Many Canadians are postponing their retirement plans in order to finance their children’s education, according to a poll released by the Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on Thursday.
Sixty percent of Canadian parents with children under the age of 25 are falling short of their retirement savings goals, poll results show, because they are helping to fund a child’s education.
As a result, 36% of Canadian parents intend to put off their retirement. More specifically, 19% within that group plan to delay their retirement by five years or more, according to the survey, and 16% will postpone retirement by one to four years.
Parents in Ontario are the most likely to delay their plans, according to CIBC, with 40% of survey respondents from the central province saying the will have to postpone retirement. Atlantic Canada parents are least likely to put off retirement with only 24% of respondents saying they intended to do so.
Furthermore, 33% of survey respondents say that in addition to putting their retirement plans on hold, they have had to take on more debt to help finance their children’s education.
Survey results came from an online survey of 1,000 Canadians. Montreal-based Leger Marketing, a marketing and research company, conducted the poll between June 9 and June 12, 2013.