Money or health? RBC poll finds priorities change as retiring
boomers ageRetirement is not just about the money, according to RBC
TORONTO, September 13, 2007 — People approaching
retirement worry about money, but people who have already
retired worry more about their health, according to an RBC
poll released today.
The majority (53 per cent) of pre-retirees are concerned
about having enough money for retirement, compared to only
36 per cent of those who are already retired. By contrast,
half of retirees (51 per cent) say they worry about their
future health, compared to only two in five pre-retirees (41
per cent).
"Many people who are approaching retirement focus most
on that magic dollar figure that promises a good retirement
- but they could learn from retirees who find that money is
simply not as important as health," says Mike Reed, Head,
Retirement and Affluent Client Strategy, RBC. "The experience
of retirees suggests that planning for retirement is more
than a money issue. We need to keep it in context by thinking
about the other important aspirations that we all have in
our retirement years, including our family and health priorities.
It's telling that money is not top of mind for two thirds
of retirees (64 per cent) when they think about the future."
Nearly three in four (72 per cent) of those in the retirement
window say being in as good or better health than their peers
was important to them, and women were more apt to think so
(76 per cent) than men (70 per cent). Half of those polled
(50 per cent) say being financially better off than their
peers is important to them and an almost equal number (49
per cent) say being mentally and spiritually better off than
their peers was very important. Again, women (56 per cent)
were more concerned with being mentally and spiritually better
off than their peers, compared to men (45 per cent).
Surprisingly, a majority (57 per cent) do their retirement
planning alone, but almost all (92 per cent) want their partner,
loved one or best friend to be part of whatever they do in
the years ahead. Men (61 per cent) are significantly more
likely than women (53 per cent) to prefer to plan their future
on their own.
"People don't always share their retirement plans with
their partner," comments Reed. "RBC's unique approach
to retirement planning, Your Future By Design, helps make
these conversations easy and gives our clients a new perspective
on retirement."
Almost nine in ten respondents (89 per cent) spend some or
a lot of the time thinking about what they want to do for
themselves or their loved ones in the next 20 years. Among
those polled who think about the future, approximately two
in three (66 per cent) think it is important to have a plan
for the future.
The RBC Retiring Boomers Poll was conducted by Ipsos-Reid
from August 3 to 8, 2007. The online survey was based on responses
from 2,037 adult Canadians between the ages of 50 and 69 with
household assets of $100,000 or more. With a sample of this
size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.1
percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would
have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled.
The margin of error will be larger within regions and for
other sub-groupings of the survey population.
Your Future by Design® is RBC's distinctive approach
to help clients identify, plan, and realize their goals for
retirement. With the guidance of RBC financial planners and
investment and retirement planners, Your Future by Design
helps clients create a blueprint for a successful lifestyle
and financial plan for retirement based on what is truly important
to them in key areas in life, including family, health, home,
lifestyle, work/business, mind and spirit, and legacy. To
find out more about how RBC can help build a blueprint for
the future, visit www.rbc.com/yourfuture
or call 1-866-335-4055.
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Media contacts:
Rina Cortese, RBC Wealth Management, (416) 974-6970
Jackie Braden, RBC Media Relations, (416) 974-2124
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