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15| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,M ay 24,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca CAMBRIDGE 90 Main Street cornerstonefurniture.ca 519.740.9991 /CornerstoneHome /cornerstonehomeinteriors This perfect 'smaller space' sofa and love seat combination are being sold at an amazing price - available onlywhile in-stock quantities last! CORNERSTONE'S SOFA COMBO SUPER SALE Watson sofa and loveseat combo: Get both for $985 We have received 350 beautiful 5'x8' rugs. On sale now for $149! Does not include throw pillows WATSON COMBO LOVESEAT AND SOFA $985 ALSO, CHECK OUT OUR ENORMOUS SELECTION OF $149 5X8' RUGS Beginning in April, the City of Waterloo will begin the 2018 fire hydrant inspection, maintenance and flushing program. There are approximately 2500 fire hydrants within the City and all fire hydrants are inspected annually. This program is designed to ensure that our hydrants will operate properly when needed. Due to the complexity of the program, it is difficult to determine which day testing will be conducted in a specific area. Hydrant operation may cause some temporary inconveniences such as poor water pressure and in some cases coloured water. Please check your water before use and if discoloured water is detected, please open a cold, hard water tap (non-softened water) and allow the water to run for 5 minutes. If it does not clear, turn it off, wait one hour and let it run another 5 minutes. Continue to do this until it is clear. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding. Any questions or concerns should be directed to the Utilities Customer Service Representative at 519-886-2310 ext 30239. Hydrant inspection and maintenance program P. 519.886.1550 TTY. 1.866.786.3941waterloo.ca/publicnotices You've undoubtedly thought a lot about the "shape" of your retirement - but the most important thing is having sufficient finances to ensure all of them become reality. If you are a member of a pension plan, now is the time to make some impor- tant decisions. • Decide when your pen- sion payments will begin. If you have a defined benefit pension plan, your annual benefit may be reduced if you retire before reaching a cer- tain age or complete a mini- mum service requirement. However, your plan may have a bridging benefit to off- set an early retirement pen- sion reduction that is paid from the date of early retire- ment up to age 65 when it will stop. • Decide whether or not your pension benefit trans- fers to your spouse when you die. You can usually: Elect to receive a life-only pension that ends when you die. It will deliver a higher monthly benefit to you than a joint and last survivorship pension but will not provide a continuing benefit for your spouse after you die. • Choosing the survivor benefit. Not all plans allow you to do this - check the de- tails of your plan. In most ju- risdictions, the "standard" survivor benefit is 60 per cent of the pension that was being paid to you prior to death, however some plans will in- clude other options. • Do you have the option of receiving your pension bene- fit for a guaranteed mini- mum number of payments? Some plans allow you to choose to receive monthly pension payments over a minimum term of five. • Does your plan have a CPP (Canada Pension Plan) or OAS (Old Age Security) in- tegration option? If so, you can choose to receive an ad- vance on your pension in the form of larger monthly pay- ments until age 65, when CPP and OAS benefits normally begin. •Do you have the option to transfer the commuted value of your pension to a locked-in account? Instead of receiving a monthly lifetime pension, you transfer the commuted value of your pension to an account you control. Among other financial decisions, these six key pen- sion decisions will help en- sure your retirement dreams. - This column is provided by McEachnie Group Pri- vate Wealth Management. Contact Russ McEachnie, CFP, CPCA, CDFA, RRC, principal, at 886-2360, ext. 6241 or go to russmceach- nie.com. OPINION Six tips for retirement Ensure your retirement dreams says Russ McEachnie RUSS MCEACHNIE Column