Good afternoon! This week's stories share a common thread: the number you planned around and the one that actually shows up aren't always the same. A retirement savings target that looks solid on paper, a care bill nobody budgets for and a boarding process that failed the people who needed it most all point to the same lesson — plan for the gap, not just the goal.
On The Money Today:
Why the number you've saved might not stretch as far as you're picturing
What a sudden health change could do to a carefully built retirement budget
Why thousands of Canadians who fly with a wheelchair may now be owed compensation
Let's dive in.
RETIREMENT
$357,000 saved for retirement: Why it may not stretch as far as you'd expect and how to turn savings into income
A number like that sounds solid until CPP and OAS get factored in, and plenty of Canadians retiring around $357K are hitting a monthly shortfall they didn't see coming.
The gap usually isn't obvious until you run the math on your own expenses and how long that money needs to last. Here's how to turn what you've saved into income that actually stretches, and the adjustments that can close the gap before you're living on less than you planned.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Rates.ca
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RETIREMENT
How to prepare so a sudden diagnosis doesn’t triple your retirement care bill to $9,200 a month
A Barrie couple built a retirement budget around groceries, travel and the odd home repair — not around round-the-clock care. One diagnosis later, their monthly costs more than tripled, and planners say most Canadians are budgeting for retirement without ever pricing in care at all.
The gap between what you've planned for and what a health event actually costs can undo decades of careful saving in a matter of months. What you should ask and budget for, before you're the one facing that bill.
MUST READ
Flew with a wheelchair between 2021 and 2023? You could be owed damages from Air Canada
A B.C. court just certified a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada after a passenger with cerebral palsy says he was left to drag himself off a plane. The case covers anyone who needed wheelchair assistance boarding or leaving an Air Canada flight between January 2021 and June 2023, and the ruling points to a pattern the court called a "culture of apathy and indifference," not a one-off. If that's you or someone you fly with, here's what the certification means and how the claims process is expected to work.
MONEY IQ
What percentage of pre-retirement income do most financial planners say you need to maintain your lifestyle in retirement?
ALSO MAKING THE ROUNDS TODAY
MORTGAGES: The Bank of Canada just held rates at 2.25%. Should you break your mortgage now or wait for renewal
MANAGING MONEY: 5 lessons from Canada's biggest Lotto Max winners on handling a sudden windfall
BANKING: Ottawa's new open banking rules could change how safely your finance apps access your data
MANAGING MONEY: She thought she signed up for a rebate. It turned into a 20-year, $12,000 loan
MONEY IQ: HOW'D YOU DO?
Answer: C) 70% — the commonly cited rule of thumb, though CPP, OAS and how you draw down savings can shift that number in either direction.
That's a wrap for today! Before you go, we'd love to know what you thought of today's newsletter. Hit REPLY if you have more to share — we read every reply.
