Jun 10: Best from the blogosphere
June 10, 2019
A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view
Millennials need to boost their savings discipline
A story from CNBC, citing research from U.S. bank Wells Fargo, suggests younger folks, “those who grew up… listening to Bon Jovi” have a harder road to retirement than their Beatles-fan parents.
The Wells Fargo report, called Reimagining Retirement, looks at the savings needs of all the different generations, and reaches some interesting conclusions.
Assuming, the article notes, that you will need to save $1 million to self-fund your retirement, younger people will have to be more self-reliant. “Millennials, less likely to have a traditional pension than baby boomers, need to develop financial discipline. Members of Generation X, finding themselves in their peak earning years, need to ramp up their savings right now,” the article notes.
The report itself shows some of the barriers younger people have to face when it comes to saving (remember, this is U.S. data, but it probably paints a similar picture to what is going on here). The report notes that “65 per cent of GenXers’ monthly income goes towards meeting monthly expenses,” and that only “48 per cent of GenXers agree that they are saving enough for retirement.” The GenXers are advised to avoid dipping into their retirement accounts for non-retirement purposes, to sign up for any retirement savings plans available at work, and to “invest for growth.”
Millennials, the report says, find basic financial skills to be “intimidating.” A surprising 32 per cent of this age group don’t “believe the stock market is a good place to grow their retirement savings,” the report notes. For this group, the advice is to sign up for any retirement programs work may offer, and to try to move any work-related savings with you when changing jobs. They are advised to avoid being too conservative when investing (avoiding risk) and avoid getting caught up in “the latest investment craze.”
Retirement can last a really long time!
Writing in Benefits Canada, Simon Deschenes, a partner at Eckler Limited, notes that when he was growing up in the 1980s, people living to age 100 “made the news,” it was that rare and unlikely.
These days, he writes, actuaries assume that males age 65 “will live to about age 88 and females age 65 will live to age 90 – and that’s for the average Canadian pensioner.” He notes that he recently “came across two statistics that blew my ‘80s childhood mind – the chance of one half of a retired couple, both age 65, reaching 94 is about 50 per cent.” The chances of one member of that couple reaching age 100 is a surprisingly high 10 per cent, he adds.
He concludes by saying the “risk” of living a really long life (known in the industry as longevity risk) should be a major consideration for retirees in how they draw down their savings; he also suggests the new advanced-life deferred annuities are a new tool worth looking at that can bolster your retirement income if you live a really long time.
The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has you covered if you are worried about outliving your savings. SPP has a wide variety of annuity options, check out the SPP Retirement Guide for full details.
| Written by Martin Biefer |
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Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22 |
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