September 06, 2012
--- Forty
percent of Canadians surveyed said they now expect to retire later than they
previously planned. ---
According to the third annual survey of employees conducted
by the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), the primary reason (cited by
40%) was “I’m not saving enough money for retirement.”
Nearly three-quarters of employees (74%) said they have
saved less than one-quarter of their retirement savings goal. “This is
particularly troubling when you realize that 71% of the respondents are over
the age of 35, with the bulk in their main saving years between 35 and 54,” said
Dianne Winsor, chairman of the CPA.
The survey also found half (50%) of employees across the
country reported they are saving 5% or less of their net pay. This is well
below the 10% of net pay that financial planning experts generally recommend as
a retirement savings rate.
While 60% said they are trying to be better savers, more
than half of the individuals reported that they have been unable to do so. The
remaining 40% of Canadians said they were not even trying to save
more.
Most Canadians do understand what they could be doing to
improve their financial situation and meet their retirement goals. Ranked in
order of importance, respondents thought they should be spending less (32%),
paying off credit card debt (22%), reducing their mortgage (19%), and
contributing more to their retirement savings (14%).
Between July 6 and August 2, 2011, 2,070 employees responded
to the online survey.
Rebecca Moore