Canadians want financial advisors to drop the usual lecture on retirement planning in favour of a more personal approach, according to a survey released by Desjardins Financial Security.

Survey results reveal that the majority of respondents feel a disconnect between traditional retirement planning and the reality of their lives.

In fact, 39% found the process stressful and only 8.3% were making retirement saving a priority. Instead, 84% said they were preoccupied with the pressures of making ends meet and maintaining a work/life balance.

This negative attitude towards retirement planning could be attributed in part to their lack of trust in the financial industry and advisors compared to last year, DFS notes.

What stands out the most in this survey is respondents feel that the human element is absent from the entire financial planning process, DFS says. Canadians now want financial advisors to demonstrate an understanding of their wants and needs instead of what they see as the usual money lecture.

Jean-Rémy Deschênes, wealth management business co-ordinator with Desjardins Group, suggests that financial advisors soften their bedside manner and show their clients more empathy. “It’s no longer effective to just talk numbers with your clients. They need to see that you understand the scope of their financial situation and the reality of their lives,” he said.

“The client doesn’t want to hear the advisor’s own projection of what retirement should look like. Advisors have to do a better job of listening to what interests their clients.”

Deschênes suggests that retirement plans now should reflect the clients’ vision of how they will spend their time. For example, for some people, retirement might consist of spending time with their grandchildren. By digging deeper, the advisor may find that the client not only wants to have a comfortable retirement, but also wishes to help their grandchildren financially.

The ninth annual DFS Retirement Survey was conducted by Ipsos-Descarie. The results are based on 3,329 completed Internet-based questionnaires from August 11 to 14.

IE