Last minute RRSP rush looms

More than half of eligible Canadians say they are going to put off contributing until the last 48 hours

By: IE Staff
February 25, 2013 February 25, 2013
11:00

Brace yourselves, advisors. Nearly one-third of eligible Canadians (32%) say they still have to make an RRSP contribution for the 2012 tax year before the deadline on March 1, a new CIBC (TSX:CM) poll reveals

The poll, which concluded just last week, also revealed that among those Canadians still planning to make a contribution before the deadline, more than half say they are going to put it off until the last 48 hours.

Highlights of the poll, which concluded on February 18, include:

32% of Canadians say they still have to make a contribution toward their RRSP, an increase compared to 25% of eligible Canadians at the same time last year;
among those that say they still need to make a contribution this week, 13% haven’t made any RRSP contributions for the 2012 tax year yet, while the other 19% say they have made part of their contribution over the last 12 months; and
among those Canadians planning to make a contribution before the deadline, more than half (51%) say they are likely to wait until the last 48 hours.

“Everyone’s busy, but the time you spend assessing your savings options is an investment in your future and this is the week to make it a priority if you haven’t yet made your contribution,” says Christina Kramer, executive vice president, retail distribution and channel strategy, CIBC. “There is still time left before the deadline to sit down with an advisor and talk about which retirement savings option is right for you.”

Younger Canadians more likely to procrastinate

Among those most likely to leave their RRSP contribution to the last minute are Canadians aged 25 – 44, with 40% saying they still need to make a contribution before the March 1 deadline. With so many Canadians in this age group leaving their contribution to the last minute, some may simply run out of time and miss the deadline at the end of this week.

“Canadians balancing debt and savings need to consider both sides of their finances when making decisions about retirement savings, which is what makes it even more important to spend some time evaluating their options before the deadline,” adds Kramer.

Harris/Decima surveyed just over 1,000 Canadians through teleVox, the company’s national telephone omnibus survey. These data were gathered in a sample of 855 RRSP eligible Canadians between February 14 – 17, 2013. A sample of this size has a margin of error of +/-3.4%, 19 times out of 20.