Of course you have to plan for retirement, whatever your age - as the wealth of RRSP advertising reminds us every year around this time.
But don't be panicked by sales pitches like "Four in 10 Canadians aren't retiring when they want," and "Twenty-eight per cent of fully retired Canadians feel they hadn't retired 'at the right time'."
Turn those statements around and 60 per cent of Canadians are retiring when they want, and 72 per cent of retired Canadians felt they did retire at the right time.
Nevertheless, you should take an active rather than a passive role in planning your finances to make sure you are indeed in those majority groups.
And it's worth looking at the survey results behind the sales pitches to see what you can learn from the experiences of your contemporaries - or future contemporaries.
"While 80 per cent of Canadians nearing retirement believe they will choose when they leave their careers, in reality 41 per cent of retirees say they left sooner than expected," says advisor.ca, citing RBC's 2013 Retirement Myths and Realities Poll.
Some 41 per cent said employers asked them to leave, while 22 per cent cited health issues for their earlier departure date.
Two-thirds of the retirees said they had one year or less notification; 20 per cent had one month or no advance notice before retirement.
According to the poll, here are the top strategies used by retirees if they needed to supplement retirement income:
- Downsize accommodation (including selling and renting), or stay in the home but live frugally (tied at 79 per cent of respondents).
- Stay in the home and sell assets (44 per cent).
- Borrow against home equity (presumably including a reverse mortgage; 38 per cent).
- Return to paid work (29 per cent).
- Rent out part of home (16 per cent).
- Take out a loan but not against home equity (10 per cent).
- Ask a family member for financial help (five per cent).
Mike Grenby is a columnist and independent personal financial advisor; he'll answer questions in this column as space allows but cannot reply personally. Email [email protected]
