[OhGreatGuru]

That's a wealth of information, but it's not clear what the question is. Do you just want an opinion on Manulife, or advice on complete financial planning?

Without a complete history of your contributions to Manulife no one can say if your returns have been good, bad, or indifferent. But in general terms Manulife does have high Mer's or other fees for its funds for no better return than you could get elsewhere.

If you are unhappy with your advisor, your husband at least should be looking for one elsewhere, or learning to manage his own portfolio. It is doubtful if it would be of any benefit to you personally to pull your money out of ManuLife, but your husband is in it for a longer term.
Given your health problems, and the disparity in ages between you and your husband, I would also be careful about Manulife selling you on something that is locked in and cannot be transferred to your husband's control when the time comes.

Whether you should be using up your unused RRSP room, which your husband could then inherit as beneficiary, depends a lot on your overall taxation status, and your current revenue needs.

 

[OhGreatGuru]

From the few minutes I spent watching ManuLife's income Plus web ad, I would say avoid it in your situation. There are too many locked-in conditions. Sure, you can buy a joint life payoput option. But the monthly payout will be lower (just as with a joint annuity). And does he need the income stream at his age? Yes, there is is also a Death Benefit Guarantee with this plan, but the payout is 100% minus the sum of all payments you received up until time of death. So the death benefit is declining with time, as if Manulife was earning no money on the capital.

IMHO your husband would likely be better off inheriting the capital to invest in his own RRSP, which you can do by simply designating him as beneficiary of your RRSP. It seems to me you want to maintain liquidity of your assets for a couple of reasons: you may need to draw on them for your health care; and to make them easily transferable to your husband after you are gone.