Save with SPP reached out to Poverty Free Sask (PFS) via Joanne Havelock, to gain some knowledge about their views on inflation and its many impacts on life and retirement.

“Canadians have experienced a low wage economy since the late 1980s,” begins the PFS response, received via email.

“Inflation has been higher than wage increases throughout this period, negatively affecting savings rates. Many Canadians have had difficulty creating sufficient retirement savings. Following the 2008 Great Recession many seniors found themselves in even greater financial difficulty. This and future possible market downturns especially affect people with defined contribution pension plans. Although interest rates and living costs had been low for a number of years, the sudden and seven per cent plus high inflation of 2021-2022 is having an impact. Seniors today are hit hard by very high energy and food prices,” the group notes.

Here are the answers PFS has kindly provided to our specific questions.

Q. What does higher-than-usual inflation mean for people living on a low income, particularly seniors?

Higher costs may lead people who are fortunate to own a home to sell their home prematurely and move to rental accommodations, or to smaller rental units, or to live with relatives. Low-income seniors face difficulties regarding living accommodations. Subsidized housing may not be available everywhere, and eligibility requirements and suitability of location or building arrangements can pose barriers. The spaces for government subsidized personal care or long-term care are limited.

Seniors may have to choose between paying the rent, paying for food and paying for prescriptions or medical supplies.

Many seniors are caring for grandchildren or other family members, and they are doubly hit with inflation costs.

People who are low income as seniors may have been low income all of their lives, due to being from disadvantaged groups, and therefore may not have the physical or monetary assets built up to buffer inflation effects.

Q. Does higher inflation (higher costs) make it harder for people to save for the future (i.e., retirement).

It is clear that higher inflation makes it more difficult for people to save for retirement. Some people may be able to make choices in their spending that will still allow them to save. But many others are living paycheque to paycheque (if they have a steady job) or contract payment to contract payment. Then as a senior, they live from pension cheque to pension cheque. In addition, some seniors are still in the workforce because old age pension increases have fallen behind inflation over the decades.

Q. What do higher interest rates mean for those with high debt?

People with high debt will find their costs getting higher and higher. This can lead to higher personal bankruptcy and the associated stress.

Q. What steps can be taken by government/society to help those impacted by inflation?

Poverty elimination plans, involving government, business and the community, would prevent people living in poverty. Suitable and affordable housing is needed for low-income families and children, singles and seniors.

Education systems should accommodate everyone, including adult education and training. Improved employment practices would enable people from disadvantaged groups to obtain and retain jobs, and pay equity would help ensure women are paid fair and equitable wages.

Government and business could work on having reasonably priced grocery stores in all areas, and transportation options to stores. “Buy local” programs would strengthen local food sustainability. It is also important to preserve natural settings that provide medicines and food for northerners, Indigenous peoples and others.

Social assistance benefits should be increased to ensure people can adequately cover living costs. The rules should give more opportunity for people on assistance to work extra to meet their needs. The minimum wage should be increased, which might improve the possibility of savings.

Government could also protect people against rising costs by: GIS, OAS and CPP at least matching Consumer Price Index increases; a national pharmacare program; more reasonable public transportation costs; the re-introduction of inter-city transportation; and better education on managing credit and debt and saving for retirement.

Q. Any other thoughts on inflation and poverty?

Inflation hits people living in poverty the hardest. They are often on fixed incomes. Seniors, as they age, are not able to go out and earn extra money, even if they wanted to do so.

Provincial poverty elimination plans would improve the financial and social situation of people experiencing poverty and eliminate the existence of poverty, allowing them to have adequate incomes as seniors.

We thank Joanne Havelock of PFS for taking the time to respond to questions from Save with SPP.

If you don’t have access to a retirement savings program through your workplace, or are working independently as a contractor, consultant, or freelancer, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be the retirement savings program you’ve been looking for. SPP, which is open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings contribution room, allows you to save at your own pace. You can contribute any amount, up to $7,000 per year, to SPP, who in turn will invest your contributions to provide you with retirement income in the future. Check out SPP today.

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Research shows “soon-to-retire” have different plans for life after work

New research from Edward Jones, reported on by Steve Randall in Wealth Professional, finds that many near-retirees don’t plan on a lot of rest and relaxation in retirement.

“Instead of taking it easy, more than half of Canadian retirees and those who are within 10 years of retirement see their post-work years as a ‘new chapter’ in their lives,” Randall writes.

As well, the Edward Jones/Age Wave survey found that 56 per cent of Canadians (aged 45 and over) surveyed see retirement “as a chance to reinvent themselves,” the publication reports. Some of that non-rest and relaxation includes work, the article continues, with 60 per cent of those asked saying they plan “to do some work as part of their ideal scenario.”

They are also expecting a long retirement – Wealth Professional reports the study found those polled expected around 27 years of retirement, and that they may live to age 100.

The article contrasts these retirement dreams with some less dreamy retirement realities. On average, the survey found, folks started saving for retirement at age 37 on average, with most wishing “they had started nine years earlier,” the article tells us.

“For those within 10 years of retirement, 58 per cent are contributing to an account but only 30 per cent have a thorough financial plan,” the piece continues.

“Those who retired in the last two years fear outliving their savings and among those three-14 years into retirement, 55 per cent have taken action to shore up their finances such as starting a part-time job or downsizing their home,” reports Wealth Professional.

Interestingly, only nine per cent of those surveyed think retirement should start at a certain age, the article notes. For 21 per cent of those asked, retirement should coincide with “financial independence,” the article adds.

The article concludes by identifying “the four pillars of retirement” as health, family, purpose and finances.

This is interesting research, for sure. The takeaway seems to be that while most of us are aware of what we want to do when we aren’t working as much, fewer have focused on the “finance” pillar, which plays a critical “enabler” role for the other pillars.

Way back when this writer was a newly-minted pension plan communications guy, we were taught that the three pillars of retirement where government retirement benefits, personal savings, and your workplace pension plan.

That three-legged stool isn’t as common a concept as it used to be. These days, the majority of Canadians don’t have a workplace pension plan. If you’re in that boat, don’t fret – you have the ability to create a do-it-yourself retirement program via the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP can be your personal pension plan, or can be offered to your employees. You provide the contributions, and SPP grows them until it’s time to take up deep sea fishing, ballroom dancing, or what-have-you. Check them out today!

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Summertime, and while the living is easy, it’s not always easy to get people on the phone for an interview. We get it – there’s only a few short months of great weather in this country, after all.

So, Save with SPP had a look back on what we’ve learned about retirement and saving over the past while through past interviews, and via book reviews, from industry experts and leaders.

Derek Dobson, CEO and Plan Manager of the Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology Pension Plan, pointed to new research from the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council that showed the economic value of pension dollars.  The study found that $16.72 of economic activity arises from every $10 paid out from a pension plan, notes Dobson. And that type of benefit comes from efficient plans, he explains. “Any plan that uses experienced investment professionals, and pooling – I include the Saskatchewan Pension Plan as an example of that – is delivering pensions efficiently,” he tells Save with SPP.

In an interview about the ins and outs of registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), BMO’s James McCreath noted that converting some or all of your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) to an annuity instead of moving it to a RRIF is also an option.

“As interest rates rise, the functionality and usefulness of annuities go up,” he told Save with SPP. You can read the full interview here.

Prof. Luc Godbout, remarking on the trend of people working longer, had an idea on how to tweak the retirement system to accommodate the needs of older workers.  Allowing Canadians to postpone Old Age Security until age 75, and moving the conversion dates for RRSPs/RRIFs to 75, would “optimize the mechanics of pension plans, and also encourage Canadians to remain in the workforce, which improves health and also helps with Canada’s looming labour shortage.” Here’s where you can find the full article.

The author of Getting Out of Debt, Michael Steven, had some interesting thoughts on the importance of saving (once debt is under control).

“Saving requires discipline, a habit you build over time. It can be hard to save instead of spend, but if you have to attain financial freedom, then saving is one of those things you will have to embrace.” You can read the rest of our book review here.

There’s a lot to the broad topic of retirement and saving. For sure, belonging to a workplace pension plan is a key step towards retirement security. If you are saving on your own, you do need to understand the “decumulation stage” when savings are converted to income, either via an annuity or through drawing down a RRIF or similar vehicle. If you don’t have a lot of savings and have boomed your way into your 60s, then the proposed federal changes to benefits discussed by Prof. Godbout may make sense for you. But at the end of the day, as the old saying goes, it’s not what you make, but what you save, that helps your future self paddle through the waters of retirement.

If you don’t have a pension plan at work, and/or haven’t started saving for retirement yet, help is at hand. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is open to any Canadian with RRSP room, and offers pooled investing, low-fee investment management, and many retirement income options including annuities. Check out SPP today!

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Rising interest rates herald the return of annuities, guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)

The prolonged period of low interest rates we have been experiencing up until recently sort of took the bloom off the rose for interest-related investing, such as via GICs and their income-producing cousin, the annuity.

But, writes Rob Carrick in the Globe & Mail, the current rising interest-rate environment may give these old investment friends a new lease on life.

“Annuities are insurance contracts where you turn a lump sum of money over to an insurance company in exchange for a guaranteed stream of monthly income for as long as you live. In a world where a majority of workers do not have pensions, annuities address the fear of running out of money,” he writes.

Higher interest rates are great news for annuity buyers, because the higher rate means your annuity will provide a higher monthly payment.

“The improvements in monthly income from annuities over the past 12 months can be seen in the following examples of $100,000 annuities in a registered account, with payments guaranteed to last 10 years even if you die sooner (the money would go to your estate or beneficiaries),” the article notes. Data, the article tells us, was supplied by “ Rino Racanelli, an insurance adviser who specializes in annuities.”

Improvements for annuity income on $100,000 over just the pay year are quite impressive, the article notes. A 65-year-old woman would now get “$550.88 a month, up 15 per cent from $478.90 12 months ago,” Carrick writes. For men aged 65, it’s a jump to $589.75 a month, “up 15.6 per cent from $510.10 12 months ago.”

Carrick writes that some folks shy away from annuities because you have to give up a large lump sum to get the monthly payment. “Solution,” he writes, is to “use an annuity for just part of your retirement income.”

Racanelli tells the Globe that “interest in annuities has increased lately, but some people are waiting for higher rates to lock money in.”

The GIC was a “go-to” investment for boomer parents back in the 1970s and 1980s, when interest rates were in the teens.

“As of the end of June, GIC rates were as high as 4.15 per cent for a one-year term and five per cent for five years,” he writes.

With a GIC, your money is locked up for the term of the contract, typically, one, two, three, four or five years. You receive regular interest payments which compound, typically monthly, so your GIC can really only go up in value. Few people looked at the GIC when they only offered one or two per cent interest rates, but they are now becoming more popular, the article suggests.

Did you know that the Saskatchewan Pension Plan offers a variety of annuity options for retiring members? According to the Retirement Guide, you can choose either a life only annuity (pays you for life, no survivor or death benefits), a refund life annuity (life income for you, but there can be a payout to survivors if you die before receiving your total annuity purchase amount) and a joint and last survivor annuity – lifetime income for you, and lifetime survivor pension to your surviving spouse upon your death.

Annuities may make sense for some of your money at retirement – you’ll get a lifetime income stream and can choose options to look after your survivors. It’s just another way the SPP provides its members with retirement security.

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Darren Mitchell’s Be the Bank chronicles the author’s efforts to find a way for the average Jane or Joe to “control and compound” their wealth, in the way that banks and wealthy Canadians do.

The book’s story starts back in 2008, when Mitchell was a financial advisor. When the markets crashed, he was on an Alaskan fishing trip, trying to keep track of the carnage via cell phone. “It was sickening,” he writes. “There was nothing I could do… that’s when I realized that everything I knew about money was wrong.”

He wanted to find out why financial institutions and the wealthy got through market downturns fine, while those of us in the middle class coped with losses. He found that “the actions the wealthy took with their assets were the exact opposite of what the middle class did.”

Conventional investing in such things as registered retirement savings plans, registered education savings plans and tax free savings account are, the author suggests, very limited, with little control for the investor.

“Banks and Wall Street are in control. You roll the dice. You hope it all works out when you reach the top.” But, he writes, you need to face “retirement risks” such as taxes, inflation, “the possibility of long-term care,” volatile markets and fluctuating interest rates. “And,” he writes, there is also “the most significant risk of all: longevity.”

He looks at the conventional wisdom of withdrawal rates from investments that are based on 50 per cent stocks and 50 per cent bonds. He calls decumulation rates “the Monte Carlo process,” since you are taking money out of a fund without being able to predict how the fund will perform in the future. It’s a guess.

If you withdraw four per cent per year, Mitchell writes, you have a 57 per cent chance of outliving your money. If you withdraw three per cent, you still have a 24 per cent chance, he explains. “Is that how you want to live the rest of your life – in fear that you’ll run out of money, and with the real possibility that it’s exactly what will happen,” he asks.

After a look at the pros and cons of conventional investing, we come to the meat of the book. In Chapter 7, Mitchell says there is a solution that has been out there “for over one hundred years” that allows you to overcome most investment and decumulation risks – “a specially designed, dividend-paying, high-cash-value life insurance contract with a mutual company or participating whole life fund.”

Such products do come with “some death benefit” but “our focus is the cash value,” he explains. “Fewer than one per cent of life insurance policies sold in Canada are designed this way,” he adds.

Such products pay out steady dividends, he writes, with charts backing him up. Thanks to government regulations, such products charge very low management fees, usually lower than 0.18 per cent.

The longer you live, the more you get out of the product, so there is actually a longevity gain, Mitchell writes. Your growth, which after a few years “should be between 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent per month,” is tax -free and exempt from most conventional barriers to wealth accumulation, Mitchell explains. You can also borrow against your holdings to make a purchase, and since you are effectively the bank, you can decide when or if to pay the money back.

Mitchell’s book takes a look at annuities as a way to avoid market volatility.

“Think of an annuity like a government worker’s pension plan. They have a lifetime pension coming in every month until the day they die – guaranteed,” he says. And as well, he notes, an annuity addresses “the biggest retirement risk we will ever face… longevity. No matter how long you live, you will get paid,” he explains.

This book covers a lot of ground and it is hard to do justice to it in a short book review. But if you are looking for information on a different way to grow your personal wealth, via an insurance industry product, it’s worth having a look.

Annuities are becoming a better buy these days, since higher interest rates actually work in your favour, and give you more annuity income for the same purchasing dollar. Did you know that the Saskatchewan Pension Plan offers a variety of different annuity options for its retiring members? Check out SPP today for more details.

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Even if you have zero saved for retirement, these steps will get you started

One of the findings of a recent survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) was that “32 per cent of working Canadians said they have yet to save anything for retirement.”

South of the border, reports GoBankingRates via Yahoo! Finance, the situation is similar, with 23 per cent of Americans having saved nothing for retirement, and “25 per cent of Americans between 45 and 55 years old” not having even started saving.

Like dieting and going to the gym more often, saving for retirement is something we know is good for us but is easy to avoid doing. GoBankingRates offers a few ways to fire up your own personal retirement savings program.

The first step is to start budgeting, the article notes. “When payday comes around, it’s tempting to pay for immediate expenses, such as rent and groceries, and use the rest of that money for spending and splurging. Instead, you should consider budgeting,” the article urges. “By setting aside a little money every month towards retirement, you will be able to enjoy that money in the future,” states Jay Zigmont of Live, Learn Plan in the article.

Next, the article continues, is addressing your debt load.

“Debt is a frustrating thing to have, but the sooner you are able to eliminate it, the more money you will have for saving for retirement, investing and spending,” the article tells us. This is a very valid point. Next time you get your credit card bill, see how much interest you were charged on the balance over the last month. That amount could go to savings if you were able to pay off the card.

To target your debt, the article advises you to first be sure to make at least the minimum payment on all debts. They then advise that you put any extra money you can on the debt with the highest interest rate. Once that one’s gone, add what you were paying on high-interest debt 1 to high-interest debt 2, and repeat until you are debtless.

A third idea in the article is goal-setting for savings.

“Make sure you know why you are saving,” Zigmont states in the article. “What do you want your retirement to look like? What are you willing to give up to get there? What is the dollar number you need to hit to retire? When do you want to do it by?”

If you want, for example, to have $20,000 in savings for 20 years of retirement, a target might be $400,000. For simplicity, we are not talking about interest rates and investment returns in this example, but both can help you get there.

Other ideas from GoBankingRate include investing your savings, rather than putting it all in a savings account. “Follow the general rule of only investing in things you understand,” Zigmont states in the article. “Take the time to learn what your options are and be sure to understand both what you are investing in.” In Canada, your choices include workplace pension plans, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and plain old cash trading accounts. Be sure you know the limits and rules for each type of investment vehicle.

The final advice in the article is to “take ownership” of retirement. “The key to retirement is making it your own,” the article concludes. Do you want to fully retire, or move to part-time work? Having an idea of what your own retirement will be like will help guide your savings plan, the article concludes.

Over many years of reviewing books for Save with SPP, there was one piece of advice that really stood out, and actually worked for us when money was tight. That idea was to put aside five per cent off your pay for savings right off the top, and then live on the rest.

A barrier to savings is the feeling that you won’t have anything left over after bills and groceries. But if you take five per cent off the top, and put it somewhere where you can’t get at it to spend, you’ll be amazed how quickly the savings start to add up, and how little you miss the five per cent (eventually).

A safe and secure cookie jar for your newfound savings is available through SPP.

With SPP, you can stash away up to $7,000 per year in a locked-in, voluntary defined contribution plan. “Locked-in” means you can’t raid your savings for non-retirement expenses; you can only access the money once you reach retirement age. And during that run up, your money will be invested professionally and at a low cost. SPP is a sensible savings option available to any Canadian with RRSP room; check them out today!

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We understand what saving for retirement means. But do people ever take the time to look ahead and imagine what retirement will actually look like?

Save with SPP took a look around the Interweb to see what people are saying about the unknown destination that is the end of work.  Writing in the Retire Happy blog, Wayne Rothe observes that while we are working, “we’ve earned good incomes and we’re used to spending lavishly. We wanted something, we bought it. We’ve lived in lovely houses, driven nice cars, taken great vacations and spoiled our children.”  They haven’t – or have not yet – thought about life after the workforce, he adds. “As a financial planner and a baby boomer, I know the sorry state of retirement expectations and retirement preparedness for many of my generation. I read lots on this topic and boomers have high retirement expectations but are on track to fall far short of their goals.”

OK, goals – but what are those goals?

The Canadian Budget Binder blog notes that when asked what “do you want your retirement lifestyle to look like,” the answer was not top of mind.

“We both blankly stared at each other and said, `I don’t know,’” reports the blog. “We didn’t know but what we did know was that we had to keep socking away money to max out our retirement savings for future reasons.”

“Depending on who you ask their retirement lifestyle might be painted as, resort-type community living (retirement villages), lavish holidays, mini-trips, restaurants, activities and organizations outside of the home,” the blog notes. “Others might be happy living a simple life in an apartment or their home hopefully mortgage free although for many reaching retirement years that’s not even happening.”

The blog sees being debt-free as a key to being able to leave the workforce.

Other ideas, according to the New Retirement blog are to “do the things that keep you happy,” be they little projects around the house or learning something new.

“You can make a difference to your own loved ones or volunteer and change lives in the community,” the blog continues. Other ideas outlined in the blog include travel, becoming an entrepreneur, being able to get away in the winter, gardening, writing, downsizing and being a consultant.

What we found – or more precisely, didn’t find – was an article that lists what the average person wants their retirement to look like. Thinking about this, that’s probably because those of us still working – a very structured thing, where you show up at a set time and do a task for so many hours a week, all for pay – can’t yet see what an open week, month, or year on a calendar might look like.

So the takeaway is that retirement, unlike work, is 100 per cent dependent on you and your own personal want list. No one is going to set out a retirement lifestyle for you, you have to establish your own. So developing a set of retirement goals – things you want to do when work is a memory – is, in a way, as important as the age-old idea of putting away some money to help you do it.

A nice way to save for retirement is through the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. This unique, end-to-end retirement program is open to any Canadian who has registered retirement savings plan room. And if you don’t have a pension plan at work, SPP can help fill that gap.  SPP will invest your savings at a very low cost, and when it is time to tick off boxes on your retirement to-do list, will convert those savings into income, including the possibility of a lifetime monthly annuity. Check out SPP today.

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HOOPP research shows saving for retirement is a struggle for most

New research from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) finds that while Canadians view retirement savings as a priority, few are able to do much about it.

A media release from HOOPP outlines some of the key findings of the research, carried out for HOOPP by Abacus Data.

“Saving for retirement is the number two priority amongst Canadians, with 53 per cent citing it (affording the day to day was number one, at 62 per cent), but many are struggling to accomplish it. Thirty-two per cent of working Canadians said they have yet to save anything for retirement, and 38 per cent said they have saved nothing for retirement in the past year,” notes the release. 

So, how are people planning to pay for their retirement, if they aren’t saving?

The research found that “nearly half of Canadian homeowners are planning to rely on the sale of a home to set themselves up for retirement (45 per cent), but that plan is becoming increasingly risky in the current environment,” HOOPP reports.

“The general outlook for retirement security in Canada is darkening,” states David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, in the release. “Seventy-five per cent of all Canadians agree there is an emerging retirement crisis in Canada and 72 per cent feel that saving for retirement is prohibitively expensive — both up seven points over last year. And if current trends continue, it will be tougher for younger generations.”

David Coletto spoke to Save with SPP a couple of years ago on the issue of millennials and retirement saving.

So if, as the research suggests, the price of housing is so high that there’s no way to get into real estate while also saving for retirement, what’s the solution?

HOOPP’s Senior Vice President of Plan Operations, Steven McCormick, states in the release that the answer may be wider access to workplace pensions.

“Savings challenges are more acute for younger adults, but there is an agreement across generations that an important solution to the problem is better workplace retirement savings plans, and that everyone has a role to play on this front,” states McCormick in the article.

The release notes three interesting findings from the research:

• 82 per cent of Canadians agreed that all workers should have access to a pension that guarantees a percentage of their working income in retirement. Sixty-six per cent are willing to pay for this access themselves by accepting a slightly lower salary in exchange for a better (or any) pension.
• 77 per cent agreed that all employers should be required to contribute in some way towards pensions for all workers, and 74 per cent agree governments could save money by supporting pensions that are more efficient.
• 83 per cent agreed that without good pension plans at work, many Canadian seniors will experience poverty and 77 per cent said workers without pensions will become a burden on the taxpayer. 

HOOPP has long been an advocate for retirement income security, and their latest round of research clearly shows that the problem of having enough to live on in retirement is not one that is going away.

If you don’t have a workplace pension plan – and are one of the majority of Canadians who want access to one – take a look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, which is open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings plan room.

SPP offers a voluntary defined contribution plan – the money you contribute is pooled for investment efficiency, professionally invested, and – at retirement – can be converted to retirement income, including the option of a lifetime annuity. SPP has been delivering retirement security since 1986. Check them out today.

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