Author Archives: BetCrooks

Why the Government Should Say CPP is Failing and OAS Will be Ended

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When I graduated from university, just slightly after the last sabre-tooth tiger was exterminated and the cyber-tooth tygers were just emerging from their lairs, CPP was in trouble. The news was full of stories about how the plan was faltering. Underfunded, misunderstood and unappreciated the talk was not just about if CPP would go bankrupt but when it would be bankrupt.

This was also a time of high youth unemployment. I went through in Engineering rather than in what interested me because engineers were getting jobs. Some of my classmates told me they would have preferred to major in urban geography, history and pure chemistry. They had all put those hopes on hold in order to have a hope of getting a job at graduation.

When I graduated, I and most of my family and friends dispersed from our homes like heat-seeking missiles searching for the cities and towns in far-flung provinces and territories where there was work. None of us expected to get to stay near our parents. You had to be mobile to have a hope.

The Threat of CPP Bankruptcy Provides an Excellent Incentive

Against this background of determination and desperation, the warning cries about the CPP were heard. I, and many of my new hire friends, were watching our parents getting forced out of the work force by mandatory retirement and forcible “early retirement.”

Seeing their retirement financial needs led us to consider our own. They had CPP. But if we didn’t, what would we have?

Most of us, cynical and disbelieving in Ottawa’s ability to do anything useful, decided it would be up to ourselves to fund our own retirements. We started putting money in RRSPs. (There were no TFSAs.)

Early Investing Earns Dividends

The benefits of investing in our RRSPs in our early 20s are readily apparent now. All those annoying books are right: time does help investments grow.

So Why Should Ottawa Announce a Funding SNAFU for CPP?

Recently the news has been full of feel good stories about the CPP. The plan is financially sound for 75 years. The investment team is earning returns of 7% or better. Everyone should relax and applaud.

The problem with this news is it’s too good. Without fear or even better a genuine belief that CPP will be gone in 40 years, where is the incentive for an under-employed, student-loan-encumbered new graduate to save for retirement?

I waited 1.25 years after I started work to buy a TV. It wasn’t purchased, paid for in cash of course, until I’d maxed out my RRSP contribution for both of those years.

Are today’s graduates willing to live without a TV, or more realistically a cell phone, for over a year so they can save for a retirement 40 years from now? I doubt it.

What will motivate them to save?

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How to Transfer Money into Your PC Financial No Fee Bank Account

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When we opened our PC Financial joint chequing account, we also applied to link the account to our joint chequing account at one of the Big 5 Canadian banks. After some confusion because they linked the accounts but the only for my Husband we eventually could both transfer money to and from the two chequing accounts. Here’s how to transfer money into your PC Financial no fee chequing account from another bank.

This article is obsolete as of November, 2015 and has been replaced by:

How to Transfer Money Between Your PC Financial Account and Another Bank Account

Sign In to your PC Financial Bank Accounts

  1. Go to http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
  2. Make sure Online Banking is selected from the drop down list in the top right corner of the screen, then
    Click the Go button.
  3. In the Card Number field, type the number on your ABM card.
  4. In the Password field, type the password you set up for online banking.
  5. Click on the Sign In button.

To Transfer Cash from your Bank to PC Financial

  1. From the link list on the left side of the screen, click on: transfers
  2. From the drop-down list, select from which account to take the money.
    • For example, I selected our Big 5 chequing account.
    • NOTE: you cannot see how much money you have in your account except for your PC Financial account. You might need to update your passbook or check your balance some other way to make sure how much money you have before making a transfer.
  3. From the drop-down list, select to which account the money should be deposited.
    • For example, I selected our PC Financial no-fee chequing account.
    • I could also have selected our PC Financial savings account.
    • Because this is a PC Financial account, it does show the current balance in the account.
  4. In the How much? field, type the amount you want to transfer.
  5. From the drop-down list, select How Often to make the transfer.
    • I selected Once.
    • Choices include:
      • Once;
      • Every week;
      • Every two weeks;
      • Once a month;
      • Every 3 months;
      • Every 6 months;
      • Once a year.
  6. In the When? Field, select the month and type the day and year.
    Or select the date from a Calendar by clicking on the icon.
  7. Read the warning notes.
    For example, the account balances shown for the PCF accounts include funds on hold that may not be able to be transferred.
  8. Click on the continue button.
    • If, like me, you left the date as today’s date, you will get a rejection message that states:
    • “The transfer date is invalid. The transfer date must be dated at least one day in the future. Funds transferred to and from another financial institution usually take 1 to 2 business days to process.”
    • Don’t ask why it waited till this point to reject my request. Anyway I changed the date to tomorrow and clicked on the Continue button again.
  9. On the Transfers – before you finish screen, review the details.
    • In particular if you have several bank accounts make sure the correct account numbers are selected.
    • Read the warnings about Holds placed on the incoming funds and delays.

    Click on the set up transfer button.

  10. Copy the Confirmation screen or make a note of the Reference number if desired for future needs.
  11. If you are finished banking,
    1. At the top right of the screen, click on the Sign Out button.
    2. Click on the OK button.
    3. Close your browser to increase the security of your banking information.

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Do you regularly transfer money to your PC Financial no fee chequing account? Have you ever encountered any problems or glitches? Please share your experiences with a comment.