Nearly half (48%) of Canadians do not believe it’s necessary to retire debt free according to RBC Financial Group’s 15th Annual RRSP survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid. The survey also found that on average Canadians are retiring at the age of 58, during prime earning years.

These two findings may signal a significant shift in the way Canadians have historically thought about retirement, RBC says.

While the survey found that 85% of working Canadians believe it is important to have their debt paid off before retirement, in fact one-third (33%) of retired Canadians have debts, with an average debt-load of approximately $35,000.

“We seem to be observing an emerging mind-set where many Canadians do not see the need to retire their debt before they themselves retire from work,” says Dave Richardson, vp, RBC Asset Management Inc.

The survey notes that of those who are retired with debt, the most common liability they hold is either mortgage or credit card debt (both at 42%). But a substantial number also hold a line of credit (6%), business loans (5%), and car loans (5%). As well, one in seven (14%) have debts in excess of $100,000.

Among respondents retired with debt, 44% say they never planned on paying off their debt before they retired and half (51%) incurred their debt after they had retired. However, two-thirds (67%) of respondents who incurred debts after retiring did not foresee needing to take on debt post-retirement.

“These findings suggest that some Canadians, especially baby boomers, generally have different lifestyle expectations for retirement and are making different choices than previous generations,” says Richardson.

Women are more likely than men to believe it’s essential to be debt free in order to retire (57% vs. 46%). As age rises, the belief that it is not essential to retire debt free also rises (36% among 18-34 year olds, 49% among 35-54 year olds, and 65% among those age 55 and over).

Not surprisingly perhaps, one in five (20%) retired Canadians currently supplement their income by working part-time, by occasionally working, or by taking on contract jobs from time to time. Those who retired with debts are more likely to work occasionally than are those who do not have debts (35% vs. 13%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/RBC poll conducted from November 11 to November 21, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,250 adult Canadian was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled.