At 66, borrowing to invest in a TFSA isn’t a good idea

A 66-year-old without much of a plan wonders whether to borrow money and invest it inside a TFSA, partly to sidestep the tax tangle of an RRSP and partly with an eye on future government benefits. This piece is a measured argument against leverage so close to retirement. Allan's central point is that borrowing magnifies losses just as surely as gains, and at this stage there's little time to recover if an investment turns sour, so a tidy-looking spreadsheet doesn't make the risk worth it. The more durable opportunity, he suggests, lies in keeping future taxable income low to protect income-tested benefits, which pairs naturally with paying down the condo and contributing to the TFSA from real income rather than borrowed money. It's a useful read for anyone near retirement tempted by an investment loan, and for those thinking about how withdrawals later interact with the Guaranteed Income Supplement.