The Complicated One
Independent financial planning · Alberta & Yukon
Your company is your retirement plan
No pension, no employer match, no group benefits. Just a corporation you've spent years building, and a retirement that could last decades. Getting money from one to the other, efficiently and predictably, takes a plan of its own.
The reality most owners don't face until late
You are both a business owner and your own pension fund
Without a pension, the corporation does the job a pension would: it holds the savings, and it has to pay you an income for the rest of your life. That means two plans running side by side: one for the business, and one for you.
Too much left in
Tax on passive income, and the small business deduction eroding year after year.
Too little left in
Running out in year 20 of a 30-year retirement, with no way back.
No exit plan at all
Building the business with no plan for how you’ll ever extract the value if you sell it.
What we work on
Three conversations
THE outcome
A written strategy that builds retirement savings in both places, without over-paying tax on either side.
THE strategy
Look at both sides together. Decide what to take out each year to fill personal savings room, and what to leave in the corporation for longer-term growth. Revisit the mix every year as your income and needs change.
THE PROBLEM
Every dollar you take out personally is a dollar not growing in the corporation. But leaving too much inside can create tax problems of its own, and your personal RRSP and TFSA room is limited.
THE outcome
You’re not forced to choose between growing the business and securing your retirement. When the time comes, you have options.
THE strategy
Build retirement savings that work whichever way it goes. Keep filling your personal RRSP and TFSA, invest corporate savings with the long term in mind, and consider whether permanent life insurance fits your situation.
THE PROBLEM
You might sell in 10 years, or you might not. You’re building the company to sell, but you need retirement income either way, and most owners only plan for one scenario.
THE outcome
When you’re ready to leave, the structure is in place, the tax has been planned for, and your family knows what’s happening.
THE strategy
Work backward from your exit. Decide whether you want to sell, pass it to family or wind it down, then set up the company for that outcome with your accountant and lawyer. That can include share structure, the lifetime capital gains exemption, and insurance.
THE PROBLEM
Without a plan, owners often sell in a hurry, sell at a discount, or sell in a way that creates an avoidable tax bill. Sometimes the business doesn’t survive the transition.
THE outcome
You know whether this tool belongs in your plan, and why, before you commit to it.
THE strategy
Look at whether a corporately owned permanent policy fits your age, timeline and goals. Its cash value grows tax-sheltered and can be accessed later, and the death benefit can help move money out of the corporation to your family. It has costs and risks, and we review those openly.
THE PROBLEM
You have corporate savings but no pension. Permanent life insurance is often dismissed as “just insurance,” or sold as a solution for everyone.
THE outcome
Over 30 years of retirement, you save $50k–$150k in tax by pulling income from the right bucket in the right year. You're not just surviving on your retirement income — you're optimizing it.
THE strategy
In the years before retirement, model your retirement income draw-down in detail. How much per year? From what sources? When do you claim CPP? When do you draw from your personal RRSP and TFSA? When do you take from the corporation? A coordinated plan says: salary in year 1 (to create RRSP room), dividends in year 5 (when CPP is higher), capital distribution in year 10 (when you want to clean out the corporation), loans against insurance cash value in year 20 (to avoid the corporate tax). Each year is different based on your personal tax bracket, the corporate tax situation, your CPP, your spending needs.
THE PROBLEM
You've built the business and accumulated $500k+ in corporate assets. Now you're in year 5 of retirement. You need $80k this year to live. Should it be salary? A dividend? A loan? A capital gain? Each choice has different tax consequences. There's no roadmap, so you default to whatever your accountant suggests.
THE outcome
If something happens, your family isn’t forced to sell in a bad market, and the plan you spent years building still works.
THE strategy
Put the right protection in place: life insurance sized to your household’s needs, disability and critical illness coverage, and buy-sell and key person insurance in case you or a key person dies or becomes seriously ill.
THE PROBLEM
Your retirement plan assumes you stay healthy and the business keeps running. A death, disability or serious illness can force a sale at the wrong time or leave your family short.
Where to go next
Business planning
Retirement planning
Tax planning
The complicated one FAQ
Questions worth asking
Now, whatever your age. At 35, decisions about how the business is set up and invested shape the next 30 years. At 55, there's still plenty to plan. Earlier is better, but later is better than never.
Not necessarily. It depends on your timeline, how much the corporation has saved, your tax situation and your other options. For some owners it's a key piece; for others it isn't needed. We'll look at the numbers together.
Plan for both outcomes. Keep filling your RRSP and TFSA, invest corporate savings for the long term, and look at whether insurance belongs in the plan. That way you're covered whether you sell or keep running.
Yes. It's a planning conversation rather than a tax-filing one, and your accountant should be part of it. I work with them so the tax side and the long-term plan line up.