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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By Sheryl Smolkin

Do you have a spring or summer wedding coming up? Squawkfox aka Kerry K. Taylor discovered H+M now has a Grecian style wedding gown on sale for USD$99. This happily married lady says if she were looking today she would say yes to this dress! The 38 comments (the last time I checked) are even more interesting with lots of great ideas on how to save money on a beautiful dress you may only wear once.

Whether or not to tip the people who provide you with services and how much is a perennial dilemma. On When Life Gives You Lemons Add Vodka, Sarah Greesonbach discusses how much it costs to get a massage and why your tips may be an important part of your massage therapist’s compenstation. Money saving idea: If you need a massage for therapeutic reasons, make sure you see a registered massage therapist in case you can claim all or part of the cost on your employee benefit plan.

In a recent Globe & Mail column Preet Banerjee had some great information on discounts for seniors and you don’t always have to be over 65! For example, by signing up for a membership with the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), you can get an annual gym membership to GoodLife for $400 per year (plus tax) as long as you are 45 years or older. The cheapest CARP membership is $14.95 per year.

Tim Stobbs writes an interesting blog on Canadian Dream: Free at 45 about adjusting to having a higher self-worth as your savings grow. He says the first most obvious change is that you gain the ability to self-insure for more minor events. For example, you don’t have buy the extended warranty on your appliances because if something stops working you can just buy a new one.  Later on when you have even more saved, you can raise your home insurance deductible since you can comfortably handle greater risks.

There has been considerable press recently about the number of illegal, unpaid interns in both Canada and the U.S. However Cait, a Blonde on a Budget says that an unpaid internship, writing her own blog and writing posts for other blogs she is really passionate about have led to her current full-time job with RateHub.ca.

“My boss saw that I could manage numerous projects with multiple deadlines, I obviously want to learn new things, and she loved that she never found any spelling mistakes in my posts.” Of course, Cait had been trying to build up her writing portfolio, but until that job offer came along she wasn’t conscious of the fact that her blog was a portfolio in itself.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere. Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.