Younger Canadians doing better than you’d think on finances: RBC poll

New research from RBC, reported on by Wealth Professional, suggests that young people are taking their finances – including saving for retirement – quite seriously.

A whopping 83 per cent of young adults aged 18 to 24 say “financial stability is key to overall happiness,” while 59 per cent say “they’re very or extremely engaged with their finances, compared to just 47 per cent of parents who think they are,” Wealth Professional reports.

“Canada’s young adults are planning and saving for their future,” Jason Storsley, senior vice-president of Everyday Banking and Client Growth at RBC, tells Wealth Professional. “The survey results showed about 32 per cent of young adults are saving for a house, and about a fifth of them (19 per cent) are already saving for retirement as well,” he states in the article.

Chief concerns among young adults, the magazine continues, are “the high cost of living (70 per cent) and inflation (54 per cent).” Sixty-seven per cent admit feeling “stressed about their finances,” and 58 per cent “worry about having too much debt.”

It sounds to us like the younger generation is being very responsible about money, and that their parents and grandparents may be underestimating that fact.

“It does feel like there is a disconnect between kind of what parents’ perception is and what youth are actually willing to do with respect to side hustles,” Storsley states in the article. “I think we sometimes underestimate the resourcefulness of our youth, and how they are stepping up to meet some of the challenges they are facing today.”

Some good news for younger Canadians is that when they get older, the payout from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) will be higher.

Writing in the Globe and Mail, noted actuary and financial author Fred Vettese explains that both the contribution rate and benefit payout rate from CPP are on the rise.

“The maximum pension payable will ultimately be 50 per cent greater in real terms than it was in 2019, but the actual increase will be less if one didn’t always contribute the maximum. It will take more than 40 years before the expansion is fully phased in,” he explains.

A chart included in the article shows a steady increase coming for the next 30 years, which is positive news for younger people who will hit age 65 in the late 2040s and 2050s.

If you’re 18 to 24, perhaps still a student or early on in your work career, you may not have access to a pension through the workplace. But the Saskatchewan Pension Plan has you covered.

Any Canadian adult with registered retirement savings plan room can join, and your membership means access to a voluntary defined contribution pension plan that has been delivering retirement security since 1986. With SPP, your contributions are prudently invested at a low cost and grown between today and the long-off future date when you untether yourself from the labyrinth of work. Check out SPP today!

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RRSPs on the rebound: RBC poll

After hitting “a historic low” in 2021, a new poll suggests that 53 per cent of Canadians are now “using registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to save for their future,” reports BNN Bloomberg.

That’s a seven per cent jump from last year, the broadcaster reports, citing findings from a recent Royal Bank of Canada poll.

Interestingly, the research found that savers – even younger ones aged 25 to 34 – are okay with the idea of paying fees with their investment portfolio “if it will give an opportunity to earn higher returns,” the report notes.

“When assessing value, investment performance after fees is what really matters,” Stuart Gray, director of the Financial Planning Centre of Expertise at RBC, states in the article.

“It’s encouraging to see that younger Canadians understand how crucial this is in achieving your retirement savings goals and building a strong financial future,” he states.

What’s prompting younger Canadians to save more for their faraway retirements?

“The poll found 85 per cent of younger investors are worried about balancing their current financial situation and saving for the future as basic living expenses continue to rise,” the article notes.

But, Gray states in the piece, “it’s a good sign many Canadians are placing the spotlight on their investments, as it will help them manage future uncertainty around inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

If you are worried about when to jump into the world of investments, Apurva Parashar of Alitis Investment Counsel tells the Campbell River Mirror that the best time to get investing is now.

“A lot of people wait for the ‘perfect time’ to invest, or the ‘perfect investment’ that grows their portfolio to their long term goal in less than a year. But it’s better to treat investments as a slow and steady process,” she tells the Mirror.

Asked by the Mirror for her thoughts on people “saving for retirement, a down payment on a house, or other financial goals,” Parahar was very clear.

“Start as early as you can. Don’t wait for the perfect time, and don’t overthink it,” she tells the Mirror. “Trust the process.”

Save with SPP remembers being a young reporter in Thunder Bay when a colleague talked up the value of RRSPs. We got the message – anything you put away today, in your 20s, will be worth much more 40 years from now. And, the colleague said at the time, you’ll get a tax refund. It was the thought of the refund that actually pushed us towards RRSP saving.

So, let’s sew these ideas together. More than half of us have RRSPs, and even the young are willing to pay fees if they get investment performance. At least one expert says now is the time to start investing.

Enter the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. While last year’s sparkling 11.53 per cent rate of return is no guarantee of future performance, the SPP has returned more than 8 per cent (on average) annually since its inception 36 years ago. And while there are indeed investment fees, they are low – usually less than one per cent. You can start small, and ramp up your contributions as you get older and earn more, and can leave the professional investing decisions to the experts at SPP. Slow and steady can create a fine nest egg for when you unshackle yourself from the bonds of commerce.

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Blurring the lines between work and retirement

It wasn’t that long ago that retirement was something that occurred to everyone at a certain age, typically 65. That was when you basically had to retire from your job, and that magic age was – not surprisingly – the same age where government and company pension benefits were designed to start.

But things these days are much different, writes Jim Wilson in Canadian HR Reporter. The lines between the workforce and the retiree population are blurring, and it may be retirees who have to pick up the slack in the labour market.

The problem, he writes, is the “Great Resignation,” where employees are “changing their jobs or careers amid the upheaval of the pandemic.” Retirees, he explains – as well as the semi-retired – may need to be tapped to take on those unfilled jobs.

He cites a recent survey by Express Employment Professionals that found 79 per cent of respondents wanting “to partake in semi-retirement by having a flexible work schedule,” or by being a consultant (62 per cent) or “working reduced hours with reduced benefits” (52 per cent).

That’s a big difference from the old days, when retirements occurred at a fixed date, Express spokesperson Hanif Hemani tells Canadian HR Reporter.

“There’s also been a bit of an attitudinal change amongst baby boomers that are retiring where they want a little bit more out of life; they feel like they still have a few good years to offer. And so this concept of semi-retirement is basically bridging these individuals from their traditional work and phasing them into retirement, rather than having a set end date when they’ll be gone,” Hemani states in the article.

Another interesting finding the story mentions is that 18 per cent of workers over 50 (this number comes from RBC) want to “push out their retirement date.” But, the article adds, only 22 per cent of employees say their employer even offers the option of semi-retirement.

So without a lot of formal “semi-retirement” programs in the workplace, the article notes, employers are doing things like “bringing retired employees back, either to be a knowledge expert (21 per cent), act as a mentor to current employees (16 per cent) or handle key client relationships (14 per cent).

The article concludes by suggesting employees have a chat with older employees – maybe two years before they plan to retire – to see what “retirement looks like” for them. Could it include part time post-retirement work, or consulting?

The idea of “phased retirement” is something that has been kicked around in the pension industry for years. The concept was fairly simple to explain – you might work 80 per cent of your previous hours and draw part of your pension (20 per cent) at the same time. Then, in a few years, maybe you move to 50-50, and then to 20 per cent work and 80 per cent retirement, and finally, full retirement.

The concept sounds simple but it would be an administrative headache for any pension plan. As well, you would probably need to have government pensions permit the same thing, and maybe registered retirement savings plans as well. A lot of legislation and administrative work. But perhaps the old idea needs to be dusted off and looked at with fresh eyes, given the new realities of 2022.

If you have been saving on your own for retirement, there’s a great program out there that’s been designed with people like you in mind. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is an open defined contribution pension plan that individuals can join. Once you’re a member, you decide how much you want to contribute, and SPP handles the tricky parts of investing, and turning the investments into retirement income. Check them out today!

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One in five over 50 will delay retirement plans: RBC

The pandemic has made many Canadians rethink their retirement agenda, according to new research from RBC, covered in a recent article in Wealth Professional.

According to the article, the study – called the 2021 RBC Myths & Realities Poll – indicated that nearly 20 per cent of Canadians 50 and older have decided to change their retirement date.

There are a number of concerns outlined in the research.

A total of 21 per cent of those with assets of $100,000 or more fear they will outlive their retirement savings. Most of this group, the article continues, “believe they will need $1 million saved for their retirement but more than three quarters are at least $300K short of this.”

It’s worse for those with less savings, the article notes. Those with $50,000 in assets think they will need $533,000 in their savings pots, but are “an eye-watering $473,000 short of this goal,” Wealth Professional reports.

So what are people considering in what the article calls a Retirement Rethink?

• 22 per cent are “thinking more about where they will live in retirement,” with 20 per cent “deciding where they don’t want to live,” typically meaning not in a retirement home, the article states.
• Fifteen per cent are said to be reviewing or updating their wills; 17 per cent are “taking stock of their financial affairs,” and 16 per cent “realizing life is short” and are taking up new activities and hobbies, Wealth Professional notes.

Other actions they are thinking of taking, the article concludes, are to “stay in their own home and live more frugally,” to return to work, to downsize or move home, or ask family members for help.

What do we make of all this?

For starters, the cost of a dream retirement condo, cottage or timeshare has gone up significantly lately. It’s not so easy to sell your city house and pick up a cheaper one somewhere else, as prices are up everywhere. This and the massive cost of long-term care, in the thousands per month in most places, makes one’s existing home have new appeal. After all, it is either paid for or in the process of being paid for, you don’t have to pay moving expenses, realtors and lawyers to stay put, and your costs of living are known and predictable.

The article makes the point that having a financial planner makes sense in terms of establishing your financial goals for retirement. For instance, if you plan to stay home and live frugally, will you really need $1 million? It’s important to try and estimate, in advance, exactly what you will need to live on when you live the workforce.

If you are among those Canadians who worry about running out of money in retirement, be aware that the Saskatchewan Pension Plan offers annuities as an option for SPP retirees. With an annuity (they come in various forms with different options) you forego the risk of running out of money in retirement, as annuities provide you with a lifetime income stream. And you won’t have to put your sand wedge down in mid-swing to worry about investment decisions; with an annuity, there are none. Check out SPP, celebrating its 35th year of delivering retirement security, today!

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COVID did a number on the retirement rate, but it’s climbing again

One unexpected side effect of the pandemic was a dampening of people’s plans to retire.

According to new research from RBC, covered in a story from CTV News, there was an unexpected drop of 20 per cent in the retirement rate last year – likely due to COVID-19.

RBC’s Andrew Agopsowicz tells CTV that the dip “was likely a result of uncertainty about retirement savings as the pandemic arrived.”

“It’s what held people back,” he affirms in the story.

But – perhaps an indicator of better times ahead – retirements are starting to return to normal levels, he notes.

“The return to normal could be a good period for people to make a decision they were probably going to be making (anyway),” Agopsowicz states in the story.

There has been a general rise in retirements over the last decade as the boomer generation hits age 65, the story notes, and “that trend will continue for several years.”

A fringe benefit of the boomers getting out of the workforce may be “a near-term labour shortgage for some types of jobs,” Agopsowicz tells CTV. This will be due to a trifecta – boomer retirements, a low national birthrate, and lower levels of immigration, the story states.

In mid-July, CTV reports, Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy added 230,700 new jobs, “as restrictions put in place to slow the pandemic were rolled back across the country.”

Savings may have to last a long time

If you are among those planning to log out for the last time in 2021, Money Control outlines some of the steps you may want to consider to ensure your retirement stash isn’t exhausted before (ahem) you are.

Most retirees will live beyond age 85, the article notes. “We could live for up to 30 years or more post our retirement… (and) women live longer than men,” the article states.

With that in mind, you should plan for your investments to outperform inflation, the article says. If you can’t get there with fixed-income investments, “investing in equity will give you long-term growth; in between, there will be volatility.”

So, putting these two bits of information together – the stampede towards the workplace exit for boomers will soon resume its normal pace. The nest eggs boomers have built, and that younger folks are still building, will need to last for maybe 30 years. And while conventional wisdom suggests that the older you are, the less exposure to risky equities you should have, inflation hasn’t been a factor for a while but could one day reappear.

One answer is a “balanced fund” approach, where experts position their fund with exposure to both fixed income and equity, making strategic moves in advance of emerging trends. A great example is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan Balanced Fund, which has produced an average rate of return of eight per cent since its inception 35 years ago. While past returns aren’t a guarantee of future performance, the idea of having someone else decide when to get in or get out is a sound one – you can instead focus on your golf game or line dancing steps. Check out SPP today.

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How will Canadians spend their $180 billion pandemic nest egg?

While the pandemic, now into its second year, has been brutal for most people’s finances, some of us – for instance, those able to keep working – have experienced a savings boom of historic proportions.

According to a recent article in US News and World Report, Canadians are sitting on a record $180 billion – what the article calls a “pandemic nest egg.”

“The pandemic put more than three million Canadians out of work at the depth of the crisis. With travel and social outings on hold, spending plunged, while stimulus and government aid boosted disposable income and the household savings rate soared,” the article tells us.

“A year later, most Canadians are back at work and many have saved like never before,” the article reports. In fact, the piece adds, by late winter 2021 a record number of new jobs had been added to the Canadian economy.

So what are people planning to spend this money on?

According to the article, there’s a long to-do list. After all, the publication advises us, “if 15 per cent of the cash hoard is spent through 2023, it would speed up Canada’s recovery.”

The article mentions backyard renos, domestic (i.e., within Canada) travel plans for the summer, and “sales of pleasure vehicles” all being up.

A Harley-Davidson dealership in Toronto says sales are up 50 per cent over last year, the article reports. As well, the article says, people expect to let their hair down a little bit once pandemic restrictions are over.

“Canadians are getting ready to return to restaurants, bars and theatres once vaccinations become widespread,” the article predicts. “Generally, when people buy clothing, it’s almost like they’re preparing for better days,” states RBC economist Rannella Billy-Ochieng in the article. She says there is “pent up demand” for restaurants and bars, in person movies, live theatre and of course, travel.

A whopping two-thirds of Canadians hope to travel once the coast is clear, the article explains.

Let’s hope some of us are able to hang on to a bit of the “nest egg” for our retirement.

According to the Edmonton Journal, research from RBC shows that “70 per cent of Canadians felt they are behind in saving for retirement.”

The article says only about 14 per cent of Albertans surveyed feel their cash flow has improved during the pandemic – 33 per cent say it got worse. The article says that the pandemic and its financial repercussions represent a good reason for people to seek financial advice on managing debt, cash flow, and retirement savings.

Saving for retirement is not always top of mind, especially during what is becoming an unprecedented national public health crisis. But even if you have to take small steps to start your plan, you’ll appreciate the effort later on. If your retirement savings program has stalled, or needs to get started, an excellent program to consider is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP has helped deliver retirement security for 35 years – check them out today!

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We often focus most of our planning on things like building wealth, paying off debt, transitioning to retirement, and taking care of ourselves physically and mentally.

All these worthy projects should be joined by another – estate planning. It’s important to think about what your loved ones will need once you’re gone.

Save with SPP took a look around the Interweb to see what the experts advise about estate planning for Canadians.

At the Advice for Investors blog, the main tips are having an updated will, naming powers of attorney and jointly holding assets.  The blog cites a recent RBC study that found that only half of Canadians had a will and “one in three had done nothing at all to prepare for passing on wealth to the next generation.”

Without a will, the blog warns, “provincial bureacrats will determine how the estate is distributed,” rather than you. Having powers of attorney in place for legal/financial matters and health will be of critical importance should you suddenly lose the ability to manage your own affairs, the blog notes.

And when you make your assets joint with your spouse, “the interests of a deceased owner automatically gets transferred to the remaining surviving owners,” the blog notes.

The MoneySense blog adds in a few more ideas – life insurance, the idea of giving away money to family while you are still alive and setting up trusts for kids and grandkids.

Insurance, notes Lorne Marr of LSM Insurance in the MoneySense blog, “may be used as an estate planning tool – an opportunity to leave a legacy or pay taxes so your heirs don’t have to.” The article suggests insurance is best taken out at a young age, when your health is at its best. You should buy enough insurance to cover all your debts and replace what you earn, the article notes.

Giving gifts to adult children while you are still alive “may reduce the overall tax burden on your estate when you die,” notes Lawrence Pascoe, an Ottawa attorney, in the MoneySense article. “Gifting money is a good way to help out your kids while you’re still alive and can watch them enjoy it,” he states in the article.

For younger kids, the article notes, you can set up a trust account that provides them with income at a later age. “You can stipulate what the funds can be used for, such as educational expenses, a new home, retirement savings,” the article notes.

The Manulife Financial website devotes an entire web page to one thing – beneficiary designation for insurance and/or a retirement plan.

If you don’t name a beneficiary – or name minor children as one – your estate may get tied up in probate, the article warns. In some provinces your spouse is automatically your beneficiary – check before you sign, the article suggests. If there’s a way to name a contingent beneficiary – someone to pay out the assets to if your chosen beneficiary dies before the payout – do so. And be sure to review your beneficiary designations regularly, the article concludes.

If you’re a member of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan you can look after your survivors in several ways. Your SPP beneficiary will receive any assets in your account if you die before collecting a pension and a variety of different options are available for your spouse and beneficiary upon your death after retirement. Check out SPP today.

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Many plan post-retirement work, but few actually do: RBC survey

You’re forever hearing folks who haven’t done a lot on the retirement savings front say that their retirement plan is to just keep working.

However, a recent Benefits Canada article, citing new research from RBC, brings up some interesting findings that may throw a bit of water on those “keep working” plans.

The survey asked a group of pre-retirees if they planned to keep working, either full or part-time, after they retired. Half of those surveyed said yes, they’d keep at it.

But when actual retirees were asked if they were still working, only 11 per cent “reported they actually had returned to full or part-time work,” the magazine advises us.

The pre-retirees had many reasons for planning to work after retirement, the article notes, including “staying active mentally (68 per cent) and physically (48 per cent), staving off boredom (44 per cent) and generating income (43 per cent).”

Part of the reason why people aren’t working in retirement, the article notes, may lie in the fact that retirement is not always as “planned” as people expect. More than half of the pre-retiree group (55 per cent) say they “expect to know their retirement date a year or more in advance.” But of the retirees, only 39 per cent said they knew their retirement date well in advance, with 16 per cent “reporting they had no advance notice at all.”

“We know that the majority of Canadians do not have a retirement plan, and those who do are more prepared and confident,” states RBC’s Rick Lowes in the Benefits Canada article. “A plan helps you understand all your options so you don’t have to make major trade-offs to enjoy the retirement lifestyle you desire.”

Findings in the UK, reported on by the Daily Express, reached a similar conclusion. There, “nearly two-thirds of people who retired earlier than expected said they were forced to stop working rather than choosing to leave due to no longer needing the income,” the newspaper reports.

The chief reason they stopped working early related to health or physical problems (40 per cent), followed by being “made redundant” or losing their job (18 per cent), followed by eight per cent who left work to care for a family member, the story informs us.

In the UK study, the Daily Express notes, less than one in five people (17 per cent) had sufficient savings to be able to retire earlier than they expected.

There seems to be a sort of sunny view of retirement from pre-retirees that is tempered by the experiences of actual retirees. The idea that one can pick a retirement date a year or more out, and then keep working away afterwards, seems to be challenged by the findings of research.

The majority of retirees didn’t pick a date, with some not having a choice at all. Health, losing a job, caring for a loved one all play a part in determining whether or not we can keep at it on the job front. Only 17 per cent said they had enough savings to be able to pick their own day, thanks to personal retirement piggy banks and/or pensions at work.

Most of us don’t have a pension plan at work. Saskatchewan Pension Plan, a do-it-yourself DC pension plan that handles the heavy lifting of investment and generating a lifetime pension for you. Join the 33,000 SPP members who have watched the plan generate returns of 8 per cent annually since the plan’s inception in 1986.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

Albertans look to their homes to help fund their retirement

New research suggests that more than half of Albertans see their homes as their “retirement nest eggs,” reports the Edmonton Journal.

The study, carried out by RBC, found that “52 per cent of Albertans, 50 and older, plan to use the equity in their homes as a source of retirement income,” the Journal reports.

“A lot of retirees are expecting they will downsize – or sell and rent – and turn that equity into potential retirement income in the future,” states RBC’s Nicole Wells in the article.

And the survey backs that thinking up, indicating that 56 per cent of Wild Rose Country citizens surveyed want to do just that – downsize or rent, the article adds.

What’s driving this?

The article notes that 16 per cent of those surveyed expect they will be carrying debt into their retirement. One of the reasons, the article suggests, may be that many Albertan parents are helping their adult children.

“What we find is often parents are feeling great pressure to help their kids,” states Wells in the article. This, she states, can have some negative consequences on the parents. “It’s great that your kids can get into a home, but you must have a financial plan to look beyond the emotion to understand what helping kids means for you as you get older,” she tells the Journal.

Getting out of a mortgage and moving to a smaller place can have unexpected costs, Wells warns. Even though most Albertans have seen a lot of price appreciation over the years, selling a house these days can take longer than expected. And moving to a condo may mean you are paying high condo fees, she states in the article. There are also realtor fees to think about, she states.

“It’s a decision where you’ve seen the equity growth in the property, but when you start slicing away at it with different costs, you want to make sure you have enough left to survive through retirement,” Wells tells the Journal.

Let’s first of all commend Albertans for running their money well – if only 16 per cent of those surveyed are expecting to retire with debt, that’s a very positive sign.

According to The Tyee, Canadians are awash in debt. “Canadians now owe an eye-watering $2.2 trillion, or 178 per cent of disposable income — a measure that has doubled in the last 20 years. Personal bills now amount to more than our entire GDP, making us the most indebted citizenry in the G20 and fourth highest in the world. Over half of Canadians report they are only $200 per month away from insolvency, The Tyee reports.

We’ve tended, as a nation, to put everything on the house. First, our debt, and then, our retirement. It’s probably wise to have other options for retirement savings, since after all, you have too live somewhere. If you haven’t started saving for retirement yet, maybe because there’s no retirement plan at work, it’s never to late to start. The Saskatchewan Pension Plan can set you up for the road ahead with a low-fee retirement account that will grow your savings and turn it into much-needed retirement income down the line. Be sure to check them out today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A recent Royal Bank of Canada survey on wealth management, conducted by Ipsos, found there were a few new obstacles that were impeding even wealthy Canadians’ efforts to build wealth.

Save with SPP reached out to RBC Wealth Management to probe a bit more about these obstacles, and to ask if the study’s authors found any other surprises in their research. Their answers are here:

Q. Did the study and its authors find higher levels of debt to be a part of the “cost of living barrier” to building wealth, given the high record of household debt? Helping kids is also mentioned.

The study didn’t specifically ask respondents about levels of debt. After the rising cost of living, the next reasons that ranked highest on the survey were:

• Unexpected expenses
• Cost of raising children (survey did not specify what “helping kids” meant)
• Home prices

Q. The survey says “traditional ways of building wealth” may not be doing the job like they used to. Is this referring to the volatile stock markets and the low-interest environment for fixed income? Are there any thoughts about new types of investment strategies/alternative categories that the study and its authors think could address this?

In the survey news release, Tony Maiorino, Head, RBC Wealth Management Services, says “regardless of income, many Canadians find themselves behind on their wealth goals as many of the traditional ways we build wealth have changed over the generations. With the added backdrop of market uncertainty, clients are voicing their concerns and looking for support using non-traditional methods of meeting their wealth goals.”

Howard Kabot, Vice-President, Financial Planning, RBC Wealth Management Services, elaborates, saying “things like tax strategies, insurance and retirement planning play a key role in building wealth today but I’m not surprised that so many respondents find them challenging. The financial landscape is always evolving and people have less time to research and learn about wealth management topics. Most clients need to explore a variety of tactics through a holistic lens to build and preserve wealth.”

The survey found that 81 per cent of Ontario respondents, 80 per cent of Albertans and 77 per cent of BC residents felt “building wealth now is more difficult than it was in previous generations.” Thirty-eight per cent of BC respondents (vs. 26 per cent for Ontarians and 20 per cent for Albertans) reported experiencing “poor investment performance.”

Q. Did the study indicate when respondents would use the services of a financial adviser like RBC? Did the study turn up any sense that people are having difficulty putting away as much as they would like for retirement, given the high cost of living, lower salaries, and maybe the lack of workplace pension plans?

The study found that three-quarters of higher-income Canadians were confident “they will reach their financial goals before retirement.” However, 41 per cent of the same group said they would “work with a financial expert to invest the money” if they experienced a windfall, such as an inheritance. Advisors might come in handy with things that “challenged” respondents, such as “staying on top of markets” (76 per cent) and “using… strategies to minimize taxes (71 per cent).”

The lack of a pension plan at work was cited by 20 per cent of those surveyed as one of the “unexpected expenses,” like the increased cost of living, raising children, lower salaries than expected and poor investment performance, that was a factor in respondents being less wealthy than they expected.

Q. Where there any other findings that surprised the authors?

The news release noted that it was surprising that respondents found it challenging to understand financial topics but still felt confident they would meet their financial goals.

The release noted that “of the 48 per cent of respondents who are not as wealthy as they thought they would be, almost three quarters (73 per cent) believe they will reach their financial goals before retirement.” This optimism seems to be at odds with their confidence when it comes to aspects of wealth management topics, with the majority agreeing the following topics are challenging:

• Knowing which information to trust (78 per cent)
• Staying on top of what’s happening in the financial markets (76 per cent)
• Using tax strategies to minimize taxes (71 per cent)
• Ensuring they don’t outlive their assets during retirement (70 per cent)
• Understanding the use of insurance in a financial plan (66 per cent)

If you lack a workplace pension, and need a do-it-yourself solution for retirement savings, consider membership in the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. You can start small and gear up your contributions over time. At retirement, the SPP can convert those savings into a lifetime income stream – you won’t be able to outlive your savings. Check them out today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22