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Robert, a do-it-yourself investor, wonders if his strategy of living mainly on dividend income is sustainable. “My wife and I are retired and enjoy a modest but acceptable income,” Robert writes in an e-mail. They will both turn 65 this summer.

“In the next three to five years I will be cashing in a lot of stocks to help my kids with housing,” Robert adds. He and Kristel want to give their two children at least $100,000 each toward a down payment on a home.

“Our one financial goal is to live off our dividends and interest without drawing down the principal,” Robert writes. “We are 100 per cent in the market.” Their average dividend yield is 3.41 per cent and their average annual return on investments is 7.3 per cent.

“Should we be happy with our numbers and our performance? Are we safety-proof enough?” Their retirement spending goal is $100,000 a year after tax, considerably more than they are spending now.

In this Financial Facelift, Ross McShane, an independent, advice-only certified financial planner in Ottawa, looks at Robert and Kristel’s situation. Mr. McShane also holds the chartered professional accountant designation.

Want a free financial facelift? E-mail finfacelift@gmail.com. Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the persons profiled.

Hackers are constantly looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in the devices we use every day, writes Ted Kritsonis. There are easy and effective ways to fortify those devices and keep cybercriminals at a distance.

From keeping your software updated to thinking twice before you click, here are five security features you should be using to protect yourself.

After years of battling the Canada Revenue Agency in court, Marlene Enns gets to keep more than $100,000 in retirement savings left to her by her late husband in a ruling that helps shield widows and widowers from having to pay their deceased partners’ tax bills.

The case, writes Meera Raman in this Personal Finance article, hinged on a small provision in the Income Tax Act, Section 160, which says that if an individual transfers property to their spouse or common-law partner at less than fair market value, the CRA has the power to hold the spouse or common-law partner responsible for any outstanding tax debt, and any funds they received can be clawed back.

Ms. Enns argued that she ceased being a spouse the moment her husband died, so she should not be responsible for his tax debt. The Federal Court of Appeal heard the case in Edmonton late last year and agreed with Ms. Enns.

“A person is only a ‘spouse’ for the period during which that person was married and, therefore, when a marriage ends, a person ceases to be a ‘spouse’,” Justice Wyman Webb wrote in the Jan. 21 ruling.

The decision settles a long-standing legal debate over whether widows and widowers fall under the definition of “spouse.”

“This represents a win for widowers and estate planning,” said Maddi Thomas, an associate at Gowling WLG who specializes in estate law.

Widows often face disadvantages in Canada’s tax system, such as being unable to benefit from pension income splitting. Statistics Canada reports that approximately 20 per cent of Canadians over 65 are widowed – almost 80 per cent of them women.

Read the full article here.

Some clients worry that transferring funds from a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) will result in an automatic tax trigger, says Globe Advisor reporter Deanne Gage in this Investing article. But that’s not necessarily the case in certain situations.

Wondering if you can participate in your workplace’s pension buyback plan or what if a spouse has passed – or what about divorce?

Here, Gage explores five ways assets in RRSPs can be transferred on a tax-deferred or tax-free basis.

“The man beside me is a kind, generous, loving human being who I have had the privilege to spend my life with,” writes Melanie Craig-Hansford, in this First Person article. “We are trying to enjoy our crawl to the finish line by doing what we can in our little New Brunswick town to brighten the lives of others. I am just now learning how to relax into this quiet life we have nurtured. There were too many days I wanted to run away, too many days I saw greener grass elsewhere, too many days I fought off his love and acceptance in search of a more ‘exciting’ life.”

Craig-Hansford is in her 60th year, she says. “My husband of 35 years sits beside me in the chair he has claimed as his own. Between us is an old wooden chest that belonged to my grandmother.” There is one leg missing, she notes, and it is propped up with a copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. “I have read this book many times and instead of reading his brilliant truisms one more time I figured I would put his book to a more practical use.”

On the chest is a tablecloth that hides old rings from hot coffee and tea, white shellac from too much moisture, cat scratches and dents. “There are many things on the chest: three remotes, my journal, two novels in various stages of completion, a box of tissues, chewing gum to curb our desire to snack, a bottle of Biotene spray to combat dry mouth caused by our various medications, a large bottle of no-name Tylenol that we refer to as ‘Skittles,’ an octopus of cords to charge the laptop, our iPhones and Bose speaker.”

There is white fluff from the stuffed toy the couple’s golden retriever just murdered on the floor right in front of their eyes, Craig-Hansford writes. There is a little pouch of hearing aid batteries because they are both “hard of hearing” now and a container of toothpicks for the pocket full of food remnants created by their receding gums.

“All these things are here between us to minimize our need to get out of our chairs.”

Maybe this is what getting old is all about, she writes, settling into what is here, in this moment.

Read the full article here.

First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at tgam.ca/essayguide.

Q: I am looking at retirement in the next few years. I still have time to adjust my income in retirement somewhat, and I was wondering if I were to cross over the government’s OAS clawback zone, can I adjust my taxable income by contributing more to charitable contributions?

We asked Jamie Golombek, managing director & head, tax & estate planning, CIBC Private Wealth in Toronto, to answer this one.

A: No – making charitable contributions will have no impact whatsoever on the amount of OAS you will receive. The reason is that donations made by individuals are eligible for a non-refundable donation tax credit, which reduces tax payable. The OAS clawback is based on worldwide net income. Keep in mind that the clawback range for OAS for 2025 begins at $93,454, and the OAS isn’t fully eliminated unless your income is over $151,668 (for individuals aged 65 to 74.)

Your best bet may be to delay taking OAS for up to five years (or until you’re retired) up to age 70. This will increase your OAS pension amount when you do decide to take it. For every month you defer your OAS, your monthly payment increases by 0.6 per cent up to a maximum of 36 per cent at age 70.

Other strategies to minimize OAS clawback include: realizing large capital gains before you start collecting OAS (eg: sale of cottage, income property, or non-registered investments), or maximizing RRSP contributions and deductions in the years you are collecting OAS (between ages 65 and 71), which provides a deduction to income used in determining OAS amount.

A more sophisticated strategy for high income retirees could also include transferring income-producing assets to a holding corporation such that annual income and gains don’t show up on your personal return during your OAS collection years. Professional advice should be sought in this area as there is a tax cost to earning such income in a corporation, as well as the additional compliance fees of filing corporate tax returns.

Have a question about money or lifestyle topics for seniors? E-mail us at sixtyfive@globeandmail.com and we will find experts and answer your questions in future newsletters. Interested in more stories about retirement? Sixty Five aims to inspire Canadians to live their best lives, confidently and securely. Sign up for our weekly Retirement newsletter.