Four in Five (80%) Pre-Retired Canadians Believe They'll Have the Choice of When to Retire; Reality Reveals that Less Than Half (41%) of Current Retirees Had This Choice
Four in five (80%) pre-retired Canadians believe they'll have the choice of when they'll be able to retire from their careers, but only three in five (59%) retired Canadians indicate that they retired at a time of their choosing. Just one in five (20%) Canadians approaching retirement believe they won't have a choice of when they'll retire, compared to twice as many retired Canadians (41%) who said they didn't have a choice about the timing of their retirement.
Among retired Canadians who had no choice about their retirement, key reasons specified for their unanticipated departure were employer's request (17%) and health reasons (9%) with other reasons stemming from reaching mandatory retirement age (4%) and requiring to retire as a caregiver for someone (3%). One in ten (10%) retirees who had no choice about their retirement states other reasons for having to retire.
A majority (65%) of retirees indicate they knew about their retirement date a year or less in advance. One in four (24%) knew between 6 months to 1 year from their actual retirement, while one in five (20%) knew up to 6 months before hand and one in ten (8%) knew one month before hand. Another one in ten (12%) had no advance notice of their retirement. Just over a third (35%) of retired Canadians knew more than year ahead of time that they would retire, while only one in ten (9%) knew more than five years in advance.
Other Key Findings...
While many indicate not having much notice about their retirement, in hindsight nearly three in four (72%) fully retired Canadians believe that they retired at the perfect time (even if it wasn't initially at a time of their choosing). Among fully retired Canadians who believe they retired at the right time, four in five (79%) say that wanting to enjoy active retirement while their health was good made their retirement perfect. Other reasons include:
- They didn't need any more money/had enough money - 37%
- Not being happy with work - 26%
- They wanted to join their retired spouse or partner - 20%
- Health concerns - 14%
- Wanting to volunteer - 13%
- They needed to take care of someone else - 8%
- Other financial reasons - 3%
Canadian retirees were also asked to give their top three survival strategies if at some point in their retirement they determined that their household income was not enough. The results revealed the following coping mechanisms:
- Move (downsize, rent, etc.) - 79%
- Stay in home and live frugally - 79%
- Stay in home and sell assets - 44%
- Borrow against their home equity - 38%
- Return to paid work - 29%
- Stay in home and rent a part of their home to create income - 16%
- Take out a loan without borrowing against their home equity - 10%
- Ask family member for financial help - 5%
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between February 27th to March 12th, 2013 on behalf of RBC. For this survey, a sample of 2,159 Canadians adults ages 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000 from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 2.4 percentage points had all Canadians in this sample universe 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.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416.572.4474
[email protected]
About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.
To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.
With offices in 85 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.
Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,789 billion (2.300 billion USD) in 2012.
