Planning for Retirement in Canada with US Pension Income

[Beetleman]

(I apologize for the repeat post but though it might make more sense to start a new post than to add on to the old post of someone else.)

This may be early but I found this as I continue to plan for retirement which is still 5 years away. My spouse and I are planning to retire to Montreal in about five years. My spouse holds dual citizenship while I am American and so I'm planning on being sponsored and being a permanent resident. While we may also work (we'll still be younger at the time 55 & 49) our income will consist of my pension (est. $100K annually today) and withdrawals from our respective 401K and 403Bs. I assume that we would pay taxes first to the United States on this income and then Canada/Quebec on the difference. However, if I'm calculating correctly the taxes would be quite steep and possibly 50% or more including both the Canadian and Quebec taxes. I've also read that there are few deductions - mortgages, etc.

Are there some strategies to reduce some of the tax liability? Should our expectations be significantly more than they are here in California where we can deduct mortgage interest?

[nelsona]

A better solution would be to move your sheltered accounts to Roths, pay the tax in US and then have this money tax-free in canada and US.