The Best Retirement Decisions Happen Before You Retire
Financial Planning for Pre-Retirees
The years immediately before retirement are when the most consequential financial decisions get made — and when most people are still too focused on work to give them the attention they deserve. CPP timing, pension elections, income sequencing, tax strategy, and estate structure all need to be addressed before the last day of work, not after.
The planning conversations that matter most before the last day of work
Leaving early changes every other retirement income decision
Whether retirement comes at 55, 60, or before CPP eligibility kicks in — an early exit requires a bridge strategy that covers the gap between leaving work and when government benefits begin. Getting this timing right can mean years of additional income.
Reorganizing savings now can significantly reduce OAS clawback later
The Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) withdrawals and other income sources that push above the clawback threshold can be managed through strategic RRSP meltdown before 65 and Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) shifting — but the window to act is before retirement begins.
Your group benefits disappear at retirement and replacing them costs more than most people plan for
Life, health, dental, and critical illness coverage provided through an employer plan ends the moment employment does. Individual coverage becomes more expensive with age and harder to qualify for — addressing this before retirement is significantly more cost-effective than after.
A Spousal income splitting in retirement starts with decisions made before you get there
How retirement income is structured between spouses — through spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions, pension income splitting, and account ownership — determines the household tax burden for decades. The window to influence this is now, not at retirement.
Supporting your children financially while protecting your own retirement requires careful sequencing
Whether it is contributing to a first home purchase, covering education costs, or other significant support — the timing and structure of how that help flows matters. Gifting from the wrong account at the wrong time can create unnecessary tax exposure or reduce retirement income more than intended.
This is where we make sure everything you've built works the way it should
At Modern Vision Planning, William Chan works with pre-retirees who want to enter retirement with a clear, coordinated plan rather than a collection of financial products accumulated over a career. From CPP timing and RRSP maximization to benefits gap planning and spousal income splitting strategy — every recommendation is independent and built entirely around your situation. For pre-retirees specifically, that means making sure the decisions made in the next few years reflect the full value of the decades that came before them.
You've done the work. Now let's make sure it works for you
The pre-retirees we work with came in knowing retirement was close. What they left with was a clear picture of exactly what it would look like — and confidence that nothing important had been left to chance before they got there.
