Frequently asked questions: Financial Planning Tool

This is a pretty common misconception about financial planning. It’s not all about retirement or having a specific amount of money in your account. It’s about having the tools and confidence you need to reach your goals, wherever you are in life.

All Meridian Members over 18 years old with a personal Membership share can access the financial planning tool through online banking or the Meridian mobile app.

There are no fees to use the financial planning tool. This tool is offered to Meridian Members at no additional cost, so you can focus on your financial goals without worrying about extra charges.

All your Meridian account information will automatically populate in the tool, including chequing, savings, registered products (like RRSPs and TFSAs), mortgages, loans, and lines of credit. If you have other accounts and products at other financial institutions, you can add those manually to get a comprehensive overview of your financial picture.

Meridian is committed to protecting your privacy. We follow regulatory requirements and industry best practices in everything we do to support that commitment to you. For details about how we collect and use your personal information, review our Privacy Statement.

If you already have a financial plan with Meridian:  

• If the plan is linked to your online banking, the ‘Financial Plan’ link will direct you to your advisor-led plan, not the self-serve tool. You’ll be able to see the plan that your advisor has created and manages, but your ability to edit the plan will be limited.  

• If your Meridian plan isn’t linked to your online banking, you can use the self-serve tool to do your own independent exploration. However, we encourage you to reach out to your Meridian Wealth advisor to consolidate your plans.  

If you have a plan with a different financial institution, you can use the self-serve planning tool independently and reach out to a Meridian advisor for support if you’d like to review it together or get a second opinion. 

While the self-serve planning tool is primarily designed for individual use, you can add a spouse, partner, or dependant to your plan for a more complete picture of your household.

Note: Adding another party to your plan does not give them access to view or edit the plan (if you're both Meridian Members you will each have access to your respective individual plans through your online/mobile banking platform).  

For a fully-integrated joint planning experience, or if you want both parties to actively participate in the plan, consider working directly with a Meridian Wealth advisor who can help set up and manage a joint plan. 

All Meridian Members over age 18 with a personal Membership share should have access to the tool. If you can’t find the link, it may be because: 

• You are under the age of 18. 

• You are not signed in to online banking or the mobile app (make sure you are using the latest version of the app). 

• Your Membership type (e.g., business) is not eligible. 

• You already have a financial plan managed by a Meridian Wealth advisor, in which case you’ll be directed to that plan instead of the self-serve tool.  

If none of the above conditions apply to you, and you believe you should have access to the financial planning tool, contact our support team at 1-866-592-2226.  

If you're using the Meridian mobile app and the link isn’t working or you encounter technical issues when you try to access your plan, first ensure you're using the latest version of the Meridian mobile app. You can also try to access your plan by logging into your online banking through your web browser on MeridianCU.ca. If the issue persists, send us a secure message through online banking or reach out to our Contact Centre at 1-866-592-2226.

Your Meridian data (e.g., account balances) should sync in real-time and match what's reflected in your online banking profile. If your account details are missing or incorrect, ensure your online banking profile is up to date. You can also log out and try logging in again. If this doesn’t help, send a secure message through online banking for support or call our Contact Centre at 1-866-592-2226.

Try logging out and logging back in later to see if the issue has been resolved. If you have a technical issue that persists, send us a secure message through online banking or reach out to our Contact Centre at 1-866-592-2226. The support team can help troubleshoot and escalate issues as needed. 

Refer to the Using the Tool section of the FAQ.

Yes! To meet with a Meridian advisor for a personalized review, book an appointment. Our advisors can explain the recommendations and help tailor your plan to your needs. 

As you’re creating your financial plan, you’ll come across terms like “TFSA” or “Capital preservation.” To learn about these commonly used financial terms and what they mean, visit our glossary.

Log in to your Meridian online banking or the mobile app and select the ‘Financial Plan’ link. If you're creating your plan for the first time, you’ll first need to agree to a consent form before launching the planning tool.  

Yes! To talk to a Meridian advisor, just book an appointment and make sure to select the ‘Investment Advice and Planning – Virtual’ tab. Alternatively, you can connect with our Contact Centre by calling 1-866-592-2226.

You’ll need details about your income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and financial goals.  

All your Meridian information will populate automatically, but you'll need to gather your financial information from other financial institutions that you have business with (e.g., mortgage, pensions, investments etc.). 

No, but the more complete your information, the more accurate, personalized, and helpful your plan will be. You can start with basic details and update your plan over time as you gather more information. 

You can add external chequing, savings, or investment accounts by navigating to the ‘Accounts’ tab, selecting the “Add Account Type” option, and entering the details manually. This helps create a more complete financial picture in your plan.

Note: Information about accounts outside of Meridian are not synced in real-time and you need to manually update those details each time you are updating your plan. We recommend adding the name of the banking institution (e.g., Green Bank – TFSA). This makes tracking and updating amounts easier, keeping your plan accurate and up-to-date. 

You can specify regular contributions to accounts by selecting the ‘Savings’ button under the account in question. A screen will pop up where you can enter the dollar amount and frequency of your regular contributions.

To include debts or loans from other institutions, go to the ‘Liabilities’ tab and use the ‘Add a Liability’ option to fill in the relevant account information. This allows the tool to consider all your financial obligations.

There are six categories of goals you can add to your plan:  

• Cash flow and debt: Focus on improving your cash flow and debt management score based on four progressive levels.

• Retirement: Plan for retirement savings and income so you can retire on your terms.

• Education: Save for education expenses, like a dependant’s future tuition.

• Cash reserve: Build an emergency fund for unexpected circumstances such as job loss or a medical emergency.

• Major expense: Plan for large purchases including property or other expenses (car, vacation, etc.).

• Legacy: Prepare for inheritance or charitable giving.

While the goal categories themselves are fixed, you can customize the goals by deciding which ones you want to add to your plan and specifying the details of your selected goals (e.g., how much of an emergency fund you want to build, or what kind of major expense you want to save for).  

Estimate your monthly retirement expenses by considering living costs, healthcare, housing, food, transportation, and leisure activities. The tool can help you project these based on your current spending and future expectations.

The Preferences section is designed to personalize your financial plan based on your willingness to take specific actions towards your goals. You indicate your preferences by adjusting the slider for each question, and the preferences you set impact the suggested strategies recommended to you. For example, the first question, ‘Experience short-term pain for long term gain’, is about how comfortable you are with making some sacrifices now (like spending less) to achieve bigger goals later. Your answer could influence whether the tool suggests strategies such as saving more, reducing pre-retirement expenses, or working part-time in retirement, among other things.

The tool offers three risk profiles:

• Income: Prioritizes capital preservation and steady income with minimal risk. Ideal for those seeking stability and lower volatility.

• Balanced: Offers a mix of income and growth, with moderate risk and potential returns. Suitable for those comfortable with some market fluctuations.

• Equity: Focuses on long-term growth through higher-risk investments. Best for those with longer time horizons and a higher tolerance for market ups and downs.

Choose the profile that best matches your comfort with investment risk.

For each goal you set in the planning tool you’ll see personalized strategies — like automatic savings, investment changes, or debt repayment — to help you succeed. You can choose to ‘Apply’ a strategy— this will generate tasks in your ‘To-do list’ — or ‘Skip’ a strategy if you prefer alternatives. You might also want to connect with one of our expert advisors who can add custom strategies and walk you through what they mean by booking an appointment.

The financial planning tool automatically generates a personalized to-do list based on the strategies you choose to apply. This checklist helps you stay organized and track your progress toward your financial goals. You can view and manage your tasks in the ‘To-do list’ tab of the tool for easy updates and follow through. 

Yes! The ‘Present & download’ feature allows you to:

• Download a PDF summary of your financial plan, including goals, strategies, and progress — ideal for record-keeping or sharing.

• Review your plan on-screen in an easy-to-follow format, making it simple to present or discuss with someone else, like your partner or your advisor.

You can adjust variables like savings rate, retirement age, or major expenses to see how these changes affect your plan. This helps you make informed decisions and explore ‘what if’ scenarios.

Yes, you can easily delete goals from your plan under the Goals section. However, if you've applied strategies for that goal, you will first need to remove the strategies (under the Planning tab) before you can delete the goal. If you haven’t removed the applied strategies, the button to delete the goal will be greyed out.

Absolutely. The tool is designed for ongoing updates. You can, and should, revise your plan whenever your income, expenses, goals, or life circumstances change. 

Yes, you can make changes to your plan any time. They will save automatically.  

Regularly reviewing your plan can help you make progress towards your financial goals and ensures your plan is relevant and effective. It’s a good idea to do a deeper review and update at least annually, or whenever you experience a significant life event (e.g., new job, home purchase, etc.).