When it comes to ensuring their financial security in retirement, Canadians overall believe that they are primarily responsible (59%), with the rest of this duty falling to the government (19%), their employer (10%), another family member (eight per cent) and their financial advisor (five per cent), according to the latest RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook.
“It’s encouraging to see Canadians playing their part in planning for their retirement,” said Amalia Costa, head, retirement strategies, RBC.
When it comes to looking at their prospects for retirement, consumers on both sides of the border share similar beliefs. Canadians (61%) are more confident of their understanding of the retirement savings options available to them with almost half (45%) of Americans saying the same. However, only 29% of Americans and 36% of Canadians are confident that they will have enough money to have a secure retirement.
What is troubling, particularly given the aging populations, is that 42% of Americans and 37% of Canadians are worried they won’t have enough money saved to be financially secure. Consequently, more than one-in-four North Americans believe they will have to work past retirement age to make enough money to live, with slightly more Americans (29%) than Canadians (26%) believing this to be true. To address their concern about financial security in retirement, 34% of Canadians and 36% of Americans say they save a regular amount of money from each paycheque.
In Canada, more than half (54%) said they didn’t have enough money to take advantage of all the savings options available to them, and 15% claim there are too many options available to make clear decisions on how to properly invest their money.
This suggests another opportunity for advisors to discuss retirement savings options with their clients.