July/August COMMENT Newsletter

COMMENT for July/August 2022

COMMENT is an informative newsletter targeted to the unique niche that CLU advisors occupy in the financial services industry, with a focus on risk management, wealth creation and preservation, estate planning, and wealth transfer.

Recent Technical Updates Involving the Value of Life Insurance

by Florence Marino

Let’s examine the recent Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) technical interpretations involving life insurance and valuation. Charitable Gift of a Permanent Life Insurance Policy Arising from a Term Conversion A charity may provide a receipt for a gift of a life insurance policy for its fair market value (FMV).

Retirement Income and the Order of Asset Withdrawal

By Frank Di Pietro

Canada’s population is aging quickly. According to Investor Economics, there will be more than 10 million Canadians over the age of 65 within 20 years, representing nearly one-quarter of the total population. Since the average retirement age is 63 and Canadians are living longer, the average retirement could last 25 to 30 years or more in some cases, using current mortality tables.

Did You Know…

You can add your information to this issue of COMMENT to personalize the newsletter when sending to your clients or colleagues:

  1. Log in to your Institute account to access the latest issue of COMMENT.
     

  2. Once you are successfully logged in, click the CLU COMMENT link to access the latest version of COMMENT.
     

  3. Click the download icon in the top left hand corner of the embedded issue of COMMENT.
     

  4. Save the issue to your computer as a pdf file.
     

  5. When you open the pdf file, simply add your personal information to the right hand upper corner of the first page of the newsletter.

Extended COVID-19 Federal Emergency Benefits

On Friday, February 19, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an extension to several of the COVD-19 federal emergency benefits.  The goal of this extension is to support Canadians who are still being financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following benefits are impacted:

  • Canada Recovery Benefit 

  • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

  • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit 

  • Employment Insurance

Canada Recovery Benefit

The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) provides income support to anyone who is:

  • Employed or self-employed, but not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.

  • Has had their income reduced by at least 50 percent due to COVID-19. 

You can receive up to $1,000 ($900 after taxes withheld) a week every two weeks for the CRB. The recent changes now allow you to apply for this benefit for a total of 38 weeks – previously the maximum was 26 weeks.  

Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) helps support people who cannot work because they must supervise a child under 12 or other family members due to COVID-19. For example, a school is closed due to COVID-19 or your child must self-isolate because they have COVID-19.  

You can receive $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for each 1-week period you claim the CRCB. The recent extension made now allows you to apply for this benefit for a total of 38 weeks instead of the previous 26 weeks. 

Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

The $500 a week ($450 after taxes) Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) is also getting a boost. If you cannot work because you are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID-19, you can now apply for this benefit for a total of four weeks. Previously, this benefit would only cover up to two missed weeks of work. 

Employment Insurance 

Finally, the government will also be increasing the amount of time you can claim Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. You will now be able to claim EI for a maximum of 50 weeks – this is an increase of 24 weeks from the previous eligibility maximum.

For full details, go to https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update/covid-19-benefits-credits-support-payments.html

Self-employed: Government of Canada addresses CERB repayments for some ineligible self-employed recipients

Great news for some ineligible self-employed Canadians who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). As per canada.ca:

“Today, the Government of Canada announced that self-employed individuals who applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and would have qualified based on their gross income will not be required to repay the benefit, provided they also met all other eligibility requirements. The same approach will apply whether the individual applied through the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada.

This means that, self-employed individuals whose net self-employment income was less than $5,000 and who applied for the CERB will not be required to repay the CERB, as long as their gross self-employment income was at least $5,000 and they met all other eligibility criteria.

Some self-employed individuals whose net self-employment income was less than $5,000 may have already voluntarily repaid the CERB. The CRA and Service Canada will return any repaid amounts to these individuals. Additional details will be available in the coming weeks.”

For full details, see full news release at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2021/02/government-of-canada-announces-targeted-interest-relief-on-2020-income-tax-debt-for-low–and-middle-income-canadians.html