Author Archives: BetCrooks

USA Decides Not to Ease off on Quantitative Easing…Yet

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Do you remember sitting in the back seat of a car without much suspension and racing up a dirt road hill way too fast and then shooting over the top and down? That’s the falling-stomach-feeling and the surge of relief I felt when I checked the news a minute ago and found the US Fed is not going to slow down its Quantitative Easing program just yet.

Is the Quantitative Easing Program Good?

Does that mean I support the massive program the US government has been using to manipulate interest rates and the economy for the past few years?

No.

I don’t actually know if what they are doing is a good thing, a bad thing, or a thing that is actually not affecting the economy the way in which they expect.

What Can Bond Funds Expect from this (Lack of an) Announcement?

All I know is that I have been hemming and hawing about whether to move assets out of a mid-to-somewhat-long-term bond fund we own or not. It’s the only fixed income choice we have in a work pension plan other than a money market fund.

If the Feds had decided to stop Easing in a big, quick way, I’m sure the Bond Fund would have plummeted. It’s already doing pretty badly this year just based on the rumour of changes to Q.E.

I had almost decided to move a portion of our investments to the Money Market fund but I hadn’t sent in the request. Then I realized the big announcement was today and it was too late.

So now I have another few months to decide what to do. My Long Term approach says to stay in the Bond Fund. But I think I’ll see if there’s another way to meet that same asset allocation goal by changing some investments in our personal RRSPs. (I doubt it, but I should still look into it.)

What are You Doing With Your Bond Funds?

I’m always open to suggestions, though. If you have your fixed income investments in a bond fund or funds, what do you plan to do? Hold tight and hope it re-bounds fairly quickly after a few years of pain? Sell now and keep it in cash? Do you have a totally different strategy in mind?

Please share your views with a comment.

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How to Register for a GCKey To Look Up Your CPP Information Online: Part One

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A few months ago I went to the My Service Canada Account website to look up some information on our CPP payments. I unpleasantly found out that they have changed their secure access method and my Personal Access Code was no longer of any use. So today I finally found the time to apply again, this time to register for a GCKey so that I could deal online with the government to check on our Canada Pension Plan contributions.

You can get a GCKey by applying electronically, by telephone, fax, mail or in person.

Getting a GCKey is slow for first time users. You will first have to request a Personal Access Code online. This PAC will be mailed to you. Then you can use it to sign up.

Part 1: How to Apply Online for a Personal Access Code for Your My Service Canada Account

To apply online for a Personal Access Code you will need:

  • your SIN
  • your first and last name as shown on your SIN card
  • your date of birth
  • your mother’s last name when she was born (not after she was married or changed it)
  • your mailing address (from your tax return) will have to be correct before you apply for a PAC
  1. With an internet browser on a secure computer, go to
    http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/online/pac/pacinfo.shtml
  2. Read the warnings about various current frauds.
    Look for and click on the link sentence:
    Are you a first-time user? Register now!
  3. Click on the link: request a personal access code online
    http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/online/mysca.shtml
  4. Read the information, then click the link: Continue to Privacy Notice Statement.
  5. Read the info, then click the link: Continue
  6. Fill in the required fields:
    • In the Social Insurance Number field, type your SIN.
    • In the First Name field, type your first name as reported on your SIN card.
    • In the Last Name field, type your last name as reported on your SIN card.
      NOTE: If you changed your last name when you married, but you didn’t change your last name on your SIN card, it will expect you to use your unmarried last name.
    • In the Date of Birth, type the year of your birth, then select the month and day of your birth from the drop-down lists.
    • In the Mother’s Last Name at Her Birth field, type in your mother’s unmarried last name.

    Review the information and if it looks correct, click on the Submit button.

  7. If all goes well, the next screen will request you to enter your Postal Code.
    • In the Postal Code field, type your Postal Code.
    • If you are a foreign resident (for example, if you are not living in Canada right now) select the Country you are living in from the drop-down list.

    Click on the Submit key.

  8. On the next screen, review the mailing address that they have on file for you. If it is correct, click on the Submit button.
    If it is not correct, click on the Cancel button. You will need to update your address with the government before you can order a Personal Access Code. See http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/oas/pension/answer_cppaddress.shtml
  9. The statement says they will mail the PAC to this address within 5-10 business days.
  10. Click on the big red Log Out button on the right side of the screen!
    To complete the Log Out, click on the Continue button.
    To increase security, close your browser session.

So now we wait…..

(Don’t forget you can telephone and request them to mail you your CPP Statement of Contributions if you don’t want to plod through all of these steps.)

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Do you think the government makes it amazingly difficult to do even simple things? Please share your views with a comment.