Recreational and Medical Cannabis

Medical Marijuana has been legal in Canada since 1999. There are a wide range of conditions that it is used for. Not all insurance plans will pay for medical marijuana. Every insurance company has a different list of medical conditions that they will cover. In most cases, you need to submit a "Prior Authorization" form to the insurance company before claims will be paid.  Some medical conditions that have been approved include:

• Cancer (pain and nausea)
• Multiple Sclerosis (pain)
• Rheumatoid Arthritis (pain)
• HIV / AIDS
• Palliative Care
• Epilepsy (children only)
• Multiple Sclerosis (stiffness and involuntary muscle spasms) i

Currently all medical marijuana requires a doctor's prescription and must be ordered online.

 

The two main chemicals in Cannabis that have been studied are:

• Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the chemical that makes you "high"
• Cannabidiol (CBD) - the chemical with medical applications

Most Medical Marijuana is primarily CBD. Most patients currently purchase it as an oil, though topical creams and capsules are also available.

 

Recreational Cannabis will soon be legal in Canada. The current anticipated date is October 17, 2018.

 

Once Cannabis is legal, Canadians (in most provinces) will be permitted to:

• Purchase fresh or dried cannabis, cannabis oil, plants and seeds.
• Possess up to 30 grams of dried legal cannabis or its equivalent in public.
• Share up to 30 grams (or its equivalent) of legal cannabis and legal cannabis products with other adults
• Cultivate up to four plants at home (four plants total per household). This option may not be available in condos and rental units.
• Prepare various cannabis products (such as edibles) at home for personal use, provided that no dangerous organic solvents are used in the process.

In Ontario, the legal age will be 19+ and it can only be smoked on Private Property. Note - Non-Smoking rules take precedence. Where it can be purchased has not yet been determined.

 

If you travel to the U.S., entry is at the sole discretion of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on duty - and they have a lot of latitude to ask questions to determine the admissibility of a foreign national. U.S. immigration lawyers are already warning Canadians that they could be denied entry to the U.S. - or barred from the U.S. for life - if they admit to smoking cannabis to a border agent. The drug is still a prohibited substance under U.S. federal law, despite legalization in some U.S. states.

 

If you have additional questions (such as how does this affect the workplace or what may be covered on your health plan) and want to discuss this area further, give me a call.

Do you need travel insurance?

We all know that medical expenses in the USA are expensive, but they are in other parts of the world as well.  Here is an example of costs in Mexico due to appendicitis.  14-year-old Male: Abdominal Pain Led to Appendicitis in Mexico Tomas was in Mexico during spring break. After a few days, he started having severe abdominal pain and saw the hotel doctor. He was diagnosed with appendicitis and sent to the hospital by ambulance. Tomas was in the hospital for two days before he was released with various prescriptions and caught a new flight home. Hotel doctor fees ......................................$950.50 Ambulance fees ........................................$1,200.00 Hospital fees .............................................$22,530.47 Doctors' fees .............................................$7,165.00 Prescriptions .............................................$47.11 Provincial medical ....................................- $330.16 Amount paid by TuGo (the insurance company)  ......$31,562.92   If you have a group plan, Emergency Medical coverage may be included in your plan.

4 key retirement planning decisions

I was quoted in this article which appeared in both the Toronto Star and The Waterloo Record.

4 key retirement planning decisions: Roseman

Whether you retire early or late, you will make some big financial decisions. So, plan ahead and think things through.

Whether you retire early or late, you will make some big financial decisions. So, plan ahead and think things through.

By: Ellen Roseman On Your Side, Published on Mon Apr 07 2014

             

Whether you retire early or late, you will make some big financial decisions. Your goal is to turn your government benefits, pensions and savings into a lifetime income.

Let’s go through the decisions one by one.
 

When will you apply for Canada Pension Plan?

You can take CPP retirement benefits starting at age 60 and get a reduced amount. You can take benefits at 65 and get a full amount. Or you can defer benefits after 65 (until 70) and get an enhanced amount.

Service Canada has helpful questions to ask in deciding when to take your CPP retirement benefits.

How will your age affect your monthly payment?

Do you plan on working while receiving your pension?

How long did you make CPP contributions? How much did you put in?

What kind of lifestyle do you want when you retire?

How much do you get? You can find the amounts paid at age 65 at Service Canada’s website: The average payment is $633 a month, while the maximum payment is $1,038.

Related: 4 reasons to take CPP early
 

When will you apply for Old Age Security?

You must be 65 to qualify for an OAS pension. Starting in April 2023, the age of eligibility will increase gradually to age 67. This change will affect people born in 1958 or later.

You have the option of deferring your OAS pension for up to 60 months after the date you become eligible in order to get a higher amount.

You may want to defer OAS if your income is high enough to put you into clawback territory. The government calls it pension recovery tax.

You will have to repay part of your OAS if your income exceeds $71,592 in 2014. You will repay the whole thing if your income is $115,716. (This applies to individual income, not household income.)

How much do you get? The maximum monthly amount for OAS recipients is $551.54 in the current quarter.

You can also get a guaranteed income supplement if your income is low. The threshold is $16,728 including full OAS pension for individuals and $22,080 for couples who are both receiving full OAS pension.
 

When will you convert your RRSPs into income?

Everything you hold in registered retirement savings plans must be cashed in or converted to income by Dec. 31 of the year you turn 71.

You can convert RRSPs to a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) or a life annuity any time. You don’t have to wait until 71.

Once you open your RRIF, you will have to make a minimum withdrawal that grows each year and pay full tax on the withdrawal.

You may want to convert your RRSPs earlier than the deadline and transfer any money not required for daily spending into a tax-free savings account or non-registered investment account.

This strategy can help you get more control of your taxes and avoid being pushed into a higher tax bracket. For retirees, it’s the after-tax income you have to consider, not the pre-tax income.
 

Will you replace your employee benefits?

You may have benefits that are paid for or subsidized by your employer. These include dental, optical, pharmaceutical and chiropractic benefits.

These benefits may be cut back when you retire – or when you turn 65, even if you are still working. Should you get coverage on your own? How much would you pay?

Heather Freed, a certified financial planner, helps guide people through the transition from group benefits to individual insurance.

The cost to replace health and dental benefits for a family is $250 to $350 a month, she says. The cost for a single person is $125 to $175 a month. These are average costs and exclude life insurance and disability benefits.

Before making a decision, there are two important things to know, says Freed. What is the value of your employee benefits? What coverage do you have and how many claims do you make?

If you’re a frequent user of employee benefits, find out if you can convert them to individual policies. The conversion deadline may be tight. So, pay attention and don’t delay.

These decisions can be challenging. Consider their implications carefully and find competent advisers to help you on your journey.

Ellen Roseman writes about personal finance and consumer issues. You can reach her at eroseman@thestar.ca or www.ellenroseman.com

Updates to Group Insurance

Group Insurance Plans

2012 has seen a number of changes to your group insurance plan that you should be aware of.

Taxation

Disability premiums have been an employee paid benefit (or a taxable benefit if paid by the employer) for many years.  In 2012, the CRA changed the rules for Life and AD & D (Accidental Death and Dismemberment) benefits.  They are also now a taxable benefit if paid by the employer. However, the health and dental premiums still are not a taxable benefit.  That is why if the employee and employer share the cost of the benefit, the employee pays the life, AD & D and disability premiums and the employer pays a larger percentage of the health and dental premiums. 

For more information  check out this publication on the CRA web site on taxable benefits.  

If you are an employer, bookkeeper or accountant pages 40 and 41 includes a table that summarized all the information, including which benefits you need to deduct CPP and EI or include the GHT / HST and what code to use on any T4s that you need to issue.

Travel Insurance

In December 2012, Manulife and Desjardin clarified  the rules for out of province travel insurance and many of the other insurance companies will be making similar clarifications to their plans in the future.  The issue is pre-existing conditions and whether they are stable.

Individual travel plans have a clause that states that pre-existing conditions are covered if they are stable for 90 to 180 days (depending on the age of the client).  Snowbirds are aware of this clause and see their doctors as soon as they arrive back home, so should there be a change in their medications, they qualify for travel insurance the next winter. 

The insurance companies consider a condition to be not stable should there be any change to the medications you use or should you visit the doctor because of an issue related to that condition.  Note – you would be covered for anything not related to that condition.

Until recently, if you were on a group plan that had travel insurance coverage, you were exempt from that stability – but that is changing.  If you plan to travel and have had any changes to your medications, you should check witn your insurance company to see if you are covered.

The Toronto Star ran an article on travel insurance just before Christmas.  In November 2012, they also ran an article on 10 things you need to know about travel insurance that you may want to read as well.