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Baby Boomer Remorse Mounts Over Retirement Planning: Scotiabank Retirement Study
TORONTO, ON - June 16, 2014 /CNW/ - While 39% of Canada's baby boomer generation agree retirement planning should begin when people enter the workplace, only 9% actually thought about their retirement when they entered the workforce.
Other key findings in a new Scotiabank study, The Retirement Landscape - A Focus on the Baby Boomer, include:
- Nearly one-third (31%) of boomers don't know what percentage of pre-retirement income they'll need, and just over one-quarter (28%) will be carrying some form of debt into their retirement;
- Working in retirement is common among boomers, with 40% of retirees working past retirement, 84% of which are working part-time;
- Among those boomers not yet retired, 15% plan to never stop working;
- The top reasons retirees are working in retirement are to remain mentally active 76%; for social interaction 61%; followed by financial necessity 39%;
- More than half of boomers who haven't retired yet (55%) agreed that "not having enough money saved up to retire comfortably" could result in delays in when they decide to retire; and
- Boomers' top triggers to start thinking about retirement are when they have enough money (42%), when their pension begins (16%), and health reasons (10%).
Quotes:
"Not surprisingly, baby boomer remorse over retirement planning arises as obstacles begin to appear in the path toward the comfortable lifestyles that we all dream of," says Lisa Ritchie, Scotiabank's Senior Vice President of Customer Knowledge and Insights. "The good news is that it's never too late to start saving for retirement. When it comes to working longer, it's encouraging to see that people are doing so because they want to as much as they financially need to."
"To avoid baby boomer remorse, talk to your financial advisor today because retirement is about having and maintaining a particular lifestyle, and a lot of that has to do with having the finances in place to do so," says Andrew Pyle, Senior Wealth Advisor for ScotiaMcLeod. "While boomers feel they should be thinking about retirement as soon as they start working, in reality most do not think seriously about retirement until 5 years before the anticipated event or about 10 years before retirement. Figure out a plan that best works for you and stick to it so you can enjoy the freedom and peace of mind in your retirement years."
About the poll
For this survey, TNS Canada conducted online interviews among 1,201 Canadians who are 45 to 70 years of age. All respondents had a minimum of $50,000 in investable assets, and have sole or shared responsibility for household financial decisions. Among those surveyed, 37% are retired and 63% are not retired. In tabulation, data was weighted to be to represent the general population based on age, gender, and region. The survey was conducted from January 8 to 23, 2014.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading financial services provider in over 55 countries and Canada's most international bank. Through our team of more than 86,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking to over 21 million customers. With assets of $792 billion (as at April 30, 2014), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (
BACKGROUNDER: REGIONAL BREAKOUTS
When Should Canadians Start Thinking About Retirement
| Total | Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Prairies | B.C. | |||||||
| When they start working | 39% | 46% | 42% | 38% | 37% | 34% | ||||||
| Should be taught in school | 23% | 20% | 11% | 30% | 22% | 32% | ||||||
| More than 10 years before planning to retire | 18% | 15% | 21% | 14% | 25% | 18% | ||||||
| 5-10 years before planning to retire | 8% | 10% | 10% | 7% | 7% | 8% |
When Did Boomers Start Thinking About Own Retirement
| Total | Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Prairies | B.C. | |||||||
| While in school | 1% | 1% | 1% | -- | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| When I started working | 9% | 4% | 12% | 8% | 8% | 7% | ||||||
| More than 10 years before I plan/planned to retire | 25% | 22% | 25% | 26% | 22% | 28% | ||||||
| 5-10 years before I retired/planned to retire | 17% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 23% | 15% |
Debt in Retirement Among Boomers
| Total | Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Prairies | B.C. | |||||||
| Expect to carry some form of debt into retirement | 28% | 39% | 27% | 25% | 30% | 32% |
Reasons Boomers May Delay Retirement
| Total | Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Prairies | B.C. | |||||||
| Not having enough money saved up to retire comfortably | 55% | 60% | 46% | 60% | 54% | 55% | ||||||
| Poor returns on your investments | 38% | 31% | 36% | 40% | 36% | 41% | ||||||
| Downturn of the economy | 30% | 33% | 26% | 33% | 29% | 32% |
Media inquiries:
Devinder Lamsar
Scotiabank Media Communications
devinder.lamsar@scotiabank.com
Desk: 416-933-1171