NicknBridget

Thanks for that guys. Sounds like a good bet. We've heard prescriptions are expensive? It's Saint John for us, but not so far from Fredericton

BristolUK

Between us we have about 12 prescriptions; the full cost of each is between $25 to $140 a month. Including test strips and syringes for diabetes our monthly bill would break the $1000 mark.

Dave+Jules

Prescriptions can be very expensive. I take an anti-inflammatory for arthritis (its my knees) and without insurance was about $145 for a month supply, with workplace insurance I pay $9

Typically workplace schemes kick in after your probation is over and your medicare card will be available by then too. So your bluecross insurance is just a temporary stop gap.

In your paypacket you will see a deduction for healthcare benefits and you can often tailor them ie chose to get 90% refund on dental work, opticians etc Family cover normally covers children until they are 22 unless they are students and you can get extended cover for them.

In my experience your healthcare and pension payments (shown as seperate in your deductions) are similar amount to NI in the UK.

But here they have ceilings (fixed charge for healthcare portion) and I think you pay about 5% of your gross salary into Canada Pension Plan with a maximum of $2500 per annum. The plan is managed like any investment fund.

Most people contribute to RRSP's to top their pensions my experience is that your employer will encourage you to save by matching your deposit (tax free of course). You can contribute to RESP's which are a saving vehicle for providing funds for education (you can access the funds for purchasing certain items too)

There is an agreement betwen the UK and Canada on Pensions see this link

You are expected to save and prepare for retirement, but they still see a big gap between those that save and those that don't.

In my experience I am about paying the same tax level as the UK, but I didnt leave the UK to pay less tax. I have (so far) received a tax refund every year since arrival, chiefly because I do not claim Jule's tax allowance (yes they have tax splitting ). It comes in just nice to pay for the council tax (for want of a better word).

NicknBridget

Thanks for the advice and help. The company Nick is going to work for don't have anything in place yet, but are looking into it, so think we will have to get our own insurance for the extras in place.
Also will look into pension stuff.
Thanks so much

Dave+Jules

Who is Nick going to work for?