In the U.S., 35 per cent say they haven’t started saving for retirement yet

A new study by U.S. firm FlexJobs has found that more than a third of Americans have not yet started to save for retirement.

The study was featured in detail in a recent article in Consumer Affairs.

The study, carried out in June of this year, involved interviews with 2,000 U.S. workers. “The group answered questions about their current and future retirement plans,” the publication explains.

“Overall, 65 per cent of the survey respondents reported they are currently saving for retirement, with 35 per cent not yet starting their savings plans. Of that group, 20 per cent said they aren’t currently saving, but have plans to start in the future,” the article notes.

Fewer women than men said they were saving for retirement – 61 per cent of men versus 52 per cent of women, the article continues.

Major differences were seen in savings rates when the data was crunched by generation, the article reports.

“Baby boomers represented the largest percentage of retirement savers, with 61 per cent saying they’ve been saving for retirement. On the other hand, 58 per cent of Gen Xers and 46 per cent of millennials reported the same,” Consumer Affairs notes.

“However, over 25 per cent of millennials and nearly 20 per cent of Gen Xers said they aren’t currently saving for retirement but plan to start in the future,” the article adds.

“These results aren’t wholly surprising, as baby boomers are closer to retirement age and have likely had a longer period of time to save,” states Keith Spencer of FlexJobs in the article. “Those who are at earlier stages in their careers may also have competing financial priorities, like student loan debt, which can impact their ability to save. Similarly, different generations have experienced varying economic conditions, which could disproportionately affect career opportunities and savings potential.” 

Do the survey’s authors have any encouraging words for those among us who are yet to put that first retirement savings dollar into an account? Is it too late for them?

“It’s never too late for consumers to start planning and saving for retirement,” Spencer tells Consumer Affairs. “It’s important to begin by establishing some clear retirement goals that account for factors like your ideal retirement lifestyle and your target retirement age. From there, you can start creating a budget, tracking your income and expenses, and prioritizing saving wherever possible. Consumers should also explore any employer-sponsored retirement plans that might be available to them through their workplace, which can be particularly beneficial if their employer offers matching contributions.” 

The article concludes by warning newbies of several factors that can impact retirement savings plans – financial constraints (i.e., your ability to set aside anything for retirement), market volatility, “societal spending pressures,” caregiving responsibilities and a lack of financial literacy.

If you are worried about how to invest your savings – and aren’t in a pension plan or retirement program at work – then the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just what you’ve been looking for. You decide how much you want to contribute to your SPP account, and we do the rest – professionally investing your savings in a low-cost pooled fund, and growing your nest egg until it’s time to retire. Then, SPP member options include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

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Every morning, as soon as the first beam of sunlight dares to enter our room, our Sheltie Phoebe is instantly awake, making encouraging “wake up” barks and little indignant cries that soon are joined by our other Sheltie, Duncan.

Negotiation does not work – we need to get up, right now, and feed the little princess and prince, and then, soon afterwards, stumble around the still-dark neighbourhood for a walk. Their early morning antics make us appreciate winter, when the sun comes up hours later. But we love them dearly.

Save with SPP wondered how others feel about the value of having a dog in retirement.

The Extra Mile blog sees a lot of value in having a dog in retirement.

“Dogs are man’s best friend, and that’s especially true for retirees, who can enjoy an array of health and lifestyle benefits sharing their home with a canine companion,” the blog reports.

The article quotes Janice Walker, 71, as saying “dogs just make your golden years brighter.” She originally was “dogless” in retirement “so she could travel more easily,” the article continues, but that thinking changed and soon she and her husband Richard added a Lhaso Apso and a Bichon Frise to their family.

“The dogs encouraged them to walk around their neighborhood four times a day, follow a healthy daily routine, and meet and chat up neighbors. One of Walker’s favorite things about having dogs is being greeted at the door by their wagging tails,” the blog reports. “The unconditional love that dogs give you, and the excitement when you come home, you can’t bottle that,” she tells the blog.

The chief benefits of having a dog in retirement include exercise, the benefits to your heart health (blood pressure is usually lowered), companionship, and “fostering a sense of community” through more interaction with neighbours and other dog walkers, the blog says.

The Kiplinger website recalls that many people got their first dog during the odd, isolating days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Their instincts to shelter in place with a dog or cat were right on target because in times of stress pets offer people emotional and social support,” the site notes.

Research carried out by biologist Ericka Friedman found that “people who had a heart attack and owned a pet were more likely to be alive a year later than those without a pet. Among the 39 patients without pets, 11 (28 per cent) had died compared to only three (six per cent) of the 53 pet owners,” Kiplinger reports.

She also found that those with dogs “have healthier lifestyles, including getting enough exercise and sleep.”

“Other studies have linked pet ownership with decreased blood pressure, slightly lower overall blood cholesterol levels and general calming benefits, although more research could determine whether pets reduce anxiety or even depression in people,” the Kiplinger article concludes.

There are a few downsides to having dogs, reports The Globe and Mail. Dog ownership “can be a headache for those who travel a lot,” since someone has to look after your furry friends while you are away.

Having a dog may limit your rental options as well, The Globe reports. Pet owners Bruce and Brenda Rennie tell The Globe that as renters and dog owners, they found it much harder to rent. “Renting with a pet is much more difficult,” she tells the newspaper. “It easily took 60 per cent or more of the possible places we could rent off the market to us. People are worried about dogs doing damage to their property and stuff. That was a big thing. I could have had five kids, but one dog …”

Other dog-related expenses include food and treats, toys and “eye-watering” vet bills, the article warns.

It’s true that the cost of food and care for our doggies are higher today than in the past, but we are of the opinion that they are worth every penny.

If you are thinking of taking on a dog in retirement (or a cat, or both), you will need to have some extra dollars put aside for that new expense. A great way to supplement the modest benefits you’ll get from the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security is to sign up for the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP will do all the difficult investing work for you – you provide contributions, and we will invest them in a low-cost, pooled fund. At the end of work, SPP helps you turn your now-grown savings into income – options include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit. Check out SPP today!

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Successful habits of those living beyond age 100

A recent article in The Times of India took a look at the secrets of longevity – habits of those who have already lived beyond the century mark.

The article notes that as recently as 2000, there were only about 1.5 million people around the world age 100 and older – by 2021, there were more than 5 million.

The Times cites an article in the journal GeroScience that found “dietary practice and weight management in healthcare strategies to promote healthy aging played a pivotal role in longevity. It also recognized rural living styles and sleep hygiene as potential factors contributing to healthy aging.”

While you might think that genes have the most to do with this – if your parents lived past 100, then maybe you will – the article says the study found that “non-genetic or environmental factors” account for 60 per cent of “successful aging.”

Okay then – what can we do to promote a longer lifespan?

First, the article tells us, is diet.

“A healthy diet, like the Mediterranean diet, along with eating a variety of foods, including milk and grains, helps people live much longer, as seen in centenarians,” the Times reports.

“The study also suggests avoiding smoking and tobacco, as they harm the body in many ways. Smoking increases the risk of premature death but quitting it can reduce this risk. Smoking is injurious to both your mental and physical well-being,” the article continues.

So, eat healthy and get rid of the smokes. What else?

Sleeping, we are told, is very important. “In a study of three European cohorts, individuals without sleep disturbance compared to those with severe sleep disturbance were projected to live six additional years in good health and three more years without chronic diseases between the age of 50 and 75,” the Times notes. “Sleep satisfaction was also found to modulate the link between occupational stress and metabolic syndrome or BMI while both long and short sleep durations were associated with an increased risk of death,” the article states.

Okay, no more late nights and catnaps. Are there other tips?

The research, reports the Times, suggests that those of us taking fewer medications in our older years will live longer.

“On average, centenarians were taking 4.6 medications … versus 6.7 for those aged 80 and above. This lower medication usage may reflect a lower disease prevalence in centenarians,” the article reports.

Finally, the research has found that rural living may also be a factor.

“Over 75 per cent of centenarians lived in rural areas, suggesting that rural lifestyles may contribute significantly to prolonged health and longevity. The study notes that enhancing green spaces, tree canopy and public parks to encourage rural lifestyles may boost life expectancy and postpone epigenetic ageing,” the report concludes.

So, if you’re not already living outside a city, be sure to spend lots of time in healthy rural-type settings like parks.

If you are lucky enough to enjoy a ripe old age, it’s important to take steps to ensure you don’t outlive your savings. Members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan have the option of converting some or all of their savings to an annuity when it’s time to retire. With an SPP annuity, you will receive a monthly payment on the first day of every month for as long as you live – you’ll never outlive your savings.

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Here’s how to chop that grocery bill down to size

Inflation is said to be slowing down, but the high cost of groceries is still a hot topic at the golf course and around the table after line dancing class.

Save with SPP decided to scour the Interweb to find out what others are doing to cut their food costs.

At The Penny Hoarder blog, one suggestion is to “create a grocery budget.”

“The first step to saving money on food is to think like a Boy Scout (i.e., “Be Prepared”). Setting up a monthly or weekly grocery budget will help you stay on track and keep your spending in check,” the blog suggests.

We like this one – instead of grumbling that everything on your list costs more, you bring a set amount of money, say $100, and come home with that amount of groceries. Interesting!

Other ideas from this blog are to develop a meal plan – so that you know exactly what you need to buy, item by item – and the classic advice to clip/save/find coupons and make good use of them.

The Daily Hive offers up some additional thoughts.

Skip pre-cut fruit and veggies, the blog advises. “Since there’s an added labour cost to these items, it’s often cheaper to buy the larger item and cut it up yourself, especially if it’s a low-cost product like squash or watermelon,” the blog adds.

A second thought – don’t just plan your meals, plan your snacks too, the blog suggests.

“One top trick to see lower grocery receipts is to plan your meals and snacks for the week,” The Daily Hive reports.

“By crafting each meal ahead of time, you know exactly what to shop for and can avoid unnecessary or impulsive buys,” the blog continues.

A USA Today article via Yahoo! provides a few more ideas.

“Shop your pantry” before going out to buy ingredients for meals – maybe you have some of the things already, the newspaper advises.

“Use your grocery store’s app to carefully plan your shopping trip from the comfort of your own home and check all available coupons. Utilizing your grocery store’s app is one of the best ways to stay on budget and save time when you shop,” the article adds.

Another idea from USA Today is to buy things that are in season. “When purchasing produce, choose produce that’s in-season. Out-of-season produce tends to be more expensive than its in-season counterparts,” the newspaper notes.

The Victoria Times-Colonist provides a few more tips.

One interesting idea is to avoid going to the grocery store altogether. Huh?

“If you tend to wander off your grocery list because every time you go to the store you buy things you don’t need, shopping online and picking up curbside is a good workaround,” the article suggests. This can also save time if you are buying groceries from multiple locations, the article adds.

As well, a sort of further idea to the “grocery budget” plan is to keep your previous grocery bills so that you can “track what you are already spending,” the article reports.

“Start by reviewing how much you have spent on the last few times you’ve gone grocery shopping,” states David Brindley, deputy editor for AARP Bulletin, in the article.

“If you don’t keep receipts from past grocery runs, try looking at your bank account statement and adding up the grocery charges. Once you know how much you spend on groceries, set a goal, for example, staying within a specific budget or reducing your spending,” he adds.

These are all good ideas. If there’s a common theme, it is to spend more consciously on groceries rather than just tossing stuff into the shopping cart and then complaining about the cost.

A couple of things we’ve learned to do to save on shopping is to work with a fairly empty fridge – don’t pile it full to the brim. Why? If you can see everything in your fridge, you won’t buy the same things twice, or throw out stuff that’s been shoved to the back behind something else and has gone “off.”

Having an extra stream of income will also help out your grocery shopping in retirement. If you aren’t covered by a retirement program at your workplace, have a look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. With SPP, you decide how much you want to save, and we do the rest – investing your savings over time in a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund. You can make contributions in many ways – through pre-authorized contributions from your bank account, via online banking (SPP can be set up as a bill), by credit card or by mailing us a cheque.

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Canadians struggle to save for retirement; 75 per cent blame cost of living: CARP study

A new study from the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), carried out by Sun Life, finds that “one third of Canadians struggle to plan for retirement,” and “75 per cent of people say their cost of living is negatively impacting their retirement savings.”

The findings were made public via a recent media release.

And the research had other troubling findings, such as the fact that “over half of respondents are worried they do not have enough money to retire,” the release notes.

“There are many factors to think about for Canadians when it comes to saving for retirement,” states Eric Monteiro, Senior Vice-President, Group Retirement Services, Sun Life, in the media release. “Planning can significantly affect someone’s ability to retire. Considering what you want your retirement to look like, and building a roadmap to get there is essential.”

The release says that those who are “digitally engaged” with their retirement savings “have more money saved, feel more confident about their plan, and experience better retirement outcomes.”

We gather this means people who check their savings progress online. The release states that:

• Members who are digitally engaged see an average balance 230 per cent higher than those who are not engaged ($123,800 versus $51,800).
• Digital members contribute 61 per cent more to their savings accounts than those who aren’t online ($8,700 versus $3,400).
• Digital members are two times as likely to maximize an employer match. While 30 per cent of non-digital members maximized that match in 2023, this compares to 61 per cent of digital members.

“It’s important that people not only prepare for retirement but feel confident in the decisions they’ve made. It’s clear that those who regularly log-in online see the long-term benefits of embracing the convenience of digital tools. These numbers paint a vivid picture about how technology can empower people to take control of their financial future,” Monteiro adds, via the release.

Members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan have a variety of online tools to map their retirement progress.

By using My SPP, you can quickly check the most recent rates of return on SPP’s Balanced Fund and Diversified Income Fund. You can take a look at your current account balance, download any tax slips or statements, and check your personal account information to make sure you’re up to date.

On the planning side, SPP’s Wealth Calculator gives you a quick idea of just how much income your future self may receive from your invested SPP contributions.

You can even choose to make contributions directly through the website via a credit card.

All these tools will help keep your SPP retirement planning on track – and when it’s time to collect, you can choose among such options as a monthly lifetime annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

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In Live Your Best Retirement, author Ramon Reid begins by expressing concern for those who are not happy in their so-called golden years. The book then provides ways to turn things around for that group.

As he began his own retirement, he noticed “a worrying trend in people who had retired. A lot were lost and unfocussed or even worse – they seemed angry that retirement hadn’t delivered the goods.” Worse, he continues, they didn’t know what to do about it.

He and his wife, on the other hand, had a plan when they retired early. “We (had) a number of key projects in mind, are active physically as keen gardeners, cyclists and kayakers, are emotionally centred with regular meetups with friends and family and are intellectually stimulated as part-time business and management consultants.”

In other words, he writes, “we made purposeful decisions about how we wanted to live our third age.”

Those on the verge of retiring, he advises, don’t “want to drift aimlessly in a sea of indecision” about the years ahead. They instead need to be “prepared for more than one option,” and to be able to “learn fast or adapt.” Having a plan for the years ahead allows you to “look forward to the future with excitement and not look back in grief.”

The book gives dozens of real-life examples of how individuals and couples coped with retirement and its precursor processes, like planning.

The transition to retirement “can be tough,” he writes. “For some retirees, the reality of retirement is a far cry from their expectations and often leads to disillusionment and deep unhappiness.” Further, he continues, a surprising 40 per cent of Americans reverse their decision to retire.

That’s because they don’t have a purpose for retirement. “Finding purpose in life means different things to people. The quest assumes an even greater urgency once you enter the third age of your life,” he writes. “For some, it is about fulfilling a passion; for others, it is unearthing a passion they did not know they had.” He suggests that volunteering in retirement is a “transformative” action for retirees seeing purpose.

In a chapter on personal growth and learning, he notes that “retirement is not the end but the beginning of a new appreciation of the wonders of life.”

“The trick,” he writes, “is teasing out the reward of a hobby, or learning a new skill, even a language, that occupies your mind 100 per cent. Take comfort in the research that shows, time and again, that your growth is achieved by challenging yourself.”

Examples of things to learn in retirement, he writes, include a new language, music, strategic game playing, dancing, acting, cycling and pottery.

“Be curious, be active,” he advises. “You have as much to offer the community as the community has to offer you.”

He concludes his optimistic book by advising retirees to find “like minded others” by joining classes or groups. “Start small and build on your options,” he suggests. “Do something positive at the start of every day.” Be careful what you are eating – cut back on processed foods, sugar and alcohol, he advises.

“Just do it, start doing something, anything, today. Take the first step, the others will follow. Stepping out will become easier each day, just as your confidence and capability does.”

This is a fantastic and motivating book. The move from work to retirement can be jarring and sad if you haven’t thought about what to do with all that time, and while the focus with pre-retirement seems to always be on money, it’s really more important to be active and to try new things, as Ramon Reid says so well.

Changing jobs? Your SPP account is ready to make the move with you. Since you can join SPP as an individual, changing employers doesn’t affect your eligibility to continue contributions – you can keep going on your retirement savings no matter where you’re working. And, once those contributions have been professionally invested in SPP’s low-cost pooled fund, you’ll enjoy – at retirement – options that include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit option.

Get SPP working for you today!

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Canadians starting to think about retirements stretching beyond their 80s

There was a time when one worked until age 65, got the gold watch, received a pension for perhaps 10 years, and then passed away.

But now, reports Business In Vancouver, “rising life expectancies are extending Canadians’ financial horizons” to their 80s and even beyond.

In an interview with RBC’s Howard Kabot, the publication says there’s a new trend “that sees financial plans being adjusted to accommodate longer lifespans.”

Kabot tells Business in Vancouver that many clients are fine-tuning their investment plans to factor in the idea that they’ll still be healthy and active in their 80s and beyond.

In the past, he states in the article, people assumed “they would slow down by the time they were 80, choosing to stay closer to home.” Today, he points out, “clients are now opting to travel and stay active into their 80s, postponing those plans until their 90s.”

“The population is getting healthier and they are living longer,” Kabot tells Business In Vancouver. “When they needed a financial plan in the past, it was a standard to have enough money to get to 90. Now, we’re easily using 100.”

Let’s let that last bit sink in – planning to get to 100!

So what does that type of planning look like?

The article says there is an emphasis on “making money last longer” so that there’s funding for moving to a retirement home, or perhaps making changes in order to be able to age at home.

An article in The Globe and Mail looks at some of the factors to consider when tweaking your financial plan to include longevity.

The article says that while fixed income investments from things like “defined benefit pension plans and annuities” will ensure you don’t run out of money, you still want to diversify your portfolio so that you are getting growth to counter future inflation.

You also need to be careful with how much you withdraw from your savings each year, the article says, citing the “four per cent” rule as a fairly safe way to ensure you don’t use up your savings too quickly.

The article makes a strong case for annuities.

“An annuity (typically) involves an agreement between an individual and an insurance company, where the person makes payments in return for an income flow typically throughout their retirement years. (They) can be valuable for managing longevity risk, especially for older retirees with even more years under their belt.”

Members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan have the option of converting some or all of their SPP savings into an annuity at retirement. The SPP Retirement Guide lays out the annuity options that are available – the life only annuity (monthly income for you for life), the refund life annuity (same, but any balance of the amount you provide for the annuity that is not paid out to you by your death is paid to a beneficiary) and the joint and last survivor annuity, where a surviving “spouse or common law partner” will receive a monthly annuity on your death.

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We often hear from fellow seniors about the advantages of going to one vehicle versus two – and the money they’re saving.

Save with SPP decided to take a look around to see what’s up with this thinking.

An article from a few years back by Rob Carrick of The Globe and Mail suggests that going to one car – particularly in your later years – can really pay off.

“Take two working parents, add kids and you have a strong convenience-based case for paying the many costs of owning and maintaining a pair of vehicles. Add a home in the suburbs and the argument gets even stronger,” he writes.

“But owning two cars stops making so much sense later in life. In retirement, you can save a bundle by going down to one vehicle,” he reports.

The article quotes Sylvia Thys, an associate financial planner at Caring for Clients, as showing how planning to “downsize” to one car could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a couple’s net worth in retirement.

“By adding the money (spent on a second vehicle) saved to their investments, the couple would have two extra years of living in their home before it had to be sold to generate retirement income. Their net worth would increase by a future value of $678,000 at age 95,” Thys states in the article.

Wow. The article notes that a typical couple spends $1,000 per month on each car they own, buying a new car every 10 years and spending “$30,000 to $35,000 a vehicle.” (Five years later, this number is probably more like $50,000.)

And it’s not just financing a car, the article adds – insurance can costs $1,000 per year per vehicle, with maintenance costing even more than that. Going to one car cuts those costs in half, the article concludes.

The Dollar Stretcher blog cites a few further examples culled from the blog’s readers.

Lisa H. of Aloha, Ore., tells the blog her family switched to one car “a few years ago” and have since saved $6,000 “counting payments and maintenance. There are not many times we wish we had two cars, and we are always able to make do.” She says other ways to get around can be tapped when needed – public transportation, ride-sharing services, or getting a lift from a friend.

Reader Laura says Dad can often take the bus or ride to work with a colleague when she needs the car. Mom also can chauffeur him to the office when she needs the wheels, a “great way to get Mom up and ready for the day.”

The Money Smart Guides blog says that while going to one vehicle may not work for everyone, it has great financial benefits.

Savings go far beyond going to one monthly car payment from two, the blog notes.

“You’ll also save money on car insurance, oil changes, vehicle maintenance, and fuel costs,” the blog advises. “Depending on your living situation, having one vehicle could mean you don’t have to pay for a second parking space, too. Don’t forget about the taxes, the registration, the emissions tests in some places, and even car washes,” the blog adds.

We can add personal testimony to this money-saving argument. We went to one vehicle around 2009 – at that time, one of us worked during the week in Toronto and then came home to Ottawa on weekends by train. There was no point having a car in downtown Toronto – parking was crazy expensive even then, traffic was brutal, and you could take the subway/streetcar/bus system anywhere, or cab it, or walk.

These days in Ottawa we share one car, and while we very occasionally have conflicting agendas, it works out. One car payment, one insurance payment, one car to fuel up, one license plate to pay for.

The money that you can save by going to one vehicle can boost your savings. And if you are saving for retirement on your own, perhaps the savings can be directed to a Saskatchewan Pension Plan account. SPP makes saving for retirement easy, because they do the “heavy lifting” of investing your savings for you. SPP’s low-cost, expert investment in a pooled fund has benefited retirement savers for nearly 40 years. At retirement, you can choose between receiving a monthly lifetime annuity payment, or the more flexible Variable Benefit option.

Check out SPP today!

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Women must take action to avoid the “retirement gap” later in life

For every dollar a man gets in retirement, a woman gets just 83 cents – “a gap of 17 per cent,” reports Diane Peters, writing in The Globe and Mail.

“The gender pay gap is the gift that keeps on giving,” she writes. “Women make less than men during their working years and that differential continues into retirement.”

The 17 per cent gap, Peters reports, is cited in a 2024 report from Ontario’s Pay Equity Office.

When defining the income at play for calculating the gap, the article notes, the report refers to “government pensions, workplace pensions and personal savings.”

One might think that the disparity in wages/income between men and women has got better over time, but in fact, Peters writes, that’s not the case.

“The gap is larger than it was nearly 50 years ago. In 1976, the first year researchers were able to find meaningful statistics, the gap stood at 15 per cent,” she adds.

Janine Rogan, the Calgary-based author of The Pink Tax: A Financial System Designed To Keep Women Broke, says there are still steps women can take to avoid the effects of the gap.

“I think it’s important to connect these ideas so we [can] understand how insidious it is to gain and grow your wealth as a woman,” she tells The Globe.

 “Knowledge is really powerful. When you’re aware of [the gap], you can make different decisions,” she states in the article.

The article looks at the causes of the gap.

A big cause, writes Peters, is the general pay gap “which stands at 28 per cent in Canada.” In other words, women make less than men during their careers.

As well, the article points out, “women also contribute less to workplace pensions, personal savings, and contribution-based government programs such as the Canada Pension Plan – and these, on average, make up 78 per cent of a Canadian’s income in retirement.”

Taking time off to have kids also hampers retirement savings efforts, the article explains.

Women who take time off work to have children earn less, a fact the article calls “the motherhood wage penalty.”

Finally, women tend to spend more on their families.

“Oftentimes, it’s the woman’s responsibility to pay for childcare or summer camp or school [supplies]. He often pays the mortgage,” Rogan tells The Globe. “It may go unnoticed when women give their kids lunch money or run to the drugstore run for an aging parent. But those costs deplete women’s ability to save,” the article notes.

OK, making less, saving less (due to lower income), earning less while having kids and spending more on them as they grow. Quite the list.

So, what can women do?

The article quotes Leony deGraff Hastings, a certified financial planner from Burlington, Ont., as saying women should take full advantage of any pension of registered retirement savings plan through work where contributions are matched by the employer.

As well, if you are taking time away from work, perhaps to have a child, many employer pension programs allow you to “buy back” that time, and make pension contributions when you are back in respect of the time you were away.

Know all the rules of any workplace retirement program you are part of, she tells The Globe, adding that “financial literacy is vital for retirement planning.”

Don’t be afraid to accompany your husband when he meets with financial planners, or to get your own, the article adds.

If you don’t have a workplace retirement program to join, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just what you are looking for. Once you have an account with SPP, you decide how much to save – you can start small and gear up as your income increases – and SPP does the heavy lifting of investing those contributions. When it’s time to collect, you can choose among such options as a monthly annuity payment for life, or the more flexible Variable Benefit option.

Check out SPP today!

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