Just under one-third of Canadians are still planning to make an RRSP contribution this year, but they are leaving them to the last minute, says a new survey from CIBC.
According to a survey, conducted by Harris/Decima for CIBC, two weeks before the March 3 RRSP contribution deadline, 31% of Canadians are still planning to make a contribution before the deadline this year. Of that total, just over half have already made some contribution during the year, but are planning to add more to their savings before the deadline; and, the rest have made no contribution so far.
The survey also found that, younger workers are among the most likely to leave their contributions to the last minute. Of Canadians aged 25-44, 37% say they still need to make a contribution before the March 3 deadline.
“Our poll shows that once again, the last few days before the contribution deadline are going to be busy, as millions of Canadians make their final decisions about investing in their RRSPs,” said Christina Kramer, executive vice president, retail and business banking at CIBC.
CIBC notes that past research has found that younger Canadians are often trying to balance debt repayment with savings, which may contribute to delaying their RRSP contributions.
“Canadians balancing debt and savings need to consider both sides of their finances when making decisions about retirement savings, which is what makes it even more important to spend some time evaluating their options before the deadline,” added Kramer.
The results are based on a sample of 885 RRSP-eligible Canadians between February 13-17. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3%, 19 times out of 20.