Cover Me

On Friday, I saw an old friend at Algerian restaurant Idriss near St. Laurent and Beechwood. It has only been a few weeks since we had a group meal after years apart. But this time it was just the two of us without their partner. Having just returned from a skiing holiday in Banff, they were heading off on Sunday to Europe for a work conference.

The big news was that they decided to re-up with the Canadian Armed Forces for another 5 years. This would bump their pension up to 50%. Combined with government benefits like CPP and OAS (available for everyone), I calculated that this would exceed my own projected retirement income. Also, these were indexed to inflation and not dependent on any market growth like my own savings. This sum didn't even include their own personal investments. As their partner was in a similar situation, they were set for a very comfortable retirement.

We also talked about me considering whole-life insurance as part of my recent effort to get my "financial" house in order. They thought it was mostly a scam while I preferred the permanent aspect. I never liked term insurance because the idea that you could pay premiums for decades but it could still expire seemed "wrong". My 95-year-old grandmother, who left everything behind in the old country, was comforted by the fact that her life insurance meant that she had something for her descendants. Given that companies don't renew policies for term insurance past 85, I suspect that piece of paper on her desk may not hold any value. In any case, my friend gave me some questions to ask the agent.

I was at this restaurant back in 2021. I forgot that I enjoyed the food here as every restaurant in Ottawa has been disappointing since I moved back. Our order of chicken bourak ($7.49), eggplant gratin ($18.99), and Kafta Tajine ($19.99) was tasty and fragrant. I don't know if Idriss has changed owners (both visits have been to a mostly empty restaurant) but they have redecorated. Some of the dishes have doubled in price and the spongy, traditional bread (Khobz El Dar) has been replaced with generic bakery rolls. But the food here was still worth return visits.

15/03/2023: My grandma has whole-life insurance. She has done more for the family than leaving behind a little bit of money. But given our capitalistic society, if it makes her happy that she has something "tangible" to pass on, then I'm glad she bought it.