This article is  from the April 2013 issue of “The Link” from Great-West Life.

The workplace plays an essential part in maintaining positive mental health. That’s why the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace—a set of best-practices guidelines to help organizations promote a psychologically healthy and safe workplace—launched in January 2013.

Established by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ), in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), the Standard addresses mental health needs in the workplace.

Voluntary and free of charge, the Standard can be used differently by each organization. Some may want to focus on policies, while others may want to start with a gap analysis or management training. Company size doesn’t matter. The Standard is set up so even small businesses can easily work towards it.

The MHCC reports that in any given year, one in five people in Canada experiences a mental health problem or related illness. Annually, absenteeism and disability claims due to mental health issues cost the economy in excess of $50 billion. It’s good business sense to have a vested interest in preventing mental and physical illness, and promoting recovery and overall health.

Started in 2007, the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace helps employers identify and address mental health issues that affect their employees. Last October, the Centre commissioned an Ipsos Reid survey—the results of which reinforce the value of a voluntary Standard to foster psychological health and safety in Canadian workplaces.

Download a free copy of the Standard from the CSA and BNQ websites.

Free resources are available to help employers to start working towards the Standard. Learn more about the Standard and access helpful tools at www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com. Access self-serve resources like Guarding Minds @ Work™ and learn how to assess the psychological health and safety of your workplace, take action and evaluate the results of your actions.

The resources are free. Use them to make a difference in your workplace.

Guarding Minds @ Work is a trademark of the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health Addiction (CARMHA) and is used with permission.

The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace and design are registered trademarks of The Great-West Life Assurance Company.

Photo credit: “One and Other-Mental Health” by Feggy Art on Flickr, and included the following caption, which I felt was worth repeating here:

Mental health on the Fourth Plinth (One and Other) performance art in Trafalgar Square, London.

I am standing on the plinth to represent people whose voices so often go unheard, either because they don’t have the necessary support, or they are socially isolated, or they are quite simply desperately marginalized: people with mental health issues.

According to the World Health Organisation, depression will be the second most costly health problem worldwide, coming second only to heart disease and ahead of cancer.

Despite this, however, and despite the fact that around one in four adults will experience them at some point in their lives, mental health problems are still surrounded by ignorance, fear and prejudice.

Research has shown that prejudice against people with mental health issues is actually increasing, despite social attitudes regarding sexuality, ethnicity and other similar issues improving.

This year’s federal budget cracks down on a range of strategies and products which use complex structures to minimize taxes. Several popular loopholes will close for sophisticated, high net worth individuals when the government eliminates the tax benefits of leveraged life insurance and annuity arrangements and character conversion strategies. Small business owners will get some breaks, including an increase in the lifetime capital gains exemption for the sale of small business shares. As well, a new tax treatment may be coming for testamentary trusts.

With the March 21 budget, the federal government signaled its intention to eliminate a number of so-called “unintended tax benefits” in efforts to increase revenue and direct investments away from strategies that support investing primarily for the tax benefits involved. A number of these proposals may directly affect policy owners, including changes to the tax treatment of leveraged insured annuities (LIAs), leveraged life insurance arrangements (such as 10/8 arrangements), triple back-to-back annuities, testamentary trusts, and the dividend tax credit.

I will go into further detail with two of these items, LIAs and 10/8s, after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Below is an excellent article from the Financial Post, on what you can do to avoid the stress of trying to come up with a last-minute RRSP deposit.

Contributing to an RRSP doesn’t need to be traumatic. For many, simply changing their savings schedule can eliminate anxiety. However, although it might be easier to make smaller regular contributions throughout the year, most people still wait until the end of each year to make a lump sum payment.

Twelve smaller sums should not only be easier than finding one large sum right after holiday season expenses, but paying by automatic withdrawal also makes it difficult to skip a month for an impetuous purchase. The investor no longer frets about funding and the retirement savings discipline is reinforced.

Funding stress can be lowered further if the expected tax refund is received during the year. An employed investor can file a T1213 form, advising the CRA and the employer about their RRSP savings plan, and have tax deductions reduced at source to improve cash flow and make the payments easier.

Regular RRSP contributions are also beneficial from an investment perspective because investors can take advantage of dollar-cost averaging, buying more of their investments when prices are low and less when they are high. Investing equal dollar amounts over a set period of time generally achieves a lower average cost and the worry about buying shares amid market excursions is decreased.

It’s wise to think about the RRSP’s place among other priorities such as eliminating high-interest debt. If an RRSP’s benefits don’t support those goals it may need to wait. Acting on knowledge and planning is less stressful than making quick decisions and then wondering if they were right.

Thought should be given to the way RRSPs work. For investors in higher income tax brackets, RRSPs make sense because their tax deduction is likely at a higher marginal rate than it will be when withdrawals are taxed in retirement. For those in the early stages of a career with a low income, it may be better to accumulate RRSP headroom until their higher marginal tax rate is higher.

For the investor who has determined that an RRSP is the retirement vehicle they need, there is comfort in having the right strategy. It begins with examining the way in which the RRSP is invested. Generally speaking, bonds and other interest-bearing investments are best kept within an RRSP to remain tax sheltered while the most favorably taxed investments, such as those that produce capital gains and dividends, should be outside the RRSP.

Asset allocation relative to age is an important consideration. According to a BMO study, 60% of Canadian investors have specific time frames or target dates to reach their financial goals and 89% agree that it is important to hold investments that evolve over time, becoming less risky as key life events approach. While that may be what the majority believes, only 49% invest accordingly.

At any stage of life, retirement planning requires careful thinking. Don’t allow an investing process to impede your thought processes by introducing stress.

Kim Inglis is an investment advisor & portfolio manager with Canaccord Wealth Management, a division of Canaccord Genuity Corp.

Original article here.

Photo credit: “Confused Man” by SalFalko on Flickr