Should couple's TFSAs, RRSPs and more be 90% equities?

A do-it-yourself couple, the husband 56 and his wife a decade younger, write in wondering whether their nearly all-equity portfolio spread across TFSAs, RRSPs and a non-registered account still makes sense as retirement gets closer. Allan and Financial Post's Julie Cazzin take the question from more than one angle. Each account type is taxed differently on the way out, so how the couple splits registered, tax-free and non-registered dollars matters as much as the stock-to-bond mix itself. The age gap between the spouses adds another layer, since the younger wife's time horizon is longer than her husband's, and tools like RRIF income splitting and the OAS clawback threshold shape how much room the household actually has to hold risk. Rather than a flat answer on how much equity is too much, the piece works through account order and withdrawal sequencing first, then the asset mix. It is a useful read for any couple with a meaningful age gap questioning a mostly-equity portfolio as retirement nears.