• People in the Prairies least likely to work after they retire out of financial necessity
• Majority of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents believe they will need to save less than a million dollars for retirement, only 36 per cent of Albertans agree

TORONTO, Jan. 4 /CNW/ - Of those Prairie residents who plan to retire, three-quarters (77 per cent) plan to work during retirement, primarily to remain mentally (79 per cent) and socially (64 per cent) active, according to a recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima assessing Canadians' attitudes toward retirement and investing. Canadians living in the Prairies are less likely than those in the rest of the country to expect to work after they officially retire out of financial necessity (30 per cent vs. 40 per cent).

"It's great to see that so many Prairie residents are making the decision to stay mentally and socially active in their retirement," said George Marlatte, Senior Vice President, Prairie Region, Scotiabank. "It's also encouraging to see that people in the Prairies are less likely to feel they will have to work out of financial necessity after they officially retire. That said, at Scotiabank we understand that planning for retirement can be overwhelming at times and we want to help Canadians invest for their future so they can achieve their ideal retirement."

The study found that there were some major differences between Canadians who live in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and those who live in Alberta when it came to how much they think they will need to fund their ideal retirement. Residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were more likely than Albertans to report needing less than one million dollars for their retirement (68 per cent vs. 36 per cent), whereas Albertans were more likely than residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to need one million dollars or more (64 per cent vs. 33 per cent). Interestingly, Albertans also stand out from the rest of Canadians, as they are significantly more likely to think they will need two million dollars or more for their retirement (31 per cent vs. 14 per cent).

"As the study shows, there isn't a magic number that suits everyone's retirement needs," commented Mr. Marlatte. "When planning for retirement, rather than dwelling on the amount they think they're going to need, we suggest Canadians focus on what they want their retirement to look like and then figure out how much that will cost."

People in the Prairies are in agreement when it comes to how they plan to spend their retirement, with the majority planning to travel (85 per cent), spend time with family and friends (77 per cent), read (61 per cent) and exercise (59 per cent).

Eighty-two per cent of Prairie residents who are expecting to retire are currently putting money away for their future and they have been doing so for an average of 14 years. Those from Manitoba and Saskatchewan are more likely than Albertans to have saved less than $20,000 over the past five years for their retirement (63 per cent vs. 43 per cent).

"We all know that it's important to invest for our future, but with so many demands on our time and money it can be easy to put off saving for a goal that often seems far away," commented Mr. Marlatte. "At Scotiabank, we work with our customers to help make their long-term goals more tangible so they can take action and let the saving begin."

While there are a few Prairie residents who think that their retirement will be funded by inheritance (24 per cent), the majority believe the money will come from RRSP contributions (81 per cent), savings (71 per cent), the government (59 per cent), and their work pension (58 per cent).

For more information about investing for your future, visit www.letthesavingbegin.com.

Let the Saving Begin is a Scotiabank program designed to inspire and empower Canadians to get on track with their saving, investing and borrowing habits.

Built on three simple principles, Let the Saving Begin encourages Canadians to:

• Save automatically, because it works;
• Invest for your future, because no one else will; and
• Borrow to get ahead, not fall behind.

About the survey

A total of 202 completed surveys were collected from a random sample of Harris/Decima's panel members in the Prairies, of which 139 expect to retire. The study was conducted from October 14th, 2010 to October 25th, 2010. 

This was a standard panel survey among a random sample of Harris/Decima's Canadian panel members. In a fashion similar to a telephone study, email addresses from their panel were pulled at random, according to population and gender specifications, in order to make the study representative of the Canadian population by region and gender. When contacted to solicit participation, participants had no prior knowledge of the subject matter of the study. Harris/Decima controls access to the study through passwords to ensure that respondents can participate only once. Subsequent to completion of the study, the data was weighted by region, age, and gender.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $526 billion (as at October 31, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.