The idea behind savings has always been to put a little money away today, and in the future, you’ll be covered for any little emergency that arises.

But these days, people are raiding their savings to pay for day-to-day, non-emergency expenses. Is there anything we can all do to prevent that? Save with SPP took a look around to see what others think.

The GoBankingRates website offers up a number of interesting strategies.

One idea is to put your savings in “a separate, online savings account” that “is not directly linked to your chequing or overdraft, or that can be used with a debit card,” the article suggests. We have an account with Alterna Bank that isn’t hooked up to any card, and yes, it’s a piggy bank that’s sort of hard to get at.

A similar idea is to “make savings inaccessible,” perhaps by putting them into a registered savings account (such as a registered retirement savings account) or brokerage account where you can’t get the money out immediately, or without a penalty or tax consequences, the article explains.

At the How To Money blog, one thought is to “focus on your goals,” and to remember why you opened the savings account before dipping into it.

“Do you want to own a home? Become financially independent? Finally go on that big trip you’ve always dreamed of,” the blog asks. “Having a bigger goal to weigh your purchases against can help you think twice before transferring money out of your savings, or making an impulse buy. Once you have a solidified goal, you can think about just how much you could accomplish if you cut out mindless spending,” the blog continues.

A second idea recommended by the blog is creating “sinking funds,” or essentially pre-paying, for things you know you have to spend on.

“A sinking fund for gifts is a common example. We all know we need to buy gifts at the end of the year for the holiday season. But if we don’t plan ahead, we won’t have the money to buy anything. That leads to dipping into savings. Instead, if we create a sinking fund and contribute $50 per month into it starting each January, we’ll have $550 by the end of November for gifts,” the blog explains.

Okay – make the money hard to get at, remember why you’re saving before dipping in, and create little dedicated “sinking funds” to prepay for known, upcoming expenses (again, instead of dipping in.) Are there other ways to work this?

The Balance blog suggests an oldie-but-goodie – using cash.

“Set up auto debit for all your bills and savings contributions, then see how much money you have left over. That’s how much you have to spend. Take out that amount each week or month, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. When you are using cash only for your spending, it takes a lot more work to overspend since you have to actually take the money out of the bank,” the blog suggests.

Another good idea, the blog adds, is to set up an emergency fund – for real emergencies – rather than dipping into your long-term savings.

“If you have a separate emergency fund to handle unexpected expenses, then you will no longer need to dip into your savings account to cover unexpected expenses like car repairs or medical bills,” the blog explains. “Although using your emergency fund may seem like you are dipping into savings, you really are not because you have earmarked these funds ahead of time to cover these expenses.”

The takeaway for all this is that your savings cookie jar should be as hard to get to as possible, so you can’t dip into them for an impulse purchase.

Members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan can’t dip into their accounts for non-retirement purposes, because SPP is a “locked-in” pension plan. You can’t access the funds until you are age 55 or older, when you are deciding what you are going to do to turn your SPP savings into income. Options include receiving a monthly lifetime annuity or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

In the U.S., women have “just one-third of men’s retirement savings”

South of the border, “women… have saved just a third of the amount that men have set aside for retirement, setting up a potential crisis among female retirees,” reports Voice of America.

The VOA article cites new research from Prudential Financial that found “on average, men had saved $157,000 USD for retirement, while women had put aside only $50,000 USD.”

There are a number of reasons for the gap, Caroline Feeney of Prudential tells VOA, including the fact that compared to men, “women were three times more likely to be focused on providing for their families and children than on saving.”

“`The financial futures of certain cohorts – such as women – are especially precarious,’ Feeney states in the article. `Women have a more challenging time saving for retirement,’ she adds, citing inflation, housing prices and changes in tax policies as the main barriers.”

Not surprisingly, 46 per cent of men said they are looking forward for retirement, compared to just 27 per cent of U.S. women polled, the article notes.

A story from GoBankingRates, commenting on the same survey results, says there are challenges ahead for both men and women on the U.S. retirement front.

“While women find themselves in a more precarious situation than men, people of both genders have a lot of saving and investing to do over the next 10 years. With just a single decade until retirement, the average 55-year-old American has only $47,950 in median retirement savings. Additionally, about one-third of 55-year-olds have postponed retirement due to high inflation these days,” the article notes.

“Probably the scariest data point is that a stunning 71 per cent of 55-year-olds have not calculated how many years their current retirement savings will last them — and two-thirds of this group expect they’ll outlive their savings,” the article adds.

GoBankingRates strongly recommends saving for retirement “early and often” to prevent a shortage of money in your golden years.

Even if you start saving late, after age 55, “it’s never too late to start aggressively saving for retirement. You’ll have a lot of catching up to do, but better late than never. Ultimately, you’ll need to save a lot more every month to ensure you have enough funds to call it quits at work. You might also want to consider working past age 65 to ensure a financially sound retirement.”

Workplace pension plans are a great way to make saving for retirement automatic, but they aren’t always portable – you can’t always continue to be in one employer’s pension plan if you change jobs and move to another.

A portability solution is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Since you can belong as an individual, you can continue to make contributions even if you change employers. Rather than ending up with several small buckets of retirement savings, you’ll end up with one, larger bucket – and the options of an SPP lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the flexible Variable Benefit, at retirement.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

There was a time when taking debt into retirement was considered an absolute no-no. But in these days of higher living costs, less helpful interest rates, and the many temptations of debt, is owing money when you retire now the norm?

Save with SPP took a look at this topic, which is one that we are well acquainted with on a personal basis!

Well-known personal finance writer Rob Carrick recently covered this topic in The Globe and Mail. He cites figures from insolvency expert Scott Terrio that show that, according to the most recent data, “42 per cent of senior households had debt…. compared to 27 per cent in 1999. Vehicle debt held by seniors nearly tripled between 2005 and 2019, while mortgage debt quadrupled.”

(Save with SPP talked with Scott Terrio a little while ago on the topic of retiring with debt. Here’s a link to that article: Debt can squeeze the spending power of seniors: Scott Terrio | Save with SPP)

Carrick suggests that younger people have a conversation with their parents about debt.

“Parents helping their adult children financially is the new normal in family life. It’s less common for those kids to help their parents, but high debt levels among seniors suggest this could change. Boomers and Gen Xers, do you know how well set up your parents are in their retirement or pre-retirement years,” he asks.

An article in Forbes agrees that “retiring with debt is often considered a cardinal financial sin: Every dollar you owe reduces your income in retirement, after all.”

However, the article warns, trying to get out of debt before you retire might also cost you. Huh? “Blindly prioritizing debt reduction before retirement savings, particularly for low-interest debt, could shortchange your nest egg,” the writers at Forbes warn.

On the other hand, not prioritizing debt has consequences as well, the article continues.

Currently, the article notes, credit card interest rates are well over 20 per cent. “Paying interest rates this high would hamstring your finances at any stage of life, let alone when you’re living on a fixed income in retirement. That means you need to prioritize paying down as much high-interest debt as possible before you stop working—and then keep from accruing any new credit card debt.”

The folks over at GoBankingRates say debt is manageable for retirees, but it’s no picnic.

“Yes, you can retire with debt, but it may impact the quality of your retirement. Having debt, especially high-interest debt, can strain your retirement savings and limit your financial freedom. It’s important to assess the type and amount of debt you have and create a plan to manage it effectively,” their article notes.

The article recommends trying to “minimize or clear your debts before retiring.” You might need to think harder about when you want to retire, boost your savings, or even downsize as strategies to cope with debt, the article continues.

“Focusing on high-interest debts, like credit card balances, should be a priority. Developing a comprehensive plan on how to get out of debt before retirement can significantly ease your financial burden during your later years,” the article notes.

MoneySense provides some good news on this topic, noting that some of your debt will eventually get paid off – and that when that happens, your retirement spending power gets a boost.

“If you only have a small mortgage and a few years of payments remaining, your income requirements may be on the verge of a big decrease. I’ve seen a lot of retirees with generous DB pensions work hard to pay off debt, retire, and suddenly find they’re flush with cash flow because their $500, $1,000, or $2,000 monthly mortgage payment disappears,” MoneySense reports.

There are several themes here to think about – retirement with debt is not seen as ideal. But neither is not saving for retirement in order to pay off debt. If you do bring debt with you on the retirement voyage, each time you pay something off you’ll have better cash flow.

All the articles suggested consulting a financial professional to help map your personal route – that’s always good advice.

If you don’t have a workplace pension plan, or want to augment your savings, have a look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. With SPP, you can consolidate little bits of savings in various RRSPs into one place, and also make regular contributions. SPP will grow your investments in a low-cost, professionally managed, pooled fund, and when it’s time to collect, your options include monthly annuity payments for life or the flexible Variable Benefit option.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

How to get your retirement savings back on track when money’s tight

Writing for the GoBankingRates blog via Yahoo!, Vance Cariaga offers up some interesting tips on how to keep your retirement savings effort going, even while record inflation and roiling markets are battering away in the background.

A survey from Allianz Life, he writes, found that 54 per cent of Americans “have stopped or reduced retirement savings due to inflation.” A further 31 per cent have reduced contributions to their 401(k) plans (similar to a capital accumulation savings plan here in Canada), he notes.

“Cutting back on retirement contributions is understandable in periods of high inflation — especially if you need the money to pay for essentials such as housing, utility bills, and groceries. However, doing so comes with serious consequences,” he warns in the article.

Cutting back now, even for good reasons, means you will have to play catch up later, the article continues. The “worst move” we can make is to cut back completely on retirement savings, he writes.

Here are the ideas Cariaga has for keeping the savings going despite living through a tight money era:

• The first idea is to tweak your budget. “You’d be surprised how many discretionary expenses can be reduced or eliminated altogether,” he writes. Brewing your own coffee, cutting back on dining out, avoiding “pricey” vacations and trimming back on memberships are ideas to free up money for savings, the article suggests.
• Next, he recommends cutting back on credit card spending. “The best move is to cut down on your credit card use. After that, try to pay the balance in full every month to avoid interest charges,” he explains. Another idea expressed in the article is doing a “balance transfer” from one card to another with a lower interest rate.
• Side gigs, the article notes, can bring in up to $1,000 a month, creating some more cash to save.
• If you have some sort of ongoing retirement savings arrangement, either through work or individually, Cariaga suggests you “reduce, instead of eliminate, retirement savings.”

Some workplace pension systems require contributions at a mandatory rate, but if you are doing your own automatic contribution to a savings vehicle, you could temporarily dial down the amount, the article notes – and then dial it back up when better times return. This is completely doable if you are a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP), for instance.

Even if you squeak through this economic downturn with reduced retirement savings, your future you will be thankful you kept your eye on the ball.

And as mentioned, with the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, you are the quarterback when it comes to deciding how much you want to set aside for retirement each payday. You can contribute any amount you want up to $7,000 annually to SPP, who will grow your savings at a very low management expense rate, and then convert your nest egg into income down the road. Be sure to check them out today.

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

Some clever ways to tuck away more money in your retirement piggy bank

Writing for the GoBankingRates blog, Jami Farkas comes up with some “clever” ways to save more for our collective retirements.

First, the article suggests, use an online calculator to figure out how much you need to save. There are plenty of these, and the Saskatchewan Pension Plan’s own Wealth Calculator can show you how much your savings can grow.

Next, the article urges, make savings automatic. “Don’t give yourself the option of whether to set aside money each month. Automate your savings so it’s not a choice,” the article suggests, quoting David Brooks Sr., president of Retire SMART. This option is available to SPP members too – you can arrange to make pre-authorized contributions to your account.

If you are in any sort of retirement arrangement at work, be sure you are contributing to the max, the article notes. And if there is no employer match to your retirement savings, “set up your own match” by giving up a cup of coffee daily, the article suggests.

Once you’ve started automatically saving for life after work, be sure to bump up your annual rate of contributions every year, the article tells us. “A 25-year-old earning $40,000 a year who contributes just one per cent more of his salary each year (or $33 more each month) until age 67 would have $3,870 of additional yearly income in retirement, assuming a seven per cent rate of return and a 1.5 per annual pay raise,” the article explains.

It’s the same, the article continues, for raises. If you get one, so should your retirement savings – stash some or all of it into savings. “Since workers are already accustomed to living on their existing salary, they won’t notice money that they never had before is missing,” the article explains.

We’ll Canadianize the next tips – consider putting some or all of your tax refund back into retirement savings, such as your SPP account or a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). A few of the ideas for saving in this article, intended for a U.S. audience, aren’t available here, but remember that SPP operates similarly to a registered retirement savings plan, so contributions you make to it are tax-deductible. If you put money in a TFSA, there’s no tax deduction but as is the case with both vehicles, your money grows tax-free. And with a TFSA there’s no tax payable when you take the money out.

Other ideas – don’t downsize after you retire, but before when you can more readily afford to move, the article suggests.

Spare change can power your savings, the article adds. “Tossing spare change in a jar might seem like an old-fashioned approach to saving, but you’d be surprised how quickly your nickels, dimes and quarters can add up,” the article notes. Do the same with any money you save on purchases using coupons or apps, we are told.

We’ll add one more to this list. If you get a gift card that can be spent like cash anywhere, why not add it to your SPP account? SPP permits contributions to be made from credit cards, so it’s a nice way to turn a gift, or a rebate, into retirement income for your future self.

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

U.S. study links health, happiness to sound financial planning

We’ve often heard how things like rising interest rates and market volatility “keep us up at night.”

But, reports Gabrielle Olya, writing for GoBankingRates via Yahoo!, a new study out of the U.S. suggests that there’s actually a link between having a good financial plan and happiness – as well as being able to sleep at night.

The Northwestern Mutual 2022 Planning & Progress Study found that “people with financial plans and those who work with financial advisors are happier and sleep better than those who don’t plan or work with advisors,” she writes.

The numbers she reports on from the study are indeed eye-openers.

“Eighty-seven per cent of Americans surveyed who work with financial advisors reported that they are very or somewhat happy, as did 84 per cent of those who considered themselves disciplined planners,” the article notes. Those numbers drop to 72 per cent for those without financial planners and to 68 per for those who aren’t following a plan.

And then there’s the whole sleep thing.

“Eighty-one per cent of Americans who work with financial advisors said they sleep well or very well, and 76 per cent of disciplined planners said the same. Among people who don’t work with financial advisors, 65 per cent said they sleep well or very well, and that percentage dropped to 62 per cent for informal planners and non-planners,” Olya writes.

“As we dug into the results, we saw that people who have an advisor or identify as a disciplined planner reported being happier and sleeping better. This signalled to us that there is a clear link between financial wellness and overall wellness,” states Northwestern’s Christian Mitchell in the article.

He further states that having a plan and/or working with an advisor “eliminates a lot of the uncertainty surrounding your finances and allows you to feel more confident about your complete financial picture. This clarity can help create peace of mind and even lead to increased happiness and better sleep.”

The article concludes by outlining some steps those of us who aren’t using an advisor, or following a plan, can take – “setting a budget, reducing spending or paying down debt.” As well, focusing on long-term goals – “such as buying a house or saving for retirement” can be a positive step.

Perhaps we can take away from this article – thinking chiefly of retirement savings – that those of us who have either a plan or a strategy for handling this long-term goal may feel happier/healthier than those who don’t have a plan.

As we’ve seen, the majority of Canadians don’t have any sort of workplace pension or retirement arrangement. That means the responsibility for retirement savings falls squarely on their own shoulders. If you want someone to help carry the ball for you, consider the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Through SPP’s open, voluntary defined contribution model, you contribute the savings, and SPP takes on the tricky part – investing your money, growing it, and getting ready to turn it into future retirement income. Leave the heavy lifting and stress to SPP; get them working on your retirement strategy!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

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!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

We’re living through some very weird times. First we get a pandemic that keeps many of us from working for an extended period of time, and the rest of us with nothing to spend our money on. Now we’re facing crazy inflation that is making even routine purchases very expensive.

Are there any tricky ways to put away a few bucks for retirement out there? Save with SPP decided to seek out a few new tricks – ideally ones we haven’t covered off before.

A GoBankingRates article posted on Yahoo! offers up 42 savings tricks.

One is to watch the fees in your retirement savings accounts, the article suggests. Here in Canada, this would be in registered retirement savings plans – RRSPs – or Tax-Free Savings Accounts, TFSAs. Do you have mutual funds that charge a high fee, say two per cent or even more? Maybe you can switch to a lower-fee exchange traded fund (ETF). Other ideas include renting out a spare room or an unused garage for extra savings cash, “shopping around” for the best possible insurance rate, and the idea of “putting every tax refund into savings.”

“It’s tempting to use the extra money from your tax refund on a new toy or vacation,” the article states. “But these spurts of cash provide the perfect opportunities to give your retirement savings a big boost.”

The My Money Coach blog has some great ideas, including freeing up money for savings by paying attention to your pre-retirement cash flow.

“A very important key to saving for retirement in Canada – that many have lost sight of – is to earn more than you spend,” the blog explains.

If you are following a budget and still have little room for savings, the blog continues, “the next thing to do is to up your income. You can ask for a raise at work, or you can apply for a job that offers a higher pay and better benefits. You can also pick up extra shifts or take on a second job during the weekends or evenings, if your schedule allows it.”

Other ideas to boost cash flow (and create more savings) are “a side business or freelancing,” the blog notes. “Capitalize on one of your passions and see where it takes you.”

From the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) site comes a little bit of savings psychology advice.  “Try this little trick to motivate yourself,” the site suggests. Simply change the name of your savings solution. Seeing “My world trip,” “Better living” or “Playa del Carmen 2030” every time you log into… e-banking or (a) mobile banking app will remind you of your big dream, and give your motivation a boost,” states Daniel Bregenzer of UBS.

Other tips from UBS include making it “harder” to access your savings account so the temptation to spend it is lessened, “like keeping a box of chocolates out of sight,” and making savings an automatic habit.

Save with SPP can add a couple more.  First, if you get a cash gift card – say it’s issued as a rebate on a purchase of tires, or contact lenses, or whatever – did you know that you can use that gift card to make contributions to your Saskatchewan Pension Plan account? SPP allows you to make credit card contributions, and we have used gift cards quite a few times over the years. Here’s the page where credit card contributions can be made.

And, if you have a cashback card, what better place for the cash than your retirement savings plan – just set up SPP as a bill payment on your bank website or app, and when the cash is deposited, contribute it.

Whatever way you can wring a few extra bucks out of your living costs will work, and your future self will greatly enjoy the work your current self has put in!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

Things to start getting rid of before retiring

An article by Gabrielle Olya, writing for GoBankingRates via Yahoo! Finance, notes that when we retire, we tend to downsize, both in terms of our living space and – for nearly all of us – our income.

Her article identifies 25 things we can sell prior to retiring, in light of the twin truths that we may not only be living in smaller quarters, but with less income.

First, she suggests, is your home. By selling off your current abode, “you can use the funds to buy a smaller place or put the money toward rent and deposit any leftover money into savings. Downsizing your home can not only save you money, but it also can save time and effort because you have a smaller property to maintain.”

You won’t, she continues, need your fancy work clothes anymore, and may be able to get some dollars for them at a consignment shop. With more time and workout options at hand, maybe the home gym equipment can be sold off as well, Olya writes.

Another area for downsizing is the garage, she notes. “Even if you’re done paying off your car, it can still be a major expense between gas, insurance, maintenance and repairs. If you and your partner each own a car, consider selling one of them. Even if you only have one car, it might be cheaper to sell it and get around using rideshare services or public transportation.”

Consider, Olya suggests, selling off “bulky furniture” if you are moving to a smaller place; this can be done easily via Facebook Marketplace or Kijijii, or you can go “old school” and sell via consignment shops.

Other things the article mentions that can be sold off include holiday decorations, old computers (that still may be worth something), old kids’ toys that your adult children (or their kids) don’t want or need, the book collection, and, notably “collectibles and antiques.”

“Like books, collectibles and antiques can take up a lot of space that you might no longer have if you downsize your home. It’s fine to hold onto a few things with sentimental value, but assess whether these items would be worth more to you if you turned them into cash for your retirement savings,” writes Olya.

For years, Save with SPP had a large collection of boxed items that made the move, years ago, from Barrie to Waterloo, and on to Toronto and finally Ottawa. When we finally had time to open all the boxes up, we found it was mainly keepsakes and low-value collectibles that mostly ended up at Value Village. So take inventory of what you have boxed up in the basement, and see if any of it has resale value or can be gently donated. Your future you will thank you.

The money you save through this process will give you more spending power in retirement. And if you trim back on things before retirement, this newfound money can form – as the article says – a part of your long-term retirement savings. If you’re a Canadian with registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) room, consider the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP), a voluntary defined contribution plan that may be just what you’re looking for to help you save. You can contribute up to $7,000 a year to SPP, and can also transfer up to $10,000 annually from other RRSPs. Check out this made-in-Saskatchewan solution today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

Taking a look at common barriers to retirement

Writing for the GoBankingRates blog via Yahoo! Casey Bond provides a rundown of the barriers that get in the way of our retirement plans.

Although Bond is writing for a U.S. audience, many of the topics raised are equally relevant here in Canada.

Bond begins by citing TransAmerica Centre for Retirement Studies research that found half of American workers agreed that “I don’t have enough income to save for retirement,” and 57 per cent said they planned to continue to work after hitting retirement age. A whopping 80 per cent of that group cited “financial reasons” as the reason why they won’t be leaving work.

Bond’s article cites these key barriers to being able to retire.

High debt: While having some debt in retirement can be coped with, high levels of debt are a problem, the article notes. High levels, the article explains, are mortgage costs exceeding 28 per cent of your “pre-tax household income,” and total debt of more than “36 per cent of your pre-tax income.” Certified financial planner Melissa Hannum is quoted in the article as saying “if you are already struggling to keep your debt below these percentages, then you are not ready to retire.”

Spending more than you earn: Hannum states that if “you are spending more than you’re earning, you are not on track to retire.” She tells GoBankingRates that those of us still working have a chance to pay down debt via a pay raise or a bonus – you don’t get either once you are retired.

Little to no emergency funds: You should, the article notes, “have at least one full year’s worth of expenses saved in a liquid and conservative form of investment.” They suggest a money market fund, guaranteed investment certificates (known as certificates of deposit in the U.S.) or a high-interest savings account.

You haven’t reviewed your retirement savings portfolio: If funds earmarked for retirement savings, in a registered retirement savings plan, tax free savings account or other account are in a portfolio you haven’t been keeping an eye on, that may impede your retirement.

“Taking on excess risk as you near retirement can be extremely hazardous and your portfolio could take a major hit just as you’re ready to call it quits,” Hannum states. Your investment focus should be changing towards “wealth preservation” rather than growth as you near retirement, Hannum states.

Social plan: Are you, the article asks, mentally prepared for retirement? “If your social circle is strictly co-workers and Facebook friends, you may not be ready to retire,” Hannum states in the piece.

Summing it up – you need to pay your future self first via dedicating a portion of your current income towards retirement savings. You need to try to get rid of debt before you retire (it will be harder to pay it off after). Become someone who spends less than they earn, build a one-year emergency fund, and have an idea of what you’ll do with all your newfound time. It’s a great take on the subject by the GoBankingRate folks.

If you are among the fortunate few with a workplace savings plan, be sure you are taking part to the fullest. If you don’t have a plan, and aren’t so sure about investing and the tricky “turning savings into income” stage, any Canadian has another option – the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP will invest your savings professionally and at a low cost in a pooled fund, and when it’s time to punch out for the final time, you’ll be able to choose from several options, including a lifetime monthly pension via an SPP annuity. You can transfer any bits and pieces from past pension plans into SPP to collect a unified amount from a single source! Check them out!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!