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No Option: RBC Poll finds retirement is not
a choice for many Canadians
Careers ending earlier than expected, retirees seeking other
income
TORONTO, April 20, 2011— There are surprises
in store for Canadians who are expecting to retire on a date
of their own choosing, according to the 2nd Annual RBC
Retirement Myths & Realities poll.
While the vast majority (83 per cent) of “pre-retirees”
aged 50 plus believe they will retire on the date
of their choice, almost half (41 per cent) of those who
have already retired report that their retirement date was
unplanned. The top three factors cited for early retirement:
employer’s request (18 per cent), health reasons (14
per cent) or reaching mandatory retirement age (6 per cent).
“We’re finding that even Canadians who think they
are well-prepared for their retirement years have not taken
the unexpected into consideration,” explained Lee Anne
Davies, head, Retirement Strategies, RBC. “When their
job disappears suddenly, they struggle with financing the
added years in retirement that they hadn’t counted on.
This is where financial advice can ensure all aspects of retirement
are explored, including the unexpected.”
The RBC poll also found in the past 12 months, there has
been a significant rise in the number of retirees returning
to the workforce because they need
the income (41 per cent in 2011 compared to 32 per cent
in 2010), as well as a drop in the number of Canadians retiring
debt-free
(56 per cent in 2011; 61 per cent in 2010).
Fully retired Canadians, when asked what they would do if
at some point their retirement
income is not sufficient to support their lifestyle, responded
that they would either stay in their present homes but live
frugally (89 per cent); move out of their present homes to
downsize or rent (87 per cent); or stay in their present homes
and sell off assets (65 per cent).
“There are a number of ways to plan out how your retirement
years can look,” added Davies. “Seeking out good
advice before retirement from financial planners can help
you determine what you can do now to support your future lifestyle
in retirement.”
The annual RBC Retirement Myths & Realities Poll compares
the perspectives of both retired and not-yet-retired Canadians,
aged 50 and over. Related data charts can be accessed via
www.rbc.com/newsroom.
About RBC's retirement planning and
other financial advice and interactive tools
Your
Future by Design® is RBC's distinctive approach to
help Canadians identify, plan, and realize their goals for
retirement. With the guidance of RBC financial
planners and investment
planners and retirement
planners, Your Future by Design helps Canadians 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 our toll-free number at 1-866-335-4055.
RBC's myFinanceTracker,
a new online financial management tool, offers all personal
RBC online
banking clients the ability, at no cost, to create a set
budget and track their spending habits. Whether Canadians
want to get more from their day
to day banking, protect what's important, save and invest,
borrow with confidence or take care of their businesses, the
RBC
Advice Centre can help answer their questions. Free interactive
tools and calculators provide customized information covering
many facets of personal finance. In addition, online advice
videos are updated regularly to reflect current trends and
to answer the questions that are top of mind with Canadians.
With the guidance of RBC advisors who are available to chat
live, Canadians have access to free, no obligation professional
advice about RBC products and services and personalized
one-on-one banking service. For more assistance, please
visit RBC
Advice Centre.
About the RBC Myths & Realities
Poll
The 2nd Annual RBC
Retirement Myths & Realities Poll, which examines
Canadians' expectations and experiences in retirement, was
conducted by Ipsos Reid from February 25 - March 7, 2011. For this survey,
a national sample of 2,245 adults aged 50 and over with household
assets of at least $100,000 from Ipsos' Canadian online panel
was interviewed online. A survey with an unweighted probability
sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would
have an estimated margin of error of ±2 percentage
points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been
had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled.
All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources
of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and
measurement error.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathy Bevan, RBC
Corporate Communications,
(416) 974-2727
Elyse Lalonde,
RBC Media Relations, (416) 974-8810
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