Dividends are after-tax profits a company distributes among its shareholders, typically every quarter, and can be paid in cash or a form of reinvestment.
Heath said a company that pays a high dividend reinvests less of its profit into growth, potentially losing out on opportunities to up its market value. In Canada, stocks with high dividends come from a narrow slice of the stock market—banks, telecoms and utilities.
“Ideally, an investor should consider a combination of stocks with high and low dividends to have a well-diversified portfolio,” he said.
Contribute to RRSP, save on taxes
“There’s a lot of taxpayers, investment advisers and accountants who really promote the concept of putting as much into your (registered retirement savings plan) as you absolutely can,” said Heath.
As a financial planner, he thinks the contrary. Heath says using RRSP contributions to get the biggest tax refund possible is not necessarily the best approach for people in low tax brackets and can hurt them in the long run when they withdraw those savings at a higher tax bracket in retirement.
“Sometimes, it’s OK to pay a little bit of tax, as long as you’re paying at a low tax rate,” he said.
Instead, tax-free savings account (TFSA) contributions could be better for someone with a low income.
It can be wise to use the low tax bracket by taking RRSP withdrawals early in retirement, even though it might feel good to withdraw only from your TFSA or non-registered savings and keep your taxable income low.
The Canadian Press
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