PEN
Pensions & retirement plans
Defined-benefit vs defined-contribution, the commuted-value decision, LIRAs and bridge benefits. The biggest, most irreversible call many engineers face — modelled properly.
Fee-only · Advice-only · Built for technical minds
Financial planning for Canadian engineers & technical professionals, built from first principles.
No assets-under-management fee, no insurance sales, and no product agenda — just transparent, fee-only planning with the reasoning laid out clearly. Work with a planner who understands pensions, equity comp, and incorporation as well as you understand your own field.
Trusted by professionals across
Mining & resourcesOil & gasUtilities & power Engineering consultingManufacturingSoftwareBanking & finance
What we handle
Your whole financial system, not just the portfolio
The index funds are the easy part. We focus on everything around them — the pension decisions, comp, and tax structure where a high-earning technical professional actually leaves money on the table.
RSU
Equity & bonus compensation
RSUs, stock options, ESPP, and performance bonuses. We model vesting, concentration risk, and the CRA tax bill before it surprises you.
INC
Contractors & incorporated pros
Professional corporations, salary vs dividends, corporate investing, and lumpy consulting or FIFO income smoothed across years.
TFSA
Registered-account strategy
RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, and RESP — funded in the right order, with smart asset location and tax-loss selling. The full stack, configured for your bracket.
FIRE
FIRE & work-optional planning
Whether you're targeting 50 or just want the option, we build a withdrawal plan around your pension, RRSP-to-RRIF, CPP/OAS timing, and sequence-of-returns risk.
EST
Estate & insurance basics
Term life, disability, critical illness, beneficiary designations, and a will and estate referral. The unsexy stuff that protects everything else.
How it works
A clear path, no mystery meetings
Intro call
30 minutes, free, no pitch. We figure out whether your situation and our service are a fit. You'll leave with at least one useful idea either way.
Data collection & back-and-forth
We gather the details that matter: compensation, pensions, accounts, family goals, upcoming decisions, and the tax context around them. We go back and forth until the inputs are right.
Deep dive & plan creation
We build the plan, model the trade-offs, and walk you through the recommendations in plain language. Every major call comes with the reasoning behind it.
Try it yourself
How far are you from work-optional?
A quick model in today's dollars. Adjust the inputs — the math updates live. (This is a teaser of how we think; the real plan accounts for taxes, CPP/OAS, and sequence risk.)
Your FIRE number —
Years to financial independence —
You reach FI around age —
Try it yourself
What does a 1.5% AUM fee really cost you?
The percentage looks small. Compounded over decades on a growing portfolio, it isn't. Compare a typical 1.5%-of-assets advisor against flat-fee planning and watch the gap — the inputs update live.
Extra money you keep with flat-fee planning —
Who you'll work with
A planner who speaks your language
I'm a QAFP® who has spent my career working with engineers and other technical professionals. I've run the commuted-value numbers for someone weighing a pension buyout, untangled salary-vs-dividend for an incorporated consultant, and modelled an early-retirement drawdown to the dollar. I started Bracket because technical people were getting either generic bank-branch advice or expensive products dressed up as advice.
My promise is simple: fee-only, advice-only, and everything explained from first principles.
See if we're a fit →Pricing
Flat fees, matched to your stage
No percentage of your assets — ever. You pay one transparent flat fee for the plan, then $1,200 per year for ongoing support afterwards if you want help updating it as life changes. Two tracks, both in Canadian dollars.
Early & mid-career
Growth Plan
$3,300 plan
For professionals building wealth while juggling career growth, family decisions, housing, and the right mix of saving, investing, and tax planning.
- Comprehensive written plan and recommendations
- Equity comp: RSUs, options & ESPP, CRA-tax-aware
- RRSP / TFSA / FHSA / RESP funded in the right order
- Home purchase, childcare, and education-saving modelling
- Cash-flow, tax, and account strategy for growing families
- Client access to professional-grade planning software
- Ongoing support afterwards: $1,200 CAD / year
- You keep custody of every account
Approaching & in retirement
Retirement Plan
$4,200 plan
For the move to work-optional — turning a portfolio into a tax-efficient paycheque that lasts.
- Drawdown sequencing: RRSP / TFSA / non-registered
- RRSP-meltdown & RRIF conversion strategy
- CPP / OAS timing & OAS-clawback management
- Sequence-of-returns & longevity stress-testing
- Client access to professional-grade planning software
- Ongoing support afterwards: $1,200 CAD / year
- You keep custody of every account
Just need one decision modelled — an option exercise, a liquidity event, a cross-province move, or a second opinion? Ask about a fixed-scope one-time project from $2,500 CAD.
FAQ
The questions technical professionals actually ask
Are you actually conflict-free?
Yes. Bracket is fee-only and advice-only — we don't sell products, we earn zero commissions, and we take no kickbacks or referral fees. The only money we make comes directly from you, so our advice has nothing riding on which fund or insurance policy you choose.
I can manage my own index funds. What do I actually get?
Most of our clients can build a couch-potato portfolio in their sleep. What they don't have time to optimize is the pension and commuted-value decision, the equity-comp tax minefield, salary-vs-dividend if they're incorporated, and asset location across registered and non-registered accounts. That's where the fee pays for itself.
Do you manage my money / take custody?
No — we're advice-only. Your accounts stay where they are, in your name, and you keep custody. We hand you the plan and the specific trades to make. We never take custody and never charge a percentage of your assets; if you'd rather not press the buttons yourself, we'll point you to vetted low-cost options.
What does it cost?
Two flat-fee tracks: the Growth Plan ($3,300 CAD) for early- and mid-career accumulators, and the Retirement Plan ($4,200 CAD) for the decumulation years. Ongoing support after the initial plan is $1,200 CAD per year. One-time projects start at $2,500. No percentage-of-assets fee, no commissions, no minimum to talk to us.
I have a defined-benefit pension. Should I take the commuted value?
It's one of the biggest, most irreversible decisions you'll make — and it's exactly the kind of analysis we do. We model the guaranteed pension income against a commuted lump sum (including the taxable portion above the transfer limit), stress-test both for longevity and markets, and weigh it against your other assets. No product sale attached to the answer.
Can I see your methodology?
That's the whole point of the Guides section — it's our actual thinking, written like documentation. Read it before you ever book a call.
Let's talk
Book a free 30-minute intro call
No pitch, no obligation. Tell us a little about your situation and we'll come prepared. Prefer to read first? The guides are all free.