The number of Canadian retirees relying on home equity to fund their retirement has more than doubled since 2005 from 14% to 36%, according to a new survey from Toronto-based Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.
“The global financial crisis has changed the way Canadians think about their financial security in retirement, including how they view their homes,” says Peter Drake, vice president, retirement and economic research for Fidelity Investments Canada.
The finding is part of the latest Fidelity Canadian Retirement Survey, which asks Canadians aged 45 years and older, both retired and still working, about their thoughts on retirement.
The survey has charted the course of Canadians’ changing perceptions of retirement between 2005, prior to the global financial crisis, and last year.
In addition to a greater reliance on home equity, the survey also shows an increase in the number of Canadians who plan to rely on the savings held inside a registered retirement savings plan or registered retirement income fund, with 58% saying this is the case in 2014, compared with 53% in 2005.
In 2014, 62% of pre-retirees stated they expect to work full or part-time in retirement while 55% had the same response in 2005.
However, since the financial crisis, the number of retirees saying it has been more difficult than expected to retire has dropped from 28% in 2009 to 20% in 2014.
In the current survey, 48% of retirees had retired earlier than planned and often for involuntary reasons. One-fifth of this group report they had to retire early because of health problems while 9% attribute early retirement to work stress. Another 9% report that work stoppage was the reason.
Of those retirees not working, one in five would like to work if they could. The main reasons for retirees not being able to work are heath (38%); feeling employers are not interested in giving jobs to retirees (23%); and not being able to find a job (15%).
“Planning to work in retirement is not a retirement plan,” says Drake.
Canadians need to have a viable plan that will generate sustainable income in retirement and have some flexibility in case circumstances change, adds Drake.
The 2014-2015 Fidelity Retirement Survey was conducted online by the Strategic Counsel between Oct. 22 and Nov. 3, 2014. It used a representative sample of 1,380 adult Canadians, aged 45 years or older. In order to participate in the study, respondents need to be the individual in the household who has the main responsibility or shares the responsibility for savings and investing decisions.