News Releases
According to a survey of Canadians aged 45 – 60 conducted for BMO Financial Group by Ipsos Reid, boomers in Atlantic Canada appear to be least prepared for retirement. Thirty-nine per cent don't have an RSP in contrast to 30 per cent of Canadian boomers and 45 per cent don't have a financial plan vs. 34 per cent of other boomers.
Of those Atlantic boomers who don't have RSPs, 33 per cent said they plan to fund their retirement through a company pension and the same percentage of boomers said they'll be relying on the government.
When asked which statement best describes what retirement planning means to them, 25 per cent of Atlantic boomers selected “hoping for the best”. Twenty-six per cent also agreed with this statement: “I don't need professional help with retirement planning, as it will all work out”.
“Boomers in Atlantic Canada appear to be relying on different sources to fund their retirement, but it's still important for them to develop a plan to ensure they'll have enough to fund their desired lifestyle when they're ready to retire,” said Jason Schella, Regional Sales Manager, BMO Mutual Funds. “Forty-nine per cent consider their RSP to be their financial plan. Having an RSP is a good start towards saving for retirement, but it's not enough.”
Like their Canadian counterparts, many Atlantic boomers prefer to spend their time planning other activities, rather than planning for their retirement. In fact, 57 per cent spend more time planning home renovations (vs. 46% of Canadian boomers), 52 per cent plan their diet (vs. 47%) and half of Atlantic boomers spend more time planning exercise (vs. 49%) than planning for retirement.
Yet, in previous BMO-Ipsos Reid research, 91 per cent of Canadian boomers agreed that having enough money for retirement requires a lot of planning and advice to reach your goals.
“While boomers acknowledge that planning is important, it appears that there is a common reluctance among Canadian boomers to plan for something that is perceived to be so far down the road when there are many other priorities to deal with,” said Schella.
“Retirement represents uncharted territory for boomers - so it's all the more important for them to start considering a variety of contingencies and lifestyle choices today. Whether they plan to continue working through their traditional retirement years, volunteer or hit the road and travel around the world, we need to help them conceptualize what they want their retirement to look like so that they can plan ahead to fund the lifestyle they want to enjoy in the future,” added Schella.
Additional research findings –
Do you spend more time planning for these activities than planning for retirement?
|
Activity |
Average |
BC |
AB |
SK/MB |
ON |
QC |
ATL |
|
Exercise |
49% |
53% |
46% |
54% |
48% |
50% |
50% |
|
Diet |
47 |
48 |
44 |
60 |
50 |
39 |
52 |
|
Car |
33 |
39 |
27 |
42 |
33 |
29 |
33 |
|
Renos |
46 |
44 |
37 |
55 |
48 |
42 |
57 |
|
Travel |
43 |
48 |
40 |
42 |
43 |
43 |
39 |
What do you think would most appeal to you at age 62?
|
Activity |
Average |
BC |
AB |
SK/MB |
ON |
QC |
ATL |
|
Conventional retirement |
76% |
73% |
68% |
71% |
74% |
83% |
83% |
|
Volunteer |
49 |
50 |
50 |
61 |
45 |
47 |
67 |
|
Consult |
31 |
31 |
35 |
31 |
31 |
32 |
19 |
|
Start business |
19 |
18 |
23 |
20 |
22 |
10 |
20 |
|
Cycle south of |
18 |
17 |
16 |
11 |
19 |
22 |
9 |
|
Climb |
9 |
11 |
8 |
7 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
Full results available upon request.
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