Publications Database

Welcome to the new Schulich Peer-Reviewed Publication Database!

The database is currently in beta-testing and will be updated with more features as time goes on. In the meantime, stakeholders are free to explore our faculty’s numerous works. The left-hand panel affords the ability to search by the following:

  • Faculty Member’s Name;
  • Area of Expertise;
  • Whether the Publication is Open-Access (free for public download);
  • Journal Name; and
  • Date Range.

At present, the database covers publications from 2012 to 2020, but will extend further back in the future. In addition to listing publications, the database includes two types of impact metrics: Altmetrics and Plum. The database will be updated annually with most recent publications from our faculty.

If you have any questions or input, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

Search Results

Amin Mawani (2024). "The Impact of Mandatory RRIF Withdrawals on Seniors’ Income Security", Canadian Tax Journal, Vol 72(2): 293-314.

Open Access Download

Abstract
There has been recent advocacy for raising the age at which Canadians must convert registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), and for reducing the annual minimum RRIF withdrawal rates or even eliminating mandatory minimum RRIF withdrawals. This article argues that mandatory RRIF withdrawals starting at age 71 may not be a threat to income security during retirement for most Canadian seniors. Forced RRIF withdrawals do not have to result in any significant dissavings. Given the modest amounts accumulated in RRSPs and RRIFs by most Canadians, the amounts withdrawn each year are likely necessary for consumption and therefore are not likely constrained by the mandatory withdrawal rules. Basic tax-planning strategies such as reinvesting RRIF withdrawals in tax-free savings accounts can further reduce the cost of mandatory withdrawals. In the interest of simplicity and reducing the compliance burden, this article also suggests that RRIF holders with up to $200,000 of accumulated savings (equivalent to the 75th percentile of RRIF balances) should be exempted from mandatory annual withdrawals. While some have argued for complete elimination of mandatory withdrawals, such a measure is not supportable from a tax policy perspective. Indefinite deferral of larger retirement savings balances may allow wealthy Canadians to use those savings for estate-planning purposes and would be a regressive measure. Furthermore, retaining wealth inside tax-deferred accounts while claiming old age security (OAS) because of low income would jeopardize the sustainability of the OAS program. OAS was not designed to withstand eligibility for seniors who are asset-rich but reluctant to draw down retirement assets that were accumulated with tax-deferred savings.

Milevsky, M. (2014). "Rethinking RRIF Withdrawals: New Rates for New Realities", Canadian Tax Journal, 62(4), 971-983.

Open Access Download

Abstract This paper employs a micro-economic framework to examine the Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) required withdrawal schedule in the context of current interest rates and longevity projections. It argues that today’s demographic and economic realities require that the schedule be revised to remain justifiable and fair. The methodology employed in this paper differs from other policy-based (or probabilistic) arguments. Namely, the paper compares the legislated withdrawal schedule with an optimal withdrawal schedule in a consumption-smoothing lifecycle model (LCM) for a longevity risk-averse retiree. This paper argues that while the LCM might be able to justify the RRIF withdrawal rates in place during the late 1980s - which was a period with higher interest rates and lower longevity - a quarter of a century later the schedule has become outdated.