Only 16% of Canadians, and 23% of Canadian baby boomers, have a clear picture of their retirement and what they want to do, according to research from TD Canada Trust.
One reason that so few have a vision for their retirement is that only 38% of Canadians (and 43% of boomers) have a financial plan.
To encourage Canadians to start thinking about their financial future, TD has developed a retirement tracker.
The retirement tracker encourages Canadians to answer three simple questions about their personal finances to get an idea of where they are in their retirement planning. It weighs factors like the number of years until retirement, value of current savings and the amount of regular contributions and quickly determines whether Canadians are “Getting Started”, “On Their Way” or “On Track.”
“You need a plan to know how much money you need to save to make sure that it lasts throughout your retirement,” says Andrea Phillips, vice president, retail savings and investing, TD Canada Trust. “When you’re working hard to cover your day-to-day expenses, it’s understandable that your retirement seems a lifetime away and planning for it is not your top priority. But, don’t procrastinate; the more time you give yourself to save, the better off you’ll be.”
Surprisingly, the survey reveals that Canadians who are furthest from retirement are the most likely group to contribute the maximum amount to their RSPs every year (21% of Canadians in their 30s versus 12% and 14% of Canadians in their 40s and 50s respectively).
TD Bank Group commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct a custom, online survey of 1,006 Canadians aged 25-64 who are not retired. Results were collected between Nov. 22 and Dec. 2, 2011.