Christopher Schmeltz will open the office. He has been
assisting plan sponsors with fiduciary responsibilities and improving upon
retirement plan design since 2009. Previously, Schmeltz
worked for a firm that served as a 3(38) and 3(21) fiduciary to ERISA (Employee
Retirement Income Security Act) plans and will continue in this capacity.
The ProCourse team offers investment consulting and advisory
services to retirement plan sponsors.
Canadian parents are delaying their retirement to help their kids pay for an education, according to a recent poll from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
The poll found that more than one-third of Canadian parents
with children under the age of 25 will have to delay retirement because of the
cost of helping their children pay for their education. Many parents have saved
less for retirement than they originally planned, and some have taken on
additional debt to help pay for tuition and other expenses.
Sixty percent of Canadian parents with children under 25
have saved less for retirement than they had planned for, because they have
directed some of their retirement savings towards their child’s education
instead;
One-third (33%) have incurred additional debt in helping
their children finance their education or with other needs; and
As a result of these factors, 36% of Canadian parents with
children under the age of 25 said they will need to delay their own retirement—19%
by five or more years, and 16% by one to four years.
“Many Canadians are focused on building retirement savings
or reducing debt, but the costs you can incur when helping your children with
college or university can impact both of those goals,” said Christina Kramer, executive
vice president, Retail Distribution and Channel Strategy, CIBC. “The expenses
associated with a child’s education often come when parents are in their 40s
and 50s, and are looking to accelerate retirement savings. This means some
parents will need more working years to close the gap created by the costs of
their child’s education.”
At the start of 2013, paying down debt was named the top
financial priority for Canadians for a third year in a row. “It can be a challenge for parents who are
trying to turn the corner on their own debt to borrow more to help pay tuition
bills, which is why it’s so important to talk to an adviser and build education
costs into your long term plan when you still have time on your side to save
and pay down other debts,” Kramer noted.
She added that having a financial plan is critical. In order
to achieve the goal of helping their children with their education, Kramer recommended
that parents:
Understand the total financial picture, working with a
financial adviser to look at debt management and savings plans, and to ensure education
savings have been accounted for; and
Manage debt effectively, ensuring that mortgage payment
and other obligations give them room to allocate money towards savings, making
it easier to find the money that will need to be put away each month.
“Saving for your child’s education is just like saving for
your retirement. The sooner you start, the more time you’ll have, and the more
manageable your monthly contribution will be,” concluded Kramer.
The poll was conducted online by Leger, for CIBC, and surveyed
1,000 Canadians. Polling was conducted between June 9 and June 12, 2013.