Funds withdrawn from a Registered Retirment Savings Plan (RRSP) will be charged withholding taxes. This amount must be held back by the plan administrator and remitted to the government on your behalf. The withholding tax rate depends on the amount of the individual withdrawal.

Effective January 1, 2005 in Ontario for amounts up to $5,000, the rate is 10%, from $5,001 to 15,000, the rate is 20%, and on amounts over $15,000, the rate is 30%.

You will receive a T4 RRSP receipt for any funds withdrawn during the year showing the amount to be included in your taxable income and the credit for the withholding tax.

Withholding tax is not required for withdrawals under the Home Buyer's plan or the Lifelong Learning plan.

Eric Sprott, Canadian Fund Manger Says U.S. Depression Will Boost Gold Price

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In these uncertain economic times many of us have or may have to deal with the painful experience of loss of employment and along with that we must face the loss of our employment benefits such as health and dental.

One of our solutions is to replace that coverage with a benefit plan offered Manulife Financial called the FollowMe^TM plan which allows you to continue enjoying health and dental benefits even if your employment benefits end. There's no need to worry about interruption of coverage for you or your loved ones.

If you apply within 60 days of your loss of group health and dental benefits, you will qualify without having to complete a medical questionnaire. The FollowMe^TM plan has four levels of protection to choose from and you can easily select the plan that meets your specific needs.

For more information on the follow me plan, please contact us or apply online.

Some fund companies offer a dollar cost averaging account that allow you to take the guesswork out of trying to time the market and lets you ease in gradually. You can now deposit a lump-sum into a dollar cost averaging fund and the fund company will automatically invest a portion of your money into the markets on a monthly basis.

There are many kinds of life insurance, but they can generally fall into two categories, term insurance and permanent insurance. It can be a time consuming undertaking, but if you have children or other dependents, life insurance should be of utmost importance.

Few who have bought life insurance have been able to avoid the debate over term vs. permanent insurance. The wrong type of coverage can have an impact on your financial plans.