Page 22 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 133

22 Issue #133 February 2024
613-938-3300
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Cornwall, ON
Brian Johnston Continued from page 12
will face a “relatively large” mortgage payment
increase by the end of 2025, expected interest
rate cuts in the years ahead should help ease
that payment shock.
Falling interest rates in 2024 are also expected
to support a rebound in home sales and prices.
But forecasters differ on what those growth
rates could look like.
As noted above, 2024 could be the year of
interest rate relief. Bond markets are pricing
roughly 15% odds of a rate cut as early
as February. While that’s unlikely, most
economists do expect the first Bank of Canada
rate cut to happen by mid-year.
Forecasts from most of the Big Six banks see
the overnight target rate falling back to at least
4.00% by the end of 2024 from its current rate
of 5.00%.
Bond yields, which lead fixed mortgage rates,
are also expected to have reached their peak.
Since early October, the 5-year Government
of Canada bond yield has now fallen more
than a full percentage point, resulting in
numerous fixed rate mortgage cuts at the big
banks and other mortgage lenders across the
country.
www.sportsenergynews.com
Michael VanderMeer Continued from page 12
drinking water safe to drink again. The first and
most common is shocking your well. This is
done by pouring bleach down your well - letting
it run into all the lines in your house and letting
it sit 24 hours to kill off the bacteria. In most
cases this takes care of the contamination, but
you should test your well at least three times
afterwards to make sure the contamination is
gone. Depending on how much bleach you put
in you may not want to do any clothes washing,
except for whites, and have a good supply of
drinking water for the duration of this process.
In some extreme cases a dug well might have to
be pumped out and cleaned. You can also buy
chlorine pucks that slowly release the chlorine,
making sure your well water stays clean and
safe for drinking.
Another option, and the best in my opinion,
is to install an ultraviolet light which kills off
bacteria in the water as it enters your house.
This is one of the most expensive fixes but
assures your water is bacteria free. Typically,
these units cost between $800 to $1200 plus
installation cost. The bulbs in these units need
to be changed periodically (typically one year)
but the peace of mind of not worrying about
contamination in your drinking water is well
worth it. You can also buy units to add chlorine
to your water, which is basically what the cities
do, although I have not seen a lot of these units
in place - people usually prefer unchlorinated
water and use one of the previously mentioned
options.
Many times, when I do a water test for a sale,
the well is contaminated and the people have
been drinking the water for years, so if you
have a well you may want to submit a water
sample to the Ontario Health Unit - sample
bottles can be obtained at the office located on
Pitt between 11th and 9th Street.
Max Ming Continued from page 12
‘benefit,’ but similar to another RRSP for
you. For some, CPP’s ‘face value’ can
be $300,000 or more… it is highly unlikely
you would make a random, uniformed,
and permanent decision on your personal
RRSP of $300,000 value… but you would
be surprised how many people do just that
with CPP. So, what are your options?
You can elect to take your CPP any time
after turning 60. If you elect for the early
withdrawal option, your CPP payment
will be reduced by 0.6% per month (7.2%
per year) for each year before 65. This
could result in your CPP payments being
reduced by up to 36% for the rest of your
life. If you are relatively healthy and being
advised to ‘start CPP at 60 and just invest
the benefit,’ we urge you to seek a second
opinion, as you will be very unlikely to
come out ahead in this method.
Alternatively, you can elect to defer your
CPP payments to a later date (up to age
70). Your CPP payment will be increased
by 0.7% per month (8.4% per year) after
age 65. This could result in CPP payments
being increased by up to 42% for the rest
of your life. (There is no early withdrawal
option for OAS before age 65, but you
can defer OAS any month past age 65 up
to 7.2% per year, or 36% at age 70.)
For a retired couple that is eligible for
both the maximum CPP and OAS at age
65, they would receive nearly $50,000 of
guaranteed income… hardly a decision to
be taken lightly!