Nearly one in four Canadian parents with children under 18 are saving equally for their own retirement and their children’s post-secondary education, according to a new poll commissioned by Edward Jones Canada.

However, seven out of 10 parents are choosing one over the other — or none at all — according to the poll’s findings.

Fifteen per cent of parents with children under 18 at home are favouring their child or children’s education over their own savings, putting aside little or nothing for their retirement.

On the other hand, 26% of respondents are primarily saving for retirement and only saving a little for post-secondary school for their child or children. Another 26% say that they are not saving for retirement or for their child or children’s post-secondary education.

“While we are pleased to see that a number of Canadian parents understand the importance of saving for both their own long-term financial needs, as well as their children’s, we are concerned that a large number of parents seem to be choosing one over the other” says Michelle Kay-Scott, senior retirement planning specialist for Edward Jones Canada.

“Anyone balancing these two hugely important financial goals — education and a comfortable retirement — needs to be sure that they are clear about what kind of financial planning is needed to achieve both of these goals.”

According to CanLearn, an online Government of Canada resource, in 2015 an average year of tuition will cost more than $12,000 for those who stay at home and more that $21,000 for students that choose to move away from home. Tuition is expected to increase an average of $2,000 to $3,000 every five years. For those who decide to pursue a four-year honours degree away from home in 2015, the cost could be approximately $84,000.

Meanwhile, when it comes to retirement, Edward Jones suggests that it’s a prudent idea for investors to assume that they’ll likely need between 70% and 90% of pre-retirement income to maintain a current standard of living in retirement.

“When you look at the numbers, it means some careful planning is required. It is not enough to passively put away money each month and hope for great returns – it means really staying on top of your portfolio and balancing financial needs with the right financial choices. It also means working with an expert to lay out clear goals,” says Kay-Scott.

The Canadian survey results are based on a telephone survey of 2,348 nationally representative adults with retirement savings between July 27 and August 13 by Leger Marketing. A sample of this size will provide results that can be considered accurate within plus or minus 2%, 19 times out of 20.

IE