chose to do so. They had decided to insure themselves independently so that they would be the direct beneficiaries of each other’s insurance instead of the bank being in control of the funds. At the time of claim, it frequently is to the survivor’s benefit to receive and deal with the insurance proceeds to suit the needs of the claimant. In the interim, the husband had assigned the policy on his life to his business bank in order to secure a Business Line of Credit where the outstanding balance owing to the bank will be taken from the insurance proceeds and the residue, if ...

Of course it is!  Often quoted pension actuary, Malcolm Hamilton, finds in the Nov 27, 2009 Retirement Savings Research Program that for a 65 year old opposite-sex couple: at least one will live to approximately age 90; approximately 10% of couples will have one partner that lives 8 years beyond the normal life expectancy; approximately 1% of couples will have one survivor who lives 14 years beyond the normal life expectancy.  That's impressive! What does this mean to you? Couples entering retirement at age 65 can expect to have at least one partner still receiving income at age 90.  That's 25 years of income that needs to be provided by all sources.  This could be from the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, RRSP/RRIF income, private pensions and other investment assets. In partnership with Investor ...