Almost a third of Canadians approaching retirement have no financial plan
TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2015 /CNW/ - A new report released by RBC Wealth Management, entitled Retiring in Canada, finds that while Canadians are often saving enough for retirement, the lack of a financial retirement plan is causing the most uncertainty when they near retirement.
"Everyone has their own goals for retirement, from spending more time with family to buying a vacation property, but we're seeing a gap in their planning to make those goals a reality," said Tony Maiorino, vice-president and head, RBC Wealth Planning Services. "For Canadians approaching retirement it is important to have a practical perspective on their future that focuses on how to achieve their desired lifestyle - rather than simply on what retirement will cost."
From estate planning to sources of retirement income, Retiring in Canada discusses how to customize a proper financial plan to meet your own specific needs and goals. A full financial plan goes well beyond just a savings figure, but takes into account changes in the market, charitable donations, travel plans and future family health to help ensure you can live the life you want after you stop working.
"The Baby Boomers will create a mass exodus from the workforce in the coming years, but they often don't know what they actually need financially," said Maiorino. "However, despite these concerns, we have found that retirement funds either went further than expected or that retirees were pleasantly surprised by the adequacy of their retirement income."
The RBC Retirement Myths and Realities Poll suggests much of this disconnect can be attributed to the lack of a financial plan heading into retirement. The poll found that 28 per cent of Canadians approaching retirement had no financial plan. This number decreased to 19 per cent among retirees.
The report offers practical tips to consider discussing with a financial planner when developing a financial retirement plan, including:
1. You may need less than you think
According to the same RBC poll, 91 per cent of retirees were optimistic that their money would last for at least their lifetime. This is compared to 79 per cent of those approaching retirement who held the same view.
This situation can be the result of a number of factors. Many Canadians will be able to live mortgage-free in retirement, while other demands on income may also drop after they stop working, including monthly costs of public transportation, dining out, gasoline, parking expenses and business attire.
2. Re-consider your approach to investing
There are multiple factors that can influence your approach, including the level of your investment knowledge and how involved you want to be.
For example, if you anticipate a slower pace of life in retirement, you may end up having additional time to review your investments more closely. You may want to participate in investment decisions more actively or, quite the opposite, you may be too busy to keep track of your portfolio performance and would rather leave the decision-making to an investment professional.
3. Look for alternative sources of retirement income
The general rule of thumb is that retirement income comes from three areas: government income sources, employer retirement plans or pensions and personal savings, which generally encompasses registered and non-registered savings.
However, in some instances, these sources of income might not provide sufficient coverage during retirement. A financial advisor can help create a plan to help you meet your goals, from income splitting in retirement and maximizing government benefits, to other options such as using the equity in your home.
About the Sixth Annual RBC Retirement Myths & Realities Poll
This annual poll examines Canadians' expectations and experiences in retirement. It was conducted via online interviews by Ipsos Reid from March 16 to 24, 2015, using a national sample of 2,223 adults aged 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000. The results are based on a sample where quota sampling is employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population. Quota samples from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3 percentage points, for each of the retired and not retired samples, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
About RBC Wealth Management
RBC Wealth Management is one of the world's top five largest wealth managers*. RBC Wealth Management directly serves affluent, high net worth and ultra high net worth clients globally with a full suite of banking, investment, trust and other wealth management solutions, from our key operational hubs in Canada, the United States, the British Isles, and Asia. The business also provides asset management products and services directly and through RBC and third party distributors to institutional and individual clients, through its RBC Global Asset Management business (which includes BlueBay Asset Management). RBC Wealth Management has more than C$778 billion of assets under administration, more than C$503 billion of assets under management and approximately 4,050 financial consultants, advisors, private bankers, and trust officers. For more information, please visit www.rbcwealthmanagement.com.
*Scorpio Partnership Global Private Banking KPI Benchmark 2015. In the United States, securities are offered through RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 38 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2014, we contributed more than $111 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $76 million and $35 million in sponsorships.
SOURCE RBC
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