ASSUMPTIONS AND BUSINESS RULES

The planning tool was created based on the following assumptions and business rules:

The rate of return attributed to each investor profile is as follows:

Calculations are made using the Projection Assumption Guidelines published by FP Canada Standards Council and the Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF) as of April 30, 2022 (www.iqpf.org and www.fpcanada.ca). In accordance with these Guidelines, the returns were adjusted to reflect applicable management fees. Guidelines are not provided for projecting short-term returns. The rates of return are used only to illustrate the effects of the compounded growth rate. They are not intended to represent the actual future value or performance of any personal investment portfolio and may not be used for this purpose.

The default rate is 2.10%. It corresponds to the rate proposed by FP Canada Standards Council and the Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF) as of April 30, 2022. Your current gross annual income, desired retirement income and government pension benefits take this inflation rate into account.

The annual retirement income goal is set to the equivalent of 70% of your current gross annual income. However, this rule does not apply to everyone. The need varies according to the forecasted expenditures at retirement and the income earned before that period. This hypothesis can be modified in the tool.

We have projected your current savings until your retirement, capitalized over a period equal to your current age and your expected age at retirement with a projected rate of return based on your risk tolerance. These savings will help you complement your other income at retirement if it is not enough to maintain your standard of living.

The preferred order of withdrawal for your savings in the calculation tool is as follows: non-registered, TFSA, Savings with your employer and registered plans. This is not an obligation, but it is in general the most tax-efficient order.

Your RRSP and TFSA contributions does not take into account the annual tax limits. Refer to your most recent Notice of Assessment issued by the federal government or contact the Canada Revenue agency (CRA) for the correct information.

We have determined the amount you are eligible to receive from the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) or the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) at age 65 based on the most recent annual average pensions according to the applicable plan. You could change your eligibility age and your eligible amount as well by creating a revised situation. The enhanced pensions, available since 2019, are now also included in the basic pension amount.

We also considered the amount of your Old Age Security (OAS) pension, assuming that you have always lived in Canada or you have lived in Canada long enough to receive the full pension. Your eligibility age is determined according to your date of birth and the rules in effect since March 2016. You could change your eligibility age and your eligible amount as well by creating a revised situation. In addition, we have integrated the supplementary pensions, which will be available from 2019 and 2025, according to the same assumptions.

We also estimate a recovery tax ("clawback") if your taxable retirement income exceeds the applicable threshold. This threshold is indexed each year according to the projected inflation rate.

We have determined your average tax rate before retirement, based on your province of residence and your current gross annual income, minus your annual RRSP contribution. The average tax rate at retirement is calculated according to your retirement income goal. These rates will be used to calculate your income tax rate before and after retirement, including your disposable income coming from your savings and your withdrawals from your RRSP.

The age at which your capital will be depleted is determined according to your gender and the point at which your survival probability will be 20%. The table above illustrates that situation. We used the Statistics Canada's 1951 Generation Mortality Table for Quebec (91F0015MPF) as the basis for calculation in our projections, a simplified method similar to those proposed by the IQPF and FP Canada Standards Council. You can consult the current projection assumptions proposed by the IQPF and the FP Canada Standards Council on the IQPF website (www.iqpf.org) and FP Canada website (www.fpcanada.ca).