--- title: "Empire Life Blog Ten retirement myths series: Myth #5" description: While saving may be a goal in itself during your working years, plan on an orderly spending of what you have saved during retirement. image: https://blog.empirelife.ca/hubfs/Blog-10Retirement%20Myths5_GettyImages-109726174-resized.jpg --- × #### Subscribe ### Subscribe to Email Updates Signing up for our Blog offers you the opportunity to subscribe and receive email notifications for Investment or Insurance type content only from The Empire Life Insurance Company and Empire Life Investments Inc. You may cancel your subscription to the newsletter at any time by clicking on [unsubscribe](http://www.fastandfull.ca/hs/manage-preferences/unsubscribe-simple) or, by contacting The Empire Life Insurance Company or, Empire Life Investments Inc. **The Empire Life Insurance Company** 259 King Street East, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3A8, Canada Toll Free: 1 800 561-1268 Email: insurance@empire.ca or investment@empire.ca **Empire Life Investments Inc.** c/o 259 King Street East, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3A8, Canada Toll-free telephone: 1 855 823-6883 Email: mutualfund@empire.ca Close [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Empire-Life-Insurance-142465432433812/) [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/empire-life-investments) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/empirelifeins) Subscribe [EN](https://www.empire.ca/blog) | [FR](https://empire.ca/fr/blogue) [![Empire Life | Empire Life Investments](https://blog.empirelife.ca/hubfs/Logo/Combined%20Blog%20Images/combined-logo.png)](https://www.empire.ca/blog) # Insurance, Investments and Group Benefits ## Navigate life with confidenceTM - Insurance - [Insurance](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/insurance) - [Helpful Tips](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/helpful-tips) - [Customer Service](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/customer-service) - Investments - [Investments](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/investments) - [Investment Views](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/investment-views) - [Off the Cuff](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/off-the-cuff) - [Group Benefits(1)](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/group-benefits) - [Personal Finance (1)](https://www.empire.ca/blog/topic/personal-finance) ## [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #5](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-5) [Investments](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/topic/investments), [Personal Finance](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/topic/personal-finance) Posted by [Peter Wouters](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/author/peter-wouters) Feb 20, 2020 10:15:00 AM Directeur, Planification fiscale et successorale et planification de la retraite, Gestion de patrimoine Placements Empire Vie ![Retirement myth #5 Never touch your capital](https://blog.empirelife.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog-10Retirement%20Myths5_GettyImages-109726174-resized.jpg?width=1028&name=Blog-10Retirement%20Myths5_GettyImages-109726174-resized.jpg) The myth of never touching your capital starts when people are working and saving for retirement. Some become conscientious savers, never touching their nest egg. That mentality spills over into retirement. Changing habits can be hard. #### **Retirement myth #5: Never touch your capital.** Conventional thinking and approaches often work on keeping your assets intact during retirement. That may work for the wealthy, whose investments generate plenty of cash flow so that they can preserve their capital for their children, grandchildren and favourite causes. For most of you, it’s okay to spend your capital as a way of providing lifetime income. While saving may be a goal in itself during your working years, plan on an orderly spending of what you have saved during retirement. Isn’t that what you intended? It really is okay to spend your capital. That’s what it is there for. And using capital as part of your cash flow is tax-free. The idea for many like you is to spend down in retirement. Saving is not a goal in itself. Work with a retirement income planner on ensuring that you have enough capital to provide you with the cash flow you need no matter what happens; no matter how long you live. Look at alternatives to provide legacies for children and favourite causes while giving you enough cash flow to fund your basic lifestyle and pay for those dreams and plans on your bucket list.   © 2020 by Peter a Wouters. republished with permission by Peter Wouters. For the complete list of articles, please visit **[here](https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-wouters-14ab76/detail/recent-activity/posts/)**.   **Related articles:** [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #10](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-10) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #9](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-9) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #8](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-8) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #7](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-7) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #6](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-6) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #4](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-4) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #3](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-3) [Ten retirement myths series: Myth #2](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths-series-myth-2) [Ten retirement myths](https://blog.empirelife.ca/blog/ten-retirement-myths) --- This material is presented for informational purposes only, and is not a legal, tax or investment opinion. The provision of the information contained herein and any oral or written communication regarding the same should not nor is intended to be construed as such. Interested persons should seek retained independent professional advice before acting or foregoing action in relation to any of the matters mentioned herein reflected as of the date published or updated. This blog reflects the views of the author as of the date stated. This information should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell nor should it be relied upon as investment, tax or legal advice. 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