Episode 17: From Savings to Strategy: Your Pre-Retirement Checklist

In this episode of Retirement IQ, host John Stregger shares twelve important steps to help you smoothly move from your working years to a comfortable lifestyle lived on your savings.

Many people spend their careers focused only on saving money but reach their retirement without a clear plan. John explains how key steps, like paying off debt, handling big upcoming expenses, and timing your CPP and OAS benefits - can make a huge difference in your life after work.

Tune in to learn how planning ahead can take away the worry and help you build a clear, confident plan for your future.

Transcript

Retirement IQ Podcast

Episode 17: From Savings to Strategy: Your Pre-Retirement Checklist

John Stregger:

Have you ever noticed that most people spend decades preparing financially for retirement, but very little time preparing for retirement itself? They save, they invest, they contribute to their RRSPs, but then one day they walk out of work for the last time and suddenly realize, now what?

Welcome to Retirement IQ, where we simplify the complex world of retirement so you can move forward with clarity and confidence to focus on the life you want to live. I'm your host, John Stregger. Today, we're talking about 12 things you should do before you retire. Now, this isn't a list of investment products or hot stock tips. This is a retirement readiness checklist, because retiring successfully isn't just about having enough money—it's about having a plan. Over the years, I've noticed most of the people who transition into retirement most successfully usually have a few things in common. Let's walk through them.

Number one: save like it's the fourth quarter. This one sounds obvious, but the five years leading up to retirement are often the most important saving years of your entire life. Your income is typically at its highest, the mortgage may be mostly paid off, the kids are often financially independent, and every dollar you save now has a direct impact on your retirement lifestyle. But it's not just about saving money; it's about reducing taxes, avoiding unnecessary spending, and making intentional financial decisions. Think of it like the final stretch of a marathon—this is not the time to coast.

Number two: eliminate debt wherever possible. Now, can you retire with debt? Absolutely. Should you? Usually not. Every debt payment creates a future income requirement. The more debt you carry into retirement, the more money you're going to need to withdraw from your investments to support your lifestyle, and that creates pressure. I've had clients tell me that paying off their mortgage before retirement wasn't just a financial win; it was an emotional win. They slept better, they worried less, and they felt free. Now, there are exceptions—rental properties can sometimes justify carrying some debt—but generally speaking, retirement is a lot more enjoyable when nobody owns a piece of your monthly cashflow.

Number three: build a retirement war chest. One of my favorite retirement planning concepts is what I call a war chest. This is simply a pool of cash that's safe, accessible, and not exposed to market volatility. Why? Because life happens. Roofs leak, cars break down, the dog needs surgery, and markets occasionally decide to have a nervous breakdown. Having a cash reserve means you don't have to sell investments at the worst possible time. But perhaps more importantly, it gives you peace of mind, and peace of mind is one of the most underrated assets in retirement.

Number four: deal with known expenses before retirement. If you know you're going to need a new roof, a new vehicle, or a major renovation, try to address it before retirement, or at least set aside the money to take care of those obligations. One of the biggest financial mistakes retirees make is entering retirement with a list of expensive projects and no dedicated plan to pay for them. The goal is simple: don't turn off the paycheck before you've prepared for the expense you already know is coming.

Number five: retire to something, not just from something. This may be the most important point on today's list. I've met people who were financially ready to retire years ago, but they weren't emotionally ready. Work provides structure, purpose, social interaction, and identity. When retirement arrives, all of that changes, which is why I often ask clients, "What are you going to retire to?" Travel? Golf? Volunteering? Family? What's your passion project? The happiest retirees I've met aren't necessarily the wealthiest; they're the ones who stay engaged.

Number six: know what you'll spend. Retirement planning begins with spending—not investments, not rates of return, spending. Because if you don't know what your lifestyle costs, it's impossible to know whether you have enough. And here's the good news: most retirees don't spend the same amount forever. Many people spend more in their early retirement years when they're healthy and active, then spending gradually declines. We often describe retirement as having three phases: there's your go-go years, the slow-go years, and eventually the no-go years.

Your retirement plan should reflect that reality, which brings us to another area many Canadians overlook before they retire. Number seven: understand your workplace benefits. If you have a pension or a group RSP, spend some time understanding exactly how it works. You'll be surprised how many people don't know what their pension is going to pay them, what their survivor benefits are, whether inflation protection is included, or what happens if they leave the money where it is. These decisions can affect your income for decades, and yet, many people spend more time researching a new television than they do their pension options.

Number eight: understand CPP and OAS. One of the most common questions I hear is, "Should I take CPP at 60 or wait?" The answer is almost never the same for everyone. The timing of CPP and OAS affects taxes, cashflow, estate planning, and long-term income security. It's not simply about maximizing the payment; it's about integrating those benefits into the rest of your retirement plan. A thoughtful strategy here can make a significant difference over your lifetime.

Number nine: determine whether you actually have enough. This is where retirement planning becomes math. Once you know your spending needs and your income sources, you'll need to determine whether your assets can fill the gap. Here's an example: if you need $8,000 per month and pensions, CPP, and OAS provide $5,000, your investments need to generate the remaining $3,000—not just this year, but potentially for the next 30 years or more. This is where proper planning matters, because retirement isn't about reaching a number; it's about creating sustainable income.

Number 10: build a tax strategy. Most people spend decades focused on growing their investments, but very few spend time thinking about how they'll withdraw them. That's where some of the biggest opportunities exist. The difference between a good withdrawal strategy and a poor one can be tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes over your retirement. When should you withdraw money from your RRSP, your TFSA, or your non-registered account? All of these decisions matter. Retirement isn't just an investment plan; it's a tax plan.

In fact, one of the biggest surprises many retirees experience isn't their RIF withdrawals, it's the tax bill that comes with them. The more income you've got coming in from CPP, OAS, pensions, and RIF withdrawals, the more important tax planning becomes. Done properly, a tax strategy can help you keep more of what you've spent decades building.

Number 11: stress test your plan. Here's something we do regularly when building retirement plans: we intentionally try to break them. What happens if markets fall 25% shortly after retirement? What if inflation stays elevated? What happens if you live to 100 or 105? A retirement plan should work reasonably well even when life doesn't cooperate, because life rarely follows the spreadsheet. The goal isn't to predict the future; the goal is to be prepared for it.

Number 12: simplify your accounts. I've met retirees with RRSPs scattered across five different institutions, TFSAs somewhere else, a pension account somewhere else, and paperwork everywhere. Retirement is complicated enough; simplify wherever possible. Consolidating accounts often makes income tax planning, tax reporting, and investment management significantly easier. And easier usually means better.

Final thoughts: when people think about retirement, they often focus on one question: "Do I have enough money?" But after helping people retire for many years, I've learned that a successful retirement isn't about reaching a number. It's about eliminating uncertainty. It's about knowing where your income will come from, understanding how much you're going to spend, having a tax strategy, managing all the risks, and having a clear vision for what retirement will actually look like for you.

Because retirement isn't a financial event; it's a life transition. And the better prepared you are, the more confidence you'll have when that first Monday morning arrives and you no longer have to go to work. If you're within five years of retirement and you'd like help creating a retirement income plan, visit us at freeretirementreport.ca. From there, you can request a complimentary retirement assessment and learn how to turn your savings into a retirement plan built around clarity, confidence, and the lifestyle you want to live.

Thank you for joining me on another episode of Retirement IQ. I'm John Stregger. Until next time, stay well and stay informed.

Female Narrator:

The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice in any specific situation. For specific situations, advice should be obtained from the appropriate legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advisors.