For many of us, inflation is an unwelcome guest from a long time ago who has made a sudden reappearance. For the younger among us, it’s a weird new thing.

How do we cope with a reality that has prices for things like groceries soaring? Save with SPP took a look around for some top tips on slaying the beast of inflation.

The folks at Ratehub.ca describe “two common categories of inflation” as being “cost-push inflation” and “demand-pull” inflation.

Cost-push inflation, the blog reports, “happens when production costs rise (wages, raw materials, transportation, etc.) but demand doesn’t.” The higher cost of producing items inflates their cost, the blog explains.

Demand-pull inflation, Ratehub explains, “is the result of higher consumer demand for certain goods.” Popular items become harder to find, supplies shrink, and companies “start charging more.”

Terrific. But what can we do about it?

Among the tips offered up by Ratehub are:

• Putting off big expenses – if you can, Ratehub suggests, put off costly home renos or big-ticket purchases like new cars.
• Save on groceries – buy in bulk, the blog suggests; take advantage of grocery store points programs, and plan more vegetarian meals given the high price of meat
• Pay off debt – “Brainstorm some ways in which you can free up money… by cutting back, then use the extra cash you saved to begin paying off your debt.”

Global News suggests a few more ideas:

• Spend less on dining out, entertainment – A recent poll, the broadcaster reports, found that 54 per cent of those polled (in 2022) were “dining out less.” As well, Global notes, 46 per cent said they were “cutting back on entertainment spending.”
• “Spring clean” your budget – Myron Genyk of Evermore Capital tells Global News that people should be “taking a look at credit card statements (for) recurring charges that might not be worth the monthly fee, such as a streaming subscription that is not being watched.” Cutting these “passive” charges may be easier than “overhauling one’s lifestyle” to make spending cuts, she tells Global.
• Consider the impact of higher interest rates on savings, expenses – Interest rates, reports Global, haven’t been this high for a generation. For savers, now may be a good time to consider a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC), but the article warns that even GICs may not keep pace with inflation if it continues to increase. For those with mortgages, Genyk suggests they consider a longer amortization period. “While they might end up owing more on their mortgage by extending the life of the loan, it might be worth it to offset the temporary inflationary pressures on their monthly budget,” the article suggests.

Forbes Advisor has some additional thoughts on the subject.

• Speed up debt repayment – With interest rates on debt rising, a bad thing is getting worse, Forbes reports. The article quotes Doug Hoyes of Hoyes Michalos as saying “if you are spending more money on food, rent, and gas for your car, that leaves less money to service your debt.” His first tip for surviving inflation is “to tack consumer debt as quickly as possible to avoid the snowball effect of debt overwhelming your finances.”
• Use cash-back credit cards – Vanessa Bowen of Mint Worthy tells Forbes that using a cash-back credit card “on essential expenses like gas and groceries can be a simple way to put money back in your pocket.”
• Avoid volatile investments – When investing, watch out for companies carrying a lot of debt. Nesbitt Burns’ John Sacke tells Forbes “you want to buy stocks in companies that are likely—and I use that word ‘likely’ very carefully—to perform better than other companies in a rising rate environment.”

The folks at Sun Life Financial finish us off with some classic inflation-beating advice.

• Cook at home – “Cooking at home is cost effective,” especially when compared to the cost of dining out or ordering in, the article advises. Think of the $6 latte you like – on a daily basis, it is costing you $2,190 per year! Much cheaper, the article notes, to make your own coffee at home.
• Buy used, or borrow – “Consider buying second-hand items – you can sometimes find great deals at a fraction of the original price. Books, toys, sports equipment, furniture, clothing and accessories … you can find it all on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji,” the article suggests. You may also be able to borrow or rent things like speciality tools for a home improvement job, rather than laying out money to own them, the article suggests.
• Travel during off-peak times – The article suggests being “smart” about travel, and to “take advantage of the off-season. You’ll likely have a cheaper and more relaxed holiday.”

Some of our friends have started doing challenges related to health and weight loss; maybe some of these ideas would make good challenges – going a week, or a month, without dining out or ordering in would save a pile of cash, for example. Creativity is always good when it comes to saving money, we wish you the best of luck in your own challenges.

When you are able to generate some extra savings, don’t forget about the future. If you are saving on your own for retirement, a wonderful and willing partner is out there for you – the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP members have their savings pooled in a low-fee, professionally managed fund. Those savings grow over time, and when it’s time to collect, SPP members have choices, such as a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the flexibility of our Variable Benefit. Check out SPP today!

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Ah, spring. Time to drag the golf clubs back up to the garage, to pump up the bike tires, and start getting the garden going. And, for many of us, time to get a nice tax refund cheque (or, more likely, a refund deposit).

Save with SPP wondered what people do with the refunds. Let’s take a look around and find out!

According to Fiona Campbell, writing for Forbes Advisor, tax refunds “are a sweet perk of filing your income tax return – and the good news is that most Canadians get one.” In fact, she notes, 58 per cent of filers got a refund in 2021, and the refund averaged just over $2,000.

This year, the average refund is more like $2,100 and change, she continues.

Campbell’s ideas on how to spend the refund don’t include “concert tickets, vacations, or designer clothes,” but are intended to “put you ahead financially in the long run and give you peace of mind instead.”

First (no surprise) is paying down debt. “If you carry a credit card balance, or only make the minimum payments, you’ll end up paying interest each month—and with APRs averaging 21 per cent, that can add up quickly,” she warns. The average Canadian owes more than $4,000 in credit card debt, she adds. If you don’t have credit card debt, you may have other loans or credit lines that can use a hand, she continues.

Next comes the mortgage. Campbell suggests making a prepayment on your mortgage, either as a lump sum or as an extra amount each payment. “If you don’t have other outstanding debt with higher interest rates, prepaying your mortgage can be a smart way to use your tax refund as it goes directly to the principal portion of your loan,” she notes.

Other ideas from Forbes Advisor include topping up your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), starting or adding to your emergency fund, or saving for a child’s education via a registered education savings plan (RESP).

The folks at the Nerd Wallet blog have a few more ideas.

“A tax return can be a great way to fund home repairs and upgrades. Maybe you have a big project to tackle, such as redoing a bathroom or renovating your kitchen. Spending your money on home upgrades is an investment that could shrink your home insurance bill and add value to your property in a way that pays off handsomely when it comes time to sell,” the blog advises.

Another idea, the blog continues, is to “invest in yourself.”

“While tackling debt, saving for the future and improving your home are all worthwhile uses for your tax-season windfall, don’t forget that you are also a smart investment. Maybe you’d like to start a side hustle, treat yourself to a monthly massage, or complete a professional certification. Though they might not earn compound interest, these types of investments can yield a sense of wellbeing and set you up for future success in a way that’s truly priceless,” the blog suggests.

Global News covers many of the same ideas, concluding that it really boils down to either paying down debt or adding to savings (or both).

The broadcaster suggests targeting credit card debt first.

“Credit card debt, which typically carries high interest rates at upwards of 20 per cent, can be particularly damaging to Canadians’ finances and “snowball” out of control, states financial author Sandy Yong in the article.

However, Yong says, even though saving and paying off debt are seen as the most sensible things to do with a refund, having a little fun is never out of the question. There’s no reason, she tells Global, to “feel bad about spending it on something for yourself.”

If you’re planning to use some or all of your tax return on your retirement savings, why not consider the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP works just like an RRSP – the contributions you make are tax-deductible, which may help you get a refund down the road. And, way further down that road, the contributions you make to SPP – having been professionally invested, at a low fee, in a pooled fund – will grow into a future income stream for the retired you. A gift that keeps giving, as they say.

Check out SPP today!

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Among the many strange aspects of life during the recent pandemic was the “work from home” boom. Office buildings stood empty, nearby convenience stores and food courts closed, and there was no “rush hour” traffic update on the morning news. Everyone was at home.

But that may be changing.

A recent CTV News report sums up how different things were during the pandemic.

COVID-19 caused “a mass exodus to remote work that had never been seen before,” the broadcaster reports. In 2016, “only seven per cent of workers in Canada said they `usually’ worked from home,” the article notes. As recently as early 2022, that number had soared to 24.3 per cent, or nearly one quarter of all workers.

But people are starting to “trickle” back to the office, CTV reports. The “working exclusively at home” number dropped to 20.1 per cent in May of last year, although there were still 11.7 per cent of workers in “hybrid” work arrangements (some hours at home, some at the workplace) as recently as November.

There are a couple of issues that have arisen due to remote work, reports Global News.

First, there seems to be a disconnect between what employers want – a return to work in the office – and what employees want – to be able to continue to work from home.

“A quarter of Canadians who usually work from home would like to work from home more, while one in eight would like to work from home less — which the report says is a challenge for employers,” Global reports, citing information from Statistics Canada.

“A mismatch between employees’ preferences for telework and the hours they work from home may negatively affect employee retention,” reports Global, again citing the Statistics Canada report.

The second issue is that offices in downtown centres, such as Toronto, are experiencing record vacancy rates.

According to the Financial Post, “the vacancy rate for downtown Toronto office buildings reached a record high at the end of last year as a flood of largely empty space from newly completed projects hit the market.”

“The downtown office vacancy rate in Canada’s financial capital rose to 17.4 per cent as nearly 58,100 square metres of new space came to market during the fourth quarter, according to data released Tuesday by brokerage CBRE Group Inc.,” the Post reports.

“The poor performance of the Toronto market helped push Canada’s national downtown vacancy rate to its own record last quarter, hitting 19.4 per cent, the data show,” the article notes.

COVID-19 is cited as the chief reason for the vacancies, as well as the fact that major office construction projects can take years, the article adds.

Because office towers take many years to construct, Toronto’s still working through office projects that began before the pandemic.

“With the city accounting for nearly half of all new office construction nationwide, Canada’s net-absorption rate, or the pace that office space gets leased when it becomes available, would have been positive without the impact from Toronto’s new supply, the data show. Instead, that rate was negative in the period,” the article concludes.

Some observers fear that the business of building and leasing office space may have been permanently damaged due to the COVID-related work-from-home trend.

The Canadian Press reports that “the COVID-induced work-from-home shift has ravaged the office market as many employers re-evaluated their office footprint. Firms have also looked at reducing their real estate holdings as a way to rein in expenses to help cope with the current weaker economy.”

“It is likely that 10 to 15 per cent of demand has been permanently destroyed with (work-from-home) trends,” Maria Benavente, vice-president and real estate-focused portfolio manager at Dynamic Funds, tells The Canadian Press.

This strange, once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) situation may take a while to play out. It will be interesting to see if the trickle of “in-office” workers begins to become more of a river, correcting the problem of office vacancy and breathing life into downtown businesses that are supported by office workers. Or, will people fight for the right to work from their dining rooms? Stay tuned!

Wherever you work, saving for retirement is important. If you are lucky enough to have a workplace savings program, be sure you are taking part to the maximum. If you don’t, and are saving on your own for retirement, you may want to consider joining the Saskatchewan Pension Plan.

Open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings room, SPP’s voluntary defined contribution plan delivers expert investment management at a low cost, using a pooled fund. SPP will grow your savings, and when it’s time to put work behind you, you can choose between a lifetime annuity payment each month, or SPP’s Variable Benefit program. Find out why SPP has been helping Canadians build secure retirements since 1986 – check them out today!

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Four in 10 Canadians not confident about retirement: TD survey

A whopping 43 per cent of Canadians say they are “not confident” that they will be able to retire when they initially had hoped to.

That’s a key finding from new research from TD Bank, reported on by Global News.

It looks like the increase in the cost of living is a key reason behind this lack of retirement confidence, the broadcaster reports.

“A majority (71 per cent) of the survey respondents also said that the high cost of living and inflation has made it increasingly challenging to meet their financial goals over the past year,” Global notes.

For its part, TD says the rocky economy is a good reason to consult professionals when thinking about personal finances, the article adds.

“Canada’s current economic climate continues to impact how Canadians approach their finances and investments, and that’s why it’s more important than ever to seek trusted advice,” Pat Giles, vice-president of saving and investing journey at TD, states in the article.

“In challenging economic conditions, the right financial support can make a significant difference, especially when balancing competing saving and spending priorities,” he tells Global News.

The article notes that the TD study follows a recent analysis by Deloitte Canada that discovered that “55 per cent of Canadians aged between 55 and 64 years will have to make changes to their lifestyles to avoid eating up all their savings during retirement,” the article continues.

Those responding to the TD poll said that “the high cost of living” has been holding them back from making contributions to their investments, such as registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) this year.

Half (47 per cent) planned to make no contributions to RRSPs or TFSAs, and 46 per cent of that group specifically cited the higher cost of living as their reason to hold back.

More than half, or 54 per cent, have not set up a personalized plan to help them reach their savings goals, the article continues.

But it’s never too late to start, the article concludes.

“It’s a myth that you need to have a certain dollar figure to start prioritizing your financial future. No amount is too small to start saving or investing,” Giles states in the article.

One of the nice features of saving for retirement via the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is that you are in charge of deciding how much to contribute each payday, or each month. You can start at any level you like, and adjust your contributions as you go along.

Your contributions will then be invested in a low-cost, professionally managed, pooled fund. And when it’s time to retire and turn savings into income, SPP’s options include a lifetime annuity – you get a monthly payment for life – or the Variable Benefit, where you decide how much you want to withdraw in income, and how much you want to leave invested.

Check out SPP today!

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After a brutal couple of pandemic-driven years, it appears tourism may be starting to make a comeback.

Over in Manitoba, reports Global News, “hotel occupancies are back to 2019 levels month over month, indicating the tourism industry is making a full recovery from disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“This is the year of tourism,” states Nathalie Thiesen of Economic Development Winnipeg in the article.

More people have been coming to the city’s events, such as the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, Fringe Theatre Festival, Folk Fest and Folkorama, the article notes.

“It’s great for downtown and the recovery of some of the hardest hit businesses and areas of the city,” states Thiesen in the article.

It’s a similar story in B.C., reports the Richmond News. There, tourism-related employment has just hit a five-year high.

“New Statistics Canada data show 362,000 tourism employees in B.C. in July, up 6,500 from the 355,500 employees in June, and the most jobs in the sector since August 2018, when there were 368,000 employees, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey,” the article notes.

“The 2023 numbers compare with 359,250 tourism employees in the province in July 2019, and 351,750 tourism employees in B.C. in June 2019,” the News reports.

Nationwide, the numbers are beginning to return to “normal,” reports the Hamilton Spectator.

Marc Seguin of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada tells the Spectator that as recently as 2019, Canada “achieved $105 billion in total tourism spending, with $42 billion of that figure stemming from business travel.”

During the pandemic, Seguin states in the article, “total tourism spending dropped by half and business events dropped to near zero.”

Business trips are increasing, the article notes, with 6.4 million business trips logged for the last quarter of 2022 — still down from the 7.2 million in the last quarter of 2019.

An important factor impacting the rebound of travel is, of course, inflation, the article points out.

“People are willing to spend more at the moment to travel,” states Frederic Dimanche of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Toronto Metropolitan University in the article. “That leverages the airlines or the hotels to set their prices at a higher level than they used to, because they want to make up for lost revenues during the COVID crisis.”

But the rising cost of travelling may be starting to hamper tourism’s recovery, warns CTV News Regina.

“Over the past three years, the tourism industry had been clawing its way back to pre-pandemic numbers, however, a new report by TD Bank found the pace of recovery started to slow this year,” the broadcaster reports.

The TD report cites “financial challenges in Canada, such as higher interest rates, a slowing job market and broader tourism slowdowns seen both domestically and internationally” as the chief reasons for the slowing recovery.

While Alberta and B.C. visits are beginning to approach 2019 levels again, the rebound is slower in Saskatchewan, the article notes.

“Saskatchewan… has lagged when it comes to international travel. Visits to the Prairie province are 40 per cent below the 2019 average,” CTV reports, adding that the TD report suggests “this decline might be in part due to same-day tourists, whose numbers have fallen at less than 50 per cent pre-pandemic levels.”

Let’s hope this overall tourism recovery continues — there’s a lot of spin-off benefits from tourism that help the economy.

Travelling, as the articles note, can be a little pricey — even a car trip requires gas, maybe hotels, restaurant meals and so on. Factor in rail or airfare or cruise ship costs and the impact on your wallet grows. That’s why saving for retirement — the period of your life when you’ll have the most time for travelling — is important.

If you haven’t started saving for retirement, consider signing up for the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP will grow your savings dollars in a pooled, professionally managed fund at a very competitive cost. When it’s time to update the passport and book tickets, SPP is able to convert your savings into retirement income, including the option of a lifetime monthly annuity payment. Be sure to check out SPP today!

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There was a time, way back when, when you could easily make an annual return of 16 per cent or more simply by signing up for payroll Canada Savings Bonds at work.

Are those days coming back, at least in part, now that interest rates on guaranteed investment certificates have topped the five per cent mark? Save with SPP took a look around to see what’s happening — for the first time in decades — in fixed-income investing.

A recent Wealth Professional article declares that “bonds are back.”

“After a long period in the unfashionable doldrums, fixed income has come roaring back with some tempting offerings that could be music to the ears of wealth managers,” writes Catherine Lafferty.

She quotes Macan Nia of Manulife as saying “a lot of the issues in the financial markets and for financial advisors was [around] this search for yield and how we drive income for our clients that are retiring. The good news is right now we simply clip the coupon. We believe they are attractive opportunities just in yield.”

OK, so bonds are suddenly a better investment. What about other forms of fixed income?

You don’t have to buy bonds (which pay interest, normally once or twice a year, until they mature) to benefit from today’s higher interest rates, writes Rob Carrick in The Globe and Mail.

Even a simple high interest savings account (HISA) can pay you “2.5 to 4.1 per cent right now,” he writes. A nice thing about HISAs is that your money is not tied up for a set period of time as it would be with a bond or guaranteed investment certificate (GIC).

There are now even exchange-traded funds that are basically an index fund of HISAs, Carrick notes.

“ETF HISAs offer after-fee yields around five per cent right now, but you may have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell,” he writes. There are also “mutual fund-style HISAs” that offer yields of 4.2 to 4.6 per cent, he continues.

The good old GIC is also looking more attractive, Carrick writes.

“If you have money to lock into GICs and want a great rate, now’s not a bad time to buy because there are 5 per cent yields available for terms of one, two, three and, in the case of EQ Bank, five years,” he writes. There are also cashable GICs — you can cash them in whenever you want — but those pay roughly one to 1.5 per cent less in interest, Carrick notes.

Equitable Bank’s Mahima Poddar tells Global News that the rise in interest rates has definitely rekindled interest in GICs.

“I do think we’re going to see more and more people going back to GICs,” she tells Global. There is a lot of downside risk these days to equity investment, she continues, with many people getting “burned.”

“When you compare that to a guaranteed five per cent rate with no downside risk, it becomes incredibly attractive,” she tells Global.

We have had several friends and family members over the years who prefer the lower risk of interest investing over the potentially higher returns from equities. Having lost a shirt or two on “can’t miss” fibre-optic network construction companies and the odd copper mining firm in the past, we must concede that risk is, well, pretty risky.

It’s probably safer to have a balanced approach, and that’s exactly how the Saskatchewan Pension Plan runs its retirement savings pool. The Balanced Fund is 41 per cent invested in Canadian, U.S. and International equities. On the interest side, bonds, private debt, mortgages and money market investments represent 30 per cent of assets. The rest of the fund is invested in what are called “alternative” investment such as infrastructure and real estate. Check out SPP today!

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Here comes the bill. What’s a fair amount to tip?

The old rule of thumb used to be 15 per cent, but in many places, you are presented with the options of 20, 22 and even 25 per cent if you pay with a debit or credit card.

So, what’s the best path forward on tipping? Save with SPP took a look around to see what folks are saying on this topic.

According to Global News, tipping, like many other things, is being impacted by inflation.

“People feel like tipping is getting out of control,” Angus Reid’s David Korinski tells the broadcaster. Sixty-two per cent of Canadians surveyed by the pollster said “they’re being asked to tip more,” and “one in five reported leaving a tip of 20 per cent or more the last time they dined out,” the Global article reports.

Inflation, Korinski tells Global, is making the price of everything higher — which means you are tipping for meals and services that cost more than they used to.

“When you get the tipping machine, instead of 12, 15, and 18 per cent for the suggested tip, it now says 18, 24, and 30 per cent. I think for a lot of people, that it’s getting a little overwhelming,” Korinski tells Global.

Fifty-nine per cent of those surveyed said they’d like to see a “service included” model, where tips are not needed, but workers receive higher wages and benefits.

So how much should we tip?

According to the Wealth Awesome blog, “in days past, a 10 per cent to 15 per cent tip was considered average. Today, however, a 15 to 20 per cent tip is considered normal for most services.”

The blog recommends a tip of 25 per cent “or more” for “exceptional service,” 20 per cent for “great service,” a tip of “15 to 20 per cent for average service,” and a tip of “10 to 15 per cent for below average service.”

Over at the CBC, flaws are being noted in our nation’s “tipping culture.”

“Card payment machines have made it simple for businesses to prompt a gratuity option, even in industries where tipping previously wasn’t part of the cost or conversation. And data from Canadian trade associations show the average percentage tip for restaurant dining has gone up since the pandemic began,” the broadcaster notes.

The University of Guelph’s Professor Mike von Mossow tells CBC he is even asked to tip if he picks up a couple of cans of beer from a microbrewery.

He tells CBC this is a “double whammy” for consumers, “with more businesses asking for tips while simultaneously raising their prices.”

“You know, I’ve started to wonder if I give a particularly good lecture, should I put a jar at the front of the lecture hall at the end, and as they file out? Maybe they could drop a few bills in there for me, too. I mean, where does it stop,” he asks the CBC.

The Conversation raises questions about why we tip in the first place. Isn’t it for good service?

“This belief presumes that the server receives the tip,” the article explains. “But in most provinces, management often requires servers to share tips with kitchen staff, and sometimes with management itself,” the article continues.

Furthermore, the article explains, there could be tip-sharing (or tipout) at your favourite resto. “Your individual hard-working server may not have any appreciable benefit from your generous tip,” the article tells us.

And if we tip because we feel our server/service supplier is working hard for a low wage, what about everyone else who is working for minimum wage, the article asks.

Tipping, and how much you tip, is at the end of the day up to you.

Viewed through the lens of retirement saving, one might want to think about giving oneself a little tip now and then to boost our retirement savings. Even if you were to pay yourself first, to the order of five per cent per month, you’d see your retirement nest egg begin to grow.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan allows you to “tip up” your retirement account in several ways. SPP can be set up as a bill in your online banking, so that you can direct dollars there that way. You can make contributions on our website via your credit card. Or, you can fill out this form and have a pre-authorized contribution deducted regularly from your bank.

It’s a good tip that your future you will greatly appreciate. Check out SPP today!

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Close to half of non-retired Canadians have just $5K in savings: HOOPP study

Canadians within sight of the retirement finish line may have to put off their golden years, thanks to a lack of savings.

That’s one of the findings from new research by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Abacus Data, reported on by Global News.

“With a prolonged period of rising inflation and interest rates, Canadians of all ages are finding it much harder to save for retirement, and specifically the older age group that really should be looking forward to retirement,” said HOOPP’s Ivana Zanardo states in the Global News article.

Inflation is still more than twice as high as the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent, the article adds.

A sobering finding from the research, Global reports, is that “44 per cent of non-retired Canadians aged 55 to 64 have less than $5,000 in savings, with one in five from that group saying they have not set anything aside for retirement.”

“The picture is bleak for those older Canadians,” states Zanardo in the article.

The lack of personal savings and persistent inflation, the article notes, have some older Canadians rethinking the whole retirement thing.

“More than half of those surveyed aged 55 to 64 said if inflation keeps rising, they will have to push back their intended retirement date,” the article notes.

“What really stood out for us this year and what was concerning is the older age group, and the fact that they’re just not as prepared for retirement as one would hope they would be,” Zanardo tells Global News.

“At a period in their life when they should be getting excited about retirement, because of inflation and rising interest rates they’re now considering whether they can retire when they had planned on and whether they should be pushing that day out,” she tells the broadcaster.

Abacus Data CEO David Coletto, who has been aiding HOOPP’s research efforts for five years, notes that “70 per cent of respondents have consistently agreed that Canada is heading for a retirement crisis.”

Coletto spoke a while ago to Save with SPP about millennials and their attitudes to retirement saving — you can see that interview here.

Even though experts like Zanardo recommend saving for retirement “early… and often,” the research found that 44 per cent of respondents had not set aside any retirement savings in the previous year. The research found that 70 per cent of those surveyed “would take lower pay in exchange for a better pension.”

If you are fortunate enough to have any sort of retirement savings program at work, be sure you are contributing to the max. If you don’t have a workplace plan and haven’t really got going yet on retirement savings, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just what you’re looking for. You decide how much you want to contribute each year — any amount up to the available registered retirement savings plan room you have. You can make your contributions automatic, like a workplace plan, by arranging for pre-authorized contributions direct from your bank account. Or, you can set up SPP as an online bill and pay yourself monthly, along with your heat, light and credit cards. You can even pay by credit card.

No matter how the contributions get to SPP, our team will professionally invest them in a pooled fund for a low cost. They’ll grow your savings, and when it’s finally time to escape from work, SPP will offer you a variety of retirement income options, including the chance at a lifetime monthly annuity payment. Check out SPP today!

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When it all comes down to it, security means having a roof over your head and food in the fridge.

Let’s focus on food. For a shockingly high 5.8 million Canadians (as of 2021), food insecurity is a real problem. That many people, including 1.4 million kids, experienced “some form of food insecurity” two years ago, reports the CBC.

The article cites a recent study by the University of Toronto that found “15.9 per cent of households across all 10 provinces” experienced some level of food insecurity, which has got worse with the higher inflation rate of the last couple of years.

Provincial levels of food insecurity — meaning, a household has difficulty affording and obtaining food — range from a low of 13.1 per cent in Quebec to a high of 20.3 per cent in Alberta, the story notes.

The report concluded, the CBC adds, by calling on all governments “to address the vulnerability of households that are reliant on employment incomes but still unable to make ends meet, and ensure that working-aged adults not in the workforce also have sufficient incomes to meet basic needs.”

At the University of Regina, a research team is looking at ways that rural Saskatchewan can help address food insecurity, Global News reports.

The U of R’s Ebube Ogie tells Global News that concerns about food affordability are being raised thanks to inflation. But, she said, people can look to the Saskatchewan communities of Muskeg Lake and Val Marie for solutions, the report notes.

She tells Global News that “Muskeg Lake residents are becoming more self-sufficient through their local food forest, a self-sustaining, nature-inspired agricultural system that provides fruits, vegetables and other edibles, as well as medicines and cultural resources. Val Marie residents can access fresh foods from a nearby Hutterite Colony, a self-sustaining colony that produces its own food, and also rely on their personal gardens.”

There should be more effort placed on growing food locally, and purchasing it from local farmer’s markets, than on buying expensive processed goods, she notes.

“Saskatchewan is Canada’s bread basket and we want to see that manifested in how we live, how we produce food and how we consume food. Our goal is to end food insecurity and promote food security for everyone,” says Ogie.

In Barrie, Ontario, a company called Eat Impact is using another approach — rescuing fruit and vegetable that is close to, but not at, its expiry date and distributing it via food banks.

The company, reports the Barrie Advance, “works with local farmers to find out what’s available and at risk of going to waste.”

“Typically about 1.4 billion pounds (of food), every year in Canada, does not get eaten; it just gets thrown out. And it’s a huge problem,” Anna Stegink, founder of Eat Impact, tells the Advance.

Another possible way to reduce food insecurity would be to introduce some sort of Canadian version of food stamps, a program that has been running for many years in the U.S., reports the CBC.

Elyssa Schmier of MomsRising, a U.S. advocacy group, expresses surprise that Canada does not have a program equivalent to food stamps.

“It’s… one of the largest tools we have to combat poverty and hunger in the country,” she states in the article, speaking about food stamps.

“I know that families in Canada are struggling. It was very surprising to hear that [Canada doesn’t] have any sort of dedicated nutrition programs in place, especially to help families with children,” she adds.

The University of Victoria’s Matthew Little says programs like food stamps “shouldn’t be considered a long-term strategy” in the battle against food insecurity. Canada’s programs have tended to focus on poverty alleviation rather than directly on food supply, he explains.

Let’s hope that efforts continue to be made on making more food available to those who need it.

We can’t predict the future with any clarity, but it is a reasonably safe bet that everything — including food — will cost more in the future when we are retired than what it does today. That’s why it is always a good idea to save for retirement. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has been helping Canadians build retirement security for more than 35 years. Check out SPP today, and find out how it can help you secure your future.

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Do pension protests in France send a message about retirement saving?

As protesters fill the streets of Paris, demanding that a plan to start government pensions two years later be dropped, some observers are saying the situation underscores the need for us all to be more self-reliant with retirement saving.

A report by Global News states that “retirement as a concept is changing, with people in Canada and elsewhere having to rely on themselves more than they ever have.”

First, the article notes, the fact that France is moving the retirement age forward (two years later) is a bit of a red flag.

“A lot of times a country will move those ages forward because they feel they don’t have the resources to pay the pension obligations that they’ve set the system up for. And the idea that your country can’t afford to pay you is something that makes people very nervous and understandably so,” certified financial planner Millie Gormely tells Global News.

Even Canada’s “wonderful” government retirement system can see benefits changed, Gormely warns in the article.

“I think retirement as a general concept is changing a lot. The idea of leaving school when you’re 19 or 20 years old, you go work in a factory, you stay there for 30 years, they give you a gold watch and a pension, and then you sit on the front porch whittling for a few years until you die. That’s just not the norm,” Gormely states in the article.

Workplace pensions, according to Statistics Canada aren’t available to every worker. Stats Can notes that as of 2019, 4.3 million Canadians were covered by defined benefit plans (where the payout amount is pre-determined), 1.2 million were in defined contribution plans (where what you pay in is pre-determined), and 9.6 million belong to “other” arrangements. Since there are 39 million Canadians, these stats suggest that there are millions of us without any workplace pension arrangements.

Retiring and getting the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) is great, but those government benefits don’t pay a whole lot. As of 2021, reports The Motley Fool Canada the CPP pays a maximum of $1203.75 monthly — but the average payment is $635.26. The OAS as of that date was $635.26 per month.

“It’s not that much money. And if that’s the only money that you have, you’re going to have a hard time, so, if anything, that underscores how important it is for people to be preparing for their retirement outside of what they can expect from the government,” Gormely states in the article.

“Saving up your own money to take care of yourself in the future is going to be very important for those of us who don’t have company pensions. And for younger people, especially, the sooner you start, the better off you’ll be,” she concludes.

If you don’t have a workplace retirement savings program, and are saving on your own for retirement, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan is a resource you should be aware of. SPP lets you contribute up to $7,200 a year towards your retirement — and best of all, the funds you set aside are locked-in, meaning you can’t raid that piggy bank until it’s time to retire. Find out why thousands of Canadians have made SPP their go-to for retirement saving!

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