Men expect to work part-time and spend time with their spouse while women
    prefer to volunteer and be surrounded by a large social circle

    VANCOUVER, Oct. 9 /CNW/ - Men and women are not necessarily in sync when
it comes to planning for retirement and envisioning what their lives will be
like once they retire, according to the Couples Retirement Study conducted by
TNS Canadian Facts for Scotiabank.The study identified several key differences:

      -   Men are more likely than women to have thought about retirement
          planning;
      -   Men expect to work part-time in retirement while women are more
          likely to volunteer;
      -   And women want to spend more time with family and friends."It's not surprising that men and women have different visions of their
retirement from a lifestyle perspective," said Trudy Hofley, Director, Scotia
Private Client Group, Vancouver and Victoria. "However, it's precisely because
they have different views that it is important to have a retirement plan that
takes into account individual needs and reconciles both financial and
lifestyle goals."
    The study examined attitudes towards retirement and lifestyle priorities
of Canadian couples with at least one partner over 50 and still working and
preparing for retirement. Each person was asked to fill out the questionnaire
separately to gauge a couple's true level of agreement.

    Planning for retirement

    Ten per cent of men and 16 per cent of women admit they have not given
much thought to retirement at all. However, when asked what one thing worries
them the most, 51 per cent of men and 53 per cent of women indicated some
aspect of financial security (e.g. having enough money, cash flow or outliving
their finances).
    To the extent they have thought about retirement, 44 per cent of men
state they have thought about both financial and lifestyle aspects compared to
only 34 per cent of women. However, more women than men, 30 per cent versus
26 per cent respectively, said they have only considered the financial aspects
of retirement.
    "There are and will always be differences in the way men and women think
of and approach the transition to retirement but ignoring the subject all
together, or not thinking about all aspects of it will make for a rocky
retirement," said Barry LaValley, Canadian retirement life goal planning
expert. "They need to understand the importance of planning and how this
impacts the financial aspects of their retirement plan. A financial plan
should be based on a life planning foundation, not the other way around. In
reality, however, most pre-retirees only consider lifestyle goals as an
after-thought." Mr. LaValley has partnered exclusively with Scotia Private
Client Group and ScotiaMcLeod to help connect lifestyle considerations with an
advisor's financial planning expertise to ensure a successful transition into
retirement.
    "When individuals reach their 50's it is troubling to learn that so many
people have not given any thought to their retirement. They are essentially
planning for a whole new phase of life and to enjoy it to the fullest, it is
important to plan ahead," said Ms. Hofley. "A retirement plan that focuses on
both lifestyle goals and the financial solutions needed to help achieve those
goals is essential. A professional advisor can help articulate a client's
goals and then work with that person to develop an appropriate financial
plan."

    Life after retirement

    With respect to how the genders plan to spend their time once they've
retired, 45 per cent of male respondents said that they expect to work
part-time while only 34 per cent of women have the same expectation. Women, at
54 per cent, are more likely to volunteer or take on charitable activities
compared to 37 per cent of men.
    "Knowing what you want to do after retirement will make the transition a
lot easier," said Ms. Hofley. "Discussing how you want to spend your time in
retirement with the people who are central in your life is critical to putting
together a comprehensive retirement plan."
    On the subject of the role of family and friends in retirement, 23 per
cent of men said that they are mainly interested in spending time with just
their spouse or partner in retirement. Overall, only 15 per cent of Canadian
women felt the same, with 30 per cent saying that it important to have an
active social life with a large circle of family and friends. Conversely, only
20 per cent of men are looking forward to having a similarly busy social
calendar.
    "While it may not seem like a priority now, a fulfilling social life is
one of the most important keys to happiness in retirement," says Mr. LaValley.
"Most men experience a much harder retirement transition than women, simply
because their social network is often not as deep. We also find that widowers
have a much tougher time dealing with bereavement than widows for the same
reason. These are just a couple of examples to illustrate why it's so
important to think about how you want to spend your retirement, and explore
different scenarios because unfortunately life doesn't always go as planned."
    The Couples Retirement Study was conducted for Scotiabank using TNS
Canadian Facts' online panel. Respondents for the survey were couples that are
married or in a common-law relationship, with at least one partner aged 50 or
over and working full-time, and having household investable assets of at least
$50,000. A total of 489 couples participated in the online survey between
April 17th and April 29th, 2007. Final data are weighted to be geographically
representative of couples' families.
    Scotia Private Client Group and ScotiaMcLeod are part of the Scotiabank
Group. As part of a complete financial strategy, Scotia Private Client Group
provides customized solutions across all financial disciplines in Centres
across Canada including estate and trust services, private banking, and
investment management based on objective financial planning. ScotiaMcLeod is
one of Canada's leading full-service investment firms, with a team of over
1,000 investment and financial specialists delivering complete financial
strategies for clients in branches across the country.

    Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and
Canada's most international bank. With more than 58,000 employees, Scotiabank
Group and its affiliates serve approximately 12 million customers in some
50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products
and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking.
With $408 billion in assets (as at July 31, 2007), Scotiabank trades on the
Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit
www.scotiabank.com.

    See: Couples Retirement Study(*) conducted by TNS Canadian Facts for
    Scotiabank
    Backgrounder, October 9, 2007



    Couples Retirement Study(*) conducted by TNS Canadian Facts for
    Scotiabank
    Backgrounder, October 9, 2007

    Men and Women have different views when it comes to retirement both from
a financial and lifestyle perspective.From a financial perspective:

      -   When it comes to confidence in their ability to retire comfortably,
          men are somewhat more confident than women; 88 per cent of men said
          that they are very or fairly confident compared to 83 per cent of
          women.

      -   Men and women are on the same page when it comes to agreeing that
          financial security is by far the most worrisome aspect of
          retirement. When asked what one thing worries them the most about
          retirement, 51 per cent of men and 53 per cent of women indicated
          some aspect of financial security (e.g. having enough money, cash
          flow, outliving their finances).

      -   When asked what changes they need to make to their finances to
          improve their chances of having a comfortable retirement, men and
          women agree that the most important change is to pay down existing
          debt, indicated by 41 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women.
          Saving more is also important, although women (40 per cent) feel
          more strongly about this than men (34 per cent). Twenty per cent of
          men feel the change they need to make is to find investments with
          higher returns while only 15 per cent of women cite this as the
          solution.

    From a lifestyle perspective:

      -   On the subject of the role of family and friends in retirement, 23
          per cent of men said that they are mainly interested in spending
          time with just their spouse or partner in retirement. Overall, only
          15 per cent of Canadian women felt the same, with 30 per cent
          saying that it is important to have an active social life with a
          large circle of family and friends. Conversely, only 20 per cent of
          men are looking forward to having a similarly busy social calendar.

      -   When it comes to having a healthy retirement, women are somewhat
          more proactive, with 67 per cent saying that they are taking steps
          now to maintain good mental and physical health to maximize their
          chances of remaining healthy as they age. Nearly the same number of
          men (62 per cent) say they are also focusing on taking good care of
          themselves now, while 29 per cent admit they don't pay enough
          attention to their health but know they need to make changes in the
          future. Men are also more likely than women to acknowledge that
          their partner is taking better care of their health than they are.

      -   Men expect that they will remain in the workforce for almost two
          years longer than women. The average age at which men expect to
          fully retire is 62.9 years, while the average for women is
          61.1 years.