Last week we touched on three things you should do when markets drop. This week is the flip side: the one mistake that does more damage than all the rest put together. If you get this wrong, it can quietly undo years of good planning in a single scared afternoon. Joe is recording this while things are calm, on purpose, so it is ready for you when markets eventually get bumpy.

The flight to safety - getting scared and abandoning your plan to run to cash the moment things look bad - is completely natural. It is wired right into us. And it never feels like a mistake when you are doing it. It feels smart, responsible, and prudent. Joe walks through three true stories from COVID, the years after 2008, and 2022, to show how the same mistake shows up in different "clothing" every time, and what it actually costs the people who make it.

In This Episode

• On any single day, the stock market is roughly a coin flip. But historically there has never been a 20-year period where it finished negative. The longer you stay invested, the more the odds climb in your favour. History has been very kind to the people who simply stayed in their seat.
  
  
• Down markets are not a maybe. They are a certainty. And if downturns are coming no matter what, the answer was never to dodge them. The answer is to have a plan you can actually stick with through ugly stretches, so that when the fear shows up, you do not have to make a decision at all. You just follow the plan.
  
  
• In COVID, people who pulled everything out in March 2020 waiting for good news were sitting in cash by June while the market had already fully recovered. The vaccine announcement did not come until December. The market did not wait for better news, and neither did the loss for anyone who bailed.
  
  
• After 2008, some advisors started shifting client money to cash whenever they calculated another bear market was statistically due. The logic sounded reasonable. But from 2009 onward, clients who followed that approach missed one of the longest market runs on record, sitting in cash waiting for a crash that took years to arrive.
  
  
• In 2022, people sold portfolios that were down 10 to 20% and locked in a guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) rate of around 5%. That locked in the loss, made it permanent, and left them on the sidelines while global stocks returned more than 24% in 2023, over 19% in 2024, and more than 21% in 2025. The guaranteed rate felt like a smart deal. The opportunity cost was enormous.

About:

Your Retirement Planning Simplified is a weekly Canadian retirement planning podcast hosted by Joe Curry, CFP, CEPA, of Matthews and Associates, an independent wealth management firm. Each week, Joe breaks down retirement income, tax, and estate decisions in plain language for Canadians who are near or in retirement.

Next Steps:

Want tips like this in your inbox? Sign up for the Retirement Planning Simplified Newsletter and get updates plus our popular 60-Second Retirement Tip: https://bit.ly/RPSNewsletter

Ready to take the next step in your retirement planning? Watch a short overview of our True Wealth Roadmap and see if our process is a fit for you: https://www.matthewsandassociates.ca/vsl

Disclaimer:

Opinions expressed are those of Joseph Curry, a registrant of Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI), and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. This podcast is for informational purposes only and not intended to be personalized investment advice. The views expressed are opinions of Joseph Curry and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. Content is prepared for general circulation and information contained does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any investment fund, security or other product or service.

Right now, markets are calm. And that is exactly the right time to talk about what to do when they are not. When markets drop, almost everything your gut is telling you to do is the exact opposite of what you should actually do. This episode is your fire drill - so you know where the exits are long before the building fills with smoke.

A market downturn hits differently when you are retired or close to it. You are not just watching a number drop on a screen - you might be pulling income out of that same portfolio at the same time it is going down. That fear is real, and scared is exactly when people make their worst decisions with money. Joe walks through three specific, ordered steps to take when markets fall, so your calm clear-headed self can write the instructions your scared future self will actually follow.

In This Episode

• Before you touch a single thing, go back to the plan and ask one question: has my life changed, or has just the market changed? A proper retirement plan already assumed downturns would happen. If your goals have not changed, your plan has not either, and the plan is the circuit breaker standing between you and an emotional decision made at the worst possible time.
  
  
• When markets fall, do not run for safety. Rebalance back to your target instead. If your portfolio was built around the right mix of offense and defense for your situation, your job in a downturn is to get back to that mix, not change it. That means moving money from the safe side of your portfolio and buying more of what just dropped. It feels completely wrong. That feeling is usually the sign you are doing it right.
  
  
• Down markets are not something to endure. They are a window to make moves your plan already called for, at a much lower tax cost. If you have been sitting on an old holding you wanted to exit, or you have been meaning to move money from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) into your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), a market drop can dramatically reduce what you pay to do it.
  
  
• When moving money between accounts to harvest a loss, watch for the superficial loss rule. If you sell an investment at a loss and you or an affiliated person repurchases the same or an identical investment within 30 days before or after the sale and you are still holding it 30 days after, the capital loss can be denied. If the repurchase happens inside your RRSP or TFSA, the loss may be gone for good.
  
  
• The big idea underneath all three steps is the same: when markets drop, the goal is not to do something new and clever. It is to calmly do the thing you already planned on doing, just at a better price.

About:

Your Retirement Planning Simplified is a weekly Canadian retirement planning podcast hosted by Joe Curry, CFP, CEPA, of Matthews and Associates, an independent wealth management firm. Each week, Joe breaks down retirement income, tax, and estate decisions in plain language for Canadians who are near or in retirement.

Next Steps:

Want tips like this in your inbox? Sign up for the Retirement Planning Simplified Newsletter and get updates plus our popular 60-Second Retirement Tip: https://bit.ly/RPSNewsletter

Ready to take the next step in your retirement planning? Watch a short overview of our True Wealth Roadmap and see if our process is a fit for you: https://www.matthewsandassociates.ca/vsl

Disclaimer:

Opinions expressed are those of Joseph Curry, a registrant of Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI), and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. This podcast is for informational purposes only and not intended to be personalized investment advice. The views expressed are opinions of Joseph Curry and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. Content is prepared for general circulation and information contained does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any investment fund, security or other product or service.

Most people have one date circled for their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) - the year they turn 71. The year when it has to convert to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). The plan is simple - just don't touch it until you have to. But there is a move available at 65 that most people walk right past. And missing it can mean paying more tax than necessary every year between 65 and 71.

When money comes out of a RRIF, it becomes eligible pension income. That unlocks two things your RRSP cannot offer: income splitting with your spouse, and the pension income tax credit. You don't have to move your whole RRSP, and the decision is flexible and reversible up until the end of the year you turn 71. Joe walks through why 65 is the date that matters, how this applies to couples bridging the gap before Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) kick in, what the pension credit actually does and does not do, and who this move does not make sense for.

In This Episode

• At 65, RRIF withdrawals become eligible pension income, which can be split with a lower-income spouse and earns the pension income tax credit. Your RRSP cannot do either. If you are over 65 and pulling money out of your RRSP, you are missing both tools.
  
  
• You do not have to move your entire RRSP. You can convert as little or as much as you like at any point before 71, and it is not a one-way door. Money can generally go back into the RRSP until the end of the year you turn 71. Moving just a slice keeps required minimums small and manageable.
  
  
• For couples bridging the years before CPP and OAS, the withdrawal is happening anyway. The only question is which account it comes from. Moving it from the RRSP to a RRIF means that same money can be split across two tax returns, reducing the household tax bill without changing how much you actually need to spend.
  
  
• The pension credit is a bonus, not the reason to do this. As of 2026, it is a credit on the first $2,000 of eligible pension income per person - worth a few hundred dollars federally, plus a provincial amount. Over a long retirement for a couple, it adds up. But the income splitting is where the real value is for most households.
  
  
• This move is not for everyone. If you already have a defined benefit workplace pension, you may already be getting these benefits and adding RRIF income on top could work against you. If your income is already balanced with your spouse, splitting does not help. And if you are in a very high tax bracket, tax deferral inside the RRSP may still be the better choice.

About:

Your Retirement Planning Simplified is a weekly Canadian retirement planning podcast hosted by Joe Curry, CFP, CEPA, of Matthews and Associates, an independent wealth management firm. Each week, Joe breaks down retirement income, tax, and estate decisions in plain language for Canadians who are near or in retirement.

Next Steps:

Want tips like this in your inbox? Sign up for the Retirement Planning Simplified Newsletter and get updates plus our popular 60-Second Retirement Tip: https://bit.ly/RPSNewsletter

Ready to take the next step in your retirement planning? Watch a short overview of our True Wealth Roadmap and see if our process is a fit for you: https://www.matthewsandassociates.ca/vsl

Disclaimer:

Opinions expressed are those of Joseph Curry, a registrant of Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI), and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. This podcast is for informational purposes only and not intended to be personalized investment advice. The views expressed are opinions of Joseph Curry and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. Content is prepared for general circulation and information contained does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any investment fund, security or other product or service.