• More than one-third of Canadians from B.C. plan to work after they retire out of financial necessity
• One-third of B.C. residents believe they will need to save between one and two million dollars for retirement

TORONTO, Jan. 4 /CNW/ - Of those Canadians from B.C. who plan to retire, two-thirds (66 per cent) plan to work during retirement, primarily to remain mentally (73 per cent) and socially (59 per cent) active, according to a recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima assessing Canadians' attitudes toward retirement and investing. However, more than one-third of B.C. residents (38 per cent) expect to work after they officially retire out of financial necessity, in line with the national average.

"It is great to see that so many people in B.C. plan to stay mentally and socially active in their retirement years," said Purdy McDonald, District Vice-President, Vancouver Island, Scotiabank. "There are, however, some British Columbians who will work in retirement out of financial necessity, but, with proper planning, this does not necessarily have to be the case. At Scotiabank, we understand that planning for retirement can be overwhelming for some and our goal is to help Canadians invest for their future so they can achieve their retirement dreams."

The study found that one-third of British Columbians (33 per cent) think they will need between one and two million dollars to fund their ideal retirement. B.C. residents are significantly less likely than the rest of Canada to think that less than one million dollars is sufficient to fund their retirement (45 per cent vs. 58 per cent).

"It is not surprising to see that B.C. residents expect to need more to retire, as the cost of living in B.C. tends to be higher than other parts of Canada," said Ms. McDonald. "When planning for retirement, no matter where you are, it's important to focus on what you're planning to do in your golden years and determine how much you will need to live that lifestyle."

Like the rest of Canadians, when it comes to how they plan to spend their retirement, the majority of B.C. residents plan to travel (87 per cent), spend time with family and friends (69 per cent), read (63 per cent) and exercise (63 per cent). Other retirement plans include taking up a hobby (54 per cent) and going back to school (26 per cent). 

As for saving for retirement, 84 per cent of B.C residents who expect to retire are currently putting money away for their future and they have been doing so for an average of 14 years. Nearly half of Canadians from B.C. (46 per cent) who plan to retire report saving less than $20,000 over the past five years.

"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 Ms. McDonald. "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."

The majority of B.C. residents (86 per cent) reported that their retirement will be funded by their RRSP contributions, significantly more than the rest of Canada at 77 per cent. Money for their retirement will also come from savings (71 per cent), the government (67 per cent), work pension (53 per cent), and inheritance (36 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 132 completed surveys were collected from a random sample of Harris/Decima's panel members from British Columbia, of which 88 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.