Client Needs & Suitability Worksheet

Financial Needs Analysis Calculator Canada

Two practical financial reviews in one place: estimate your family’s life insurance protection gap, or compare your investment and retirement savings with the capital needed for your goals.

Life Insurance Suitability Savings & Retirement Suitability Save Session Print / Save PDF Client & Advisor Signatures
Prepared for Canadian financial-planning discussions · Reviewed October 2026
Privacy first: The calculation server receives financial figures only—not names, birth dates, signatures or free-text notes. Share links restore non-identifying assumptions only. Avoid entering sensitive information on a shared device. Saving a session stores personal details in this browser until you clear it.
Try it without entering personal detailsLoad an illustrative example, then change the numbers to match your own planning needs.
Enter values to update the estimate
1

Client Identification & Financial Snapshot

Core information used throughout the needs analysis.

Personal profile
Income, dependants and balance sheet
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2

Existing Insurance Coverage

Record current protection before calculating additional needs.

Life insurance — deducted from death-benefit need
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$
Total existing life insurance used in this calculation$0
Other protection — shown separately
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$
Calculation treatment: Disability and critical illness coverage address different insured events and are not deducted from the life insurance death-benefit need.
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3

Life Insurance Needs

Select only the needs that apply. The result updates automatically.

$25,000
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$0
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yrs
$0
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$0
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$0
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$0
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$0
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$0
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$0
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4

Recommendations, Client Decision & Signatures

Document the recommendation and any difference between calculated need and client decision.

Life insurance recommendations
yrs
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Total recommended life insurance (Term + Permanent + UL)
No recommendation entered yet.
$0
Client decision
$
Client and advisor acknowledgement
Enter values to update the estimate
1

Client Identification & Financial Snapshot

Shared client information is synchronized with the Life Insurance tab.

Personal profile
$
Dependants and balance sheet
$
$
$
$
2

Savings & Retirement Needs

Document purpose, time horizon, risk profile and—when applicable—the retirement funding gap.

Purpose of investment
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Time horizon
Investment profile
The selected profile is a documented client/advisor suitability input. This page does not automatically assign a risk profile from age or return assumptions.
Retirement funding analysis
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$
$
$
yrs
%
%
%
Years to Retirement—
Projected Savings$0
Estimated Capital Target$0
Estimated Shortfall / Surplus$0
Estimated Additional Monthly Saving Needed
$0 / month
Based on the assumptions entered above. Returns and future income are not guaranteed.
3

Savings / Investment Recommendations

Document recommended account types, contract options and recommendation rationale.

Recommended account allocations
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Total recommended allocation entered$0
Guaranteed / segregated fund recommendations
Guarantees
Fee / contract structure Select only options applicable to the product being recommended and current carrier rules.
4

Final Decision, Follow-up & Signatures

Record the client's decision and any future review requirement.

Client decision
Client and advisor acknowledgement
Retirement income input: Enter desired income and expected pensions in today's dollars. The calculator inflates the resulting income gap to your retirement date, then models yearly increases during retirement. All return assumptions are hypothetical; fees, taxes and CPP/OAS eligibility are not calculated.

Projected savings by age

Illustrative accumulation using your contributions and assumed return.

Canadian financial planning guide

Financial Needs Analysis: protection and savings are different decisions

Quick answer: A Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) compares what a household may require in the future with resources already available. A life insurance analysis estimates the shortfall that could arise after a death. An investment and retirement analysis estimates whether savings and contributions could fund a selected future income goal. They share a financial snapshot, but they should not be combined into one unexplained dollar figure.

How much life insurance might I need?

Start with selected expenses: a mortgage to be repaid, other debts, final expenses, dependent support, future education funding and optional legacy amounts. For income replacement, this estimator multiplies annual income by a selected number of years rather than assuming that every family needs the same multiple of salary. Subtract only existing life insurance benefits and assets deliberately earmarked for those obligations. Group coverage should be reviewed for portability and exclusions.

Example: A family needing $500,000 of income replacement, $350,000 for a mortgage and $25,000 for final expenses has $875,000 of selected needs. If existing life insurance is $250,000 and $50,000 of liquid funds are explicitly allocated, the estimated additional gap is $575,000. This is a planning illustration—not an insurance quote.

How much should I save for retirement?

Choose a current age, retirement date, current savings, monthly contributions and a hypothetical rate of return. Next, enter desired monthly retirement spending and expected pension income in today's purchasing power. The calculator estimates the retirement-date savings balance and an illustrative capital target needed to cover the income gap for the selected retirement period. It shows whether your contributions are ahead of or behind the target and estimates an additional monthly amount to consider.

Example: If desired retirement income is $5,000 per month and expected pensions are $2,000, the starting monthly income gap is $3,000 in today's dollars. Inflation can make the amount required at the retirement date considerably larger; the assumptions should be tested at multiple returns and retirement ages.

What makes a needs analysis suitable for a real client?

The calculation is only the starting point. A complete discussion also checks affordability, existing policy terms, underwriting, family circumstances, savings liquidity, tax consequences, risk tolerance, financial capacity and the purpose of each account. Disability insurance and critical illness insurance protect against different events; they must not be casually subtracted from a life insurance death-benefit requirement. For investing, RRSP, TFSA, RESP, RRIF, LIRA, LIF, non-registered accounts and segregated funds have different eligibility, tax and contractual considerations.

How to use this worksheet

Start with the life protection or savings tab, fill out only the information relevant to that decision, review the calculated gap, document a proposed recommendation and record any reasons for choosing a different amount. Use the scenario-sharing tools for anonymous planning discussions; for personal suitability files, save a local PDF and follow your organization’s secure record-handling procedures. Typed name fields are worksheet acknowledgements, not an independently verified electronic signature.

Continue planning with the Financial Calculators Hub, RRSP tax savings calculator, TFSA growth calculator, Investment calculator, and CPP/OAS calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Is the financial needs analysis free to use?

Yes. This worksheet provides educational estimates. Insurance applications, recommendations and advisory services involve separate suitability and underwriting steps.

Does the life insurance calculator deduct every asset I own?

No. It deducts existing life insurance and only the liquid assets you explicitly designate for the relevant family needs. Otherwise the same retirement resources could inadvertently be counted twice.

Is my retirement savings target guaranteed?

No. Returns, inflation, pensions and spending are planning assumptions. The result does not include every possible fee or tax and it should be stress-tested.

Can my client open the results from WhatsApp?

Yes, the live link can restore non-identifying planning inputs. Names, dates of birth, signatures, notes and suitability decisions are intentionally excluded from the URL.

Does this calculator produce a final insurance or investment recommendation?

No. It supports fact-finding and documentation; actual advice requires a full needs and suitability review by a properly licensed professional.

Reviewed October 14, 2026 · Pankaj Bhatia, PFA, CHS · Insure In Canada Inc. · Illustrations are not guarantees.

What is a Financial Needs Analysis?

A financial needs analysis is a structured review of a client's current financial position, existing insurance or savings, future obligations and planning objectives. For life insurance, it can help document the amount of protection required for selected needs such as income replacement, mortgage repayment, final expenses, education funding and other family goals. Existing life insurance is then compared with those selected needs to identify a potential additional coverage requirement.

For savings and retirement planning, the analysis can document the client's purpose, time horizon and risk profile while also estimating whether current savings and contributions are on track for a selected retirement-income objective. The calculation is an illustration and does not replace a full suitability review.

Why are disability and critical illness coverage shown separately?

Life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness insurance are designed to address different financial risks. For that reason, this calculator records disability and critical illness coverage as part of the overall client protection review but does not deduct those amounts from the life insurance death-benefit need.

How is the life insurance need calculated?

The life insurance section totals only the needs selected by the client and advisor. These can include final expenses, income replacement, mortgage and debt repayment, education funding, permanent or estate needs, legacy objectives and other family needs. Existing term, permanent, group and other life insurance are then deducted to calculate a net additional life insurance need.

What is the difference between a calculator result and a recommendation?

The calculator result is a numerical planning estimate based on the inputs selected. A recommendation also considers product type, term, affordability, existing contracts, client preferences, underwriting, suitability and other relevant circumstances.

Does all existing insurance reduce the life insurance need?

No. This page deducts existing life insurance from the death-benefit need. Disability and critical illness insurance are displayed separately because they respond to different insured events.

Can the client choose less coverage than the calculated need?

Yes. The form includes a client decision and unmet-needs follow-up section so the advisor can document when the client's final decision differs from the identified need or recommendation.

Does the retirement section calculate exact CPP or OAS benefits?

No. Expected CPP, OAS, workplace pension or other pension income is entered as an assumption. Exact government benefit entitlement should be verified using official records and Government of Canada information.

Are investment returns guaranteed?

No. The retirement projection uses the return and inflation assumptions entered in the form. Actual returns, inflation, fees, taxes and future government benefits can differ materially.

Important: This needs-analysis worksheet is for educational, documentation and planning purposes. Calculated results are estimates based on information and assumptions entered and do not constitute an insurance, investment, tax or legal recommendation by themselves. A final recommendation must consider individual circumstances, needs, objectives, affordability, suitability, existing contracts, underwriting, product terms, applicable licensing requirements and product availability. Investment performance is not guaranteed. Government benefit estimates should be verified against official Government of Canada information.
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