By Sylvain Bouffard
According to the most recent version of the Sun Life Delayed Retirement Index, everything indicates that Canadians are gradually resigning themselves to the idea of ​​a retirement that will have to be delayed a little longer.
According to the 2013 version of the Sun Life Delayed Retirement Index1, everything indicates that Canadians are gradually resigning themselves to the idea of ​​a retirement that will have to be delayed a little longer.
Indeed, the impressive survey (more than 3,000 respondents), carried out by Sun Life Financial, validates and above all confirms this trend: Canadians expect to work longer before they can taste the joys of retirement. . On average, they expect to have to work until the age of 67 — and here, the use of the verb “should” is particularly indicated: 63% of Canadians who expect to work past the usual age in retirement anticipate they will do so out of obligation, compared to 37% who wish to do so out of personal choice.
From this point of view, one might think that beyond circumstantial factors such as the 2009 financial crisis, the expectations of Canadians about retirement are changing more profoundly. Take, for example, the percentage of respondents who said they expect to work full-time beyond 65. In 2008 and 2009, this proportion was 16%. In the aftermath of the crisis, this rose to 20%. In 2012, it jumped to 26%! Thus, while it is true that concerns remain strong about the adequacy of savings, other factors may be at the origin of this change. We can assume, for example, that after the increase in the age of eligibility for Old Age Security benefits announced last winter by the Harper government, many believe that it is only a matter of time before Canada does like many other countries and raises the official retirement age.
If there is one particularly striking element among the detailed results of the study, it is not only that perceptions of retirement are changing; the fact that our retirement expectations tend to be based disproportionately on perceptions and impressions. And this is especially true in Quebec.
Indeed, it is hard to do otherwise than to question the solidity of our forecasts for retirement: are they based on rigorous calculations or mere impressions?
For example, Quebec is where concrete actions related to retirement planning are the bit present in all the provinces. Respondents from Quebec (n=505) are the least likely to make regular contributions to a registered retirement savings account (16% vs 22% for all of Canada) or to have discussed their situation with an advisor or a financial planner (24% vs 29%). They are also the least likely to have started thinking about retirement planning (34% vs 43%) or even to have discussed it with their spouse (20% vs 30%).
Overall, only one out of two Quebec respondents (49%) consider that they are needed to plan for retirement. This is relatively less than what is found in Alberta (58%) or Manitoba and Saskatchewan (59%).
Never mind, Quebeckers are in good spirits when it comes to their finances: when they are asked to describe their savings or their level of indebtedness, they are proportionally more likely than anywhere else to tell them as “good” or “excellent” (24% vs 18% for Canada on personal savings; 41% vs 35% for debt). No doubt, the level of happiness is more present in Quebec (65% of respondents who describe it as good or excellent, vs 58% across Canada).
However, these are not statistics to reassure us.
If Quebecers have a comparatively positive perception of the state of their finances, perhaps this is related to their very, or too? Optimistic expectations regarding the level of savings needed to ensure adequate retirement income. Respondents from Quebec expect to have an annual income of $45,000 during their retirement, about the same as respondents from other provinces. However, they set a total savings objective of 27% lower than the Canadian average ($281,536 vs $385,687) to ensure such payment.
In short, if there is one thing to remember from the detailed results of the Sun Life Delayed Retirement Index, Quebec respondents seem to have a slightly more carefree way of approaching the preparation for retirement. Behind the absence of salient concerns about their n
