How to plan for retirement for Canadians: A review of Four Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement course

Entitled 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement, the multimedia course is targeted to virtually the same readers as this column: those thinking seriously of retiring from the workforce in the next decade or two, including semi-retirees or those who have already reached this milestone but who want to fine tune their retirement income strategy. 

In addition to his MoneySense column, Prevost is also one of the bloggers behind Million Dollar Journey, which has been running since 2006. Not only is he a subject matter expert in Canadian personal finance, but he is also a school teacher, which makes him doubly qualified to create this course, which he describes as a first in Canada.

Certainly, such in-depth audio-visual courses are much rarer than financial books, review copies of which rain down on my virtual inbox seemingly on a weekly basis. I suspect younger Canadians fretting about getting started on the housing ladder, not to mention retirement further down the road, are less enamoured of old-fashioned physical books and more receptive to the multi-media treatment Kyle offers in the course. After all, the generations coming up after baby boomers like me seem to prefer fast-paced videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels.

The combination of being an educator, subject-matter expert and packager shows in Prevost’s product: it’s a slick multi-media package that features snazzy graphics with voice-overs by Prevost himself, plus in-depth backgrounders and videos with various experts gathered through one of Prevost’s other projects: the annual virtual Canadian Financial Summit, which kicked off on October 18 and featured several MoneySense editors and contributors, including myself.

No one cares about your retirement as much as you

An ongoing theme throughout the course and related materials is “No one will care about your retirement as much as you do.” That’s a variant of the oft-used phrase “No one cares about your money more than you do.” 

You can find the course at this site: worryfreeretire.com. You can get a flavour of what’s included before committing to payment by clicking on the “Tell me more” button. If you’re ready for the full enchilada, click on the “Get Started” button. There are various payment options, including major credit cards. 

At $499, the course does represent a major investment, but the outlay could be considered a bargain if it helps some DIY retirees escape the clutches of conflicting securities salespersons who actually do care more about their own retirement than that of their clients.

Consider some of the impressive testimonials. Long-time consumer advocate and former Toronto Star personal finance columnist Ellen Roseman asked Prevost “Where have you been all this time?! … Most of us need guidance on taking money out of our savings without depleting our resources once we leave work—and I suspect this interactive multimedia approach to learning will be far more interesting and memorable than simply reading a book. Kyle has done his research and provides plain-spoken views about what’s good and what’s bad in the process of making our retirement income last as long as we do.”

Fee-only financial planner and financial columnist Jason Heath (of Objective Financial Partners) says “Kyle’s course is a great resource for someone preparing for retirement or already retired … His background as a teacher definitely comes across in the course. Too many financial industry people do a poor job of conveying financial topics in a way that makes sense. The approach of the course is meant to teach and empower, and it definitely does just that.”

My review of Worry-Free Retirement

So, let’s take a closer look at the course, which I dipped into in a few weeks in order to write this review. It comprises 16 units, each starting with a short audio-visual overview, followed by more in-depth backgrounders, videos and links to other content. I’d suggest focusing on a single unit per session, as there’s plenty to digest. 

The first unit takes you through how much money you’ll probably need to retire in Canada. Subsequent units are devoted to the major government programs like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), and employer-sponsored pension plans, including both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Later the course also tackles that perennial retirement chestnut, the 4% safe withdrawal rule (to which Prevost isn’t married but sees as a good starting point for guest-imating retirement income). 

I’m particularly partial to unit six, titled “Working for a Playcheck,” as that term was coined by Michael Drak and myself in our jointly authored 2014 book, Victory Lap Retirement. Units seven and eight go into some depth in investing: what to invest in and how to buy and sell securities. 

Units nine and 10 go into depth on registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), then handles the whole topic of decumulation and the crucial transition (at the end of the year you turn 71) from RRSPs to RRIFs. No doubt, I will personally revisit that module at the end of next year! 

Unit 11 examines how you can create your own pension through annuities. Units 12 and 13 look at mortgages: whether one should retire with one (spoiler: one shouldn’t) and deciding between downsizing and reverse mortgages or home equity line of credits (HELOCs). 

Units 14 and 15 cover insurance: Long-term care insurance (Prevost is mostly against LTCI) and life insurance in retirement. (Ditto.) 

And he closes with Unit 16, the upbeat Retire Sooner and With More Sunshine. Having worked overseas, Prevost is well aware that some Canadian retirees would like to dodge Canada’s harsh winters, not to mention pay less in lifestyle expenses and possibly in taxes. While some may choose to hedge their bets as snowbirds for much of winter, while retaining Canadian residency and citizenship, this last unit examines the case for pulling up stakes entirely to live abroad full-time. He allays the most common fear on this subject, that expatriates would lose their CPP and OAS. They shouldn’t in most cases, although they may have to pay a 25% withholding tax and may well lose the GIS. Prevost also wrote an expat e-book on the topic. 

Pros and cons

As with any investment decision, there are pros and cons about financial courses like this. I suppose the price may be an impediment to some but balancing that is the fact that Prevost is a proven educator with a long track record in promoting financial literacy. Also, in a world where conflicting investment advice abounds, I think I can say that Prevost is independent and objective in his views and recommendations. In fact, he pulls no punches in certain sections, like long-term care insurance. 

All in all, 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement in Canada is a course that any would-be Canadian retiree should seriously consider taking.

Read more about financial literacy:

• The best free personal finance and investing courses in Canada
• How to deal with money and your finances when the economy is stressing you out
• Alberta Pension Plan: Why Alberta wants to leave the CPP—and what would replace it
• What’s the RRSP deadline?

About Jonathan Chevreau

As MoneySense’s Investing-Editor-at-Large, he is also author of Findependence Day and co-author of Victory Lap Retirement. Reach him at [email protected], where he is the founder of Financial Independence Hub.

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