The 15-Minute Retirement Plan for Busy Professionals and Business Owners

If we met for coffee, and I happened to ask you about your retirement plan, what would you say?

• “I don’t have one, but I know that I probably should…”
• “I do have one but I haven’t looked at it in a long time…”
• “I honestly can’t even say the word “retirement” because it’s too scary!”
• “I currently don’teven have enough time to think about retirement. All I can do right now is get to work and look after myselfand/or family.”
• “I’m 20, I don’t need to think about it yet, do I?”
• “I’m 30, it’s still pretty far away…”
• "I’m 40 and now I’m making good money, I’m fine.”
• “I’m 50…how much do I need? Have I saved enough? Can I retire?!”

If any of those sound even just a little like you, you’re not alone—especially if you’re an entrepreneur or business owner.When you’re juggling payroll, clients, and day-to-day operations, financial planning for entrepreneurs and professionals a like, along with long-term goals, can easily slide down the list.

The good news? You don’t need a giant binder, a weekend retreat, or a complicated spreadsheet to get started.

With just a simple framework, you can gauge your retirement readiness in just a few minutes.

This fast-track retirement checkup is designed to help you quickly understand where you stand today and where you may need more attention. Think of this as the 15-minute retirement plan: a quick, flexible retirement planner-style snapshot that gives you confidence and direction, without the overwhelm.

Step 1: How Much Have You Really Saved for Retirement?

First, take a couple of minutes to gather what you’ve already got set aside for the future. Make a quick list of it all and don’t overthink it—ballpark numbers are fine.

• RRSPs
• TFSAs
• Non-registered investment accounts
• Do you contribute to a savings plan through employee benefits?
• Business ownership
• Retained business earnings
• Any other savings earmarked for long-term financial independence

Add the balances together for a quick (and rough) “total retirement pot.”

You’re not calculating growth or tax impacts here; you’re simply answering one key question:

Does what I’ve saved so far feel aligned with the lifestyle I want later?

Even this rough snapshot can be eye-opening, especially for business owners. For many founders and small business owners, this is where things get interesting. A lot of your wealth may live inside the company, so business owner wealth management and personal planning can get tangled together.

This is where wealth management for entrepreneurs and wealth management for business owners becomes less about theory and more about,“Okay, what do I actually have?” Self employed or running your own business? See this quick breakdown here.

Step 2: Debt Checkup in Under Three Minutes

Next, let’s talk about debt and take a quick inventory of it—because it has a big say in how flexible your retirement can be. List anything significant:

• Mortgage
• Business loans
• Lines of credit
• Vehicle financing
• Personal or consumer debt

Then classify each into one of three categories:

• Good debt: Low interest, productive, tied to appreciating assets or business growth
• Manageable debt: Reasonable payments, stable structure, not hindering cash flow
• Needs attention: High interest, volatile, or weighing heavily on monthly finances

A heavy debt load can delay retirement, force you to work longer than you’d like (reduce income options), or force larger withdrawals from your investments. On the other hand, a well-managed debt picture gives you more freedom to design the lifestyle you want—whether that’s full retirement, semi-retirement, or a work-optional life.

A thoughtful approach to financial management for entrepreneurs—including how you structure credit and loans—can also give you more flexibility later. Good wealth management for small business owners especially doesn’t just look at investments; it looks at how debt fits into thebigger picture too.

Step 3: Identifying Your Future Retirement Income Sources

Retirement isn’t only about the money you’ve saved—it’s also about where your income will come from when you’re no longer working full-time. This part is huge!

Take a moment to jot down all the income streams you expect to receive in retirement, such as:

• Company or Government pension plans
• Government benefits like CPP/OAS
• RRIF or retirement account withdrawals
• Dividends or distributions from corporate assets
• Sale of a business or practice
• Rental property income
• Part-time consulting or passion-based work

Then split these into two categories/buckets:

• Guaranteed income: Pensions, government benefits, fixed annuity payments
• Market-dependent income: Investment withdrawals, corporate dividends, rental income, business sale proceeds

A solid retirement plan design usually blends both. The guaranteed income provides stability for your must-have expenses, while the market-dependent income can support lifestyle upgrades, travel, and bigger goals.

If you’re an entrepreneur, this is where wealth advice for entrepreneurs and working with a wealth adviser for entrepreneurs can really help. Your income sources are often more complex than a standard salaried employee’s—and that complexity can be a strength if it’s planned for properly.

Step 4: A Quick Lifestyle Reality Check

Numbers don’t mean much without context. So now we bring your day-to-day life into the picture—what’s the context? A two-minute reality check can reveal whether your retirement expectations actually line up with your financial picture.

Ask yourself:

• What do I spend now—roughly, not perfectly?
• In retirement, do I expect to spend more, less, or about the same?
• Will I be maintaining the same home, downsizing, or upgrading?
• Do I plan on traveling frequently?
• Will hobbies or experiences cost more than they do today?

You can then assign yourself a quick score:

• 1: My current plan doesn’t align with my lifestyle goals
• 3: I’m somewhat aligned, but need adjustments
• 5: My projected spending and savings are comfortably aligned

This step turns retirement from an abstract“someday” into something a little more concrete. It’s less about 101 things todo when you retire and more about, “What does my life look like, and what will it cost?”

If you’ve ever seen checklists like 20questions to ask before retirement, this is the heart of a lot of those questions—what do you want life to look like, and what does it take to fund that?

If you want a bit more help thinking through what retirement might actually cost, Fidelity Canada has a great guide on planning for a comfortable retirement that walks through expenses, income, and how your lifestyle ties into the numbers.

Step 5: Are You on Track? A Simple 1–5 Score

Now, let’s zoom out. Combine everything you’ve gathered into a single snapshot score. Consider each of the following areas:

• The amount you’ve saved
• Your debt health
• Your expected retirement income streams
• Your lifestyle expectations

Based on your overall impression, give your retirement readiness a simple score from 1 to 5:

• 1–2 (Red): High risk—your plan likely needs significant attention
• 3 (Yellow): Reasonably on track—some adjustments recommended
• 4–5 (Green): Solid footing—you still may benefit from optimizing, but you’re moving in the right direction

This isn’t meant to replace a full, personalized financial plan. Think of it as a quick dashboard light (that you can complete in just a few minutes)—your first pass at a flexible retirement planner that tells you if it’s time to dig deeper.

If you’re the type who likes to turn this into an actual to-do list, Canada Life’s retirement checklist is a nice complement to this quick snapshot and can help you map out your next few steps.

For many entrepreneurs, this is also the point where they realize they’re ready for more intentional wealth management for entrepreneurs and a clearer strategy instead of a patchwork of accounts and ideas.

Step 6: Estate Planning Basics in TwoQuestions

Estate planning is often treated as separate from retirement planning, but the two are tightly connected. Your retirement accounts, businesses, properties, and savings all pass somewhere—and ensuring they’re directed properly is essential for long-term peace of mind.

Ask yourself two simple questions:

1. Do I have updated wills and powers of attorney?
   If not, this is a priority. These documents protect your wishes and prevent unnecessary stress for loved ones.
2. Do my beneficiaries and account titles match my current wishes?
   Marriage, divorce, children, business changes, new properties—life evolves, and beneficiary designations must evolve with it.

These two quick checks help ensure your retirement plan supports both the lifestyle you want and the legacy you’d like to leave.

Final Thoughts: Your Retirement Snapshot inJust Minutes

This quick 15-minute retirement snapshot is just that—a snapshot. It doesn’t replace a full plan, but it does something incredibly important: it gets you out of “I’ll get to it someday” and into action.

In just a short amount of time, you can:

• See where you stand today
• Spot any red flags or gaps
• Get a sense of whether you’re heading in the right direction

For busy professionals, founders, and small business owners, that jump—from thinking about planning to actually going ahead and taking meaningful action—is often the hardest part.

If you’d like help turning this snapshot into a clear, detailed plan, the Relay Wealth team is here to support you. We work with entrepreneurs and business owners all the time on business owner wealth management, financial planning for entrepreneurs, and retirement and estate planning that actually fits real lives.

If you want to go a bit deeper after this quick snapshot, the Government of Canada’s retirement planning overview is a great place to explore the basics in more detail.

You don’t have to figure it all out alone.