Just 46% Of Employed Canadians Are Confident They'd Have Enough Money If They Were Unable To Work

Toronto, ON - According to a survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid, on behalf of RBC Insurance, less than half (46%) of employed Canadians are "confident that they would have sufficient money or funds to replace their total income including bonuses and commission, if they become ill or were hurt and unable to work." Another six in ten (60%) Canadians "worry about getting, or someone in their family, getting a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke, cancer or kidney failure."

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/RBC Insurance poll conducted from August 10th to August 12th, 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data. If Canadians Fall Ill Or Were Hurt And Unable To Work...

Less than half (46%) of those who are part-time, full-time or self employed agree with the statement "I'm confident that they would have sufficient money or funds to replace my total income including bonuses and commission, if I become ill or were hurt and unable to work" (19% "strongly agree," 27% "somewhat agree"). More Canadians (53%) are not confident that they would have sufficient funds if they became ill (32% "strongly disagree" and 21% "somewhat disagree" with the statement).

• Employed Canadians in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (60%) are most confident that they have sufficient funds to replace their total income (including bonuses and commissions) if they become ill or were hurt and unable to work, while those in Alberta (35%) are least confident.

• Among employed Canadians, confidence in being able to replace income increases with age (18 to 34 at 39 per cent compared to 48 per cent for those aged 35 to 54 and 58 per cent for those 55+).

Half (52%) of employed Canadians agree that they would use their retirement savings to pay bills and have to work longer than they had planned if they became ill or were hurt and unable to work (21% strongly agree and 31% somewhat agree).,p>

• The likelihood of using retirement funds to pay bills in the event of illness or injury is higher among employed Canadians aged 55 and over (58%). This compares with half (50%) of employed 18 to 34 year olds and 51 percent of employed Canadians 35 to 54 who say they would use their retirement savings and work longer than planned to pay their bills during this time.

• Those living in Quebec are least likely to use their retirement savings if they were ill or hurt (43%), whereas Canadians in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are most likely (58%). More than half (54%) of residents of Alberta and Ontario would use their retirement funds; 50% in Atlantic Canada.

Three-quarters (74%) of Canadians who are part-time, full-time or are self-employed say they would not "rely on family members for money, if they become ill or were hurt and unable to work". Instead, eight in ten (79%) agree that they "would change their lifestyle and live more conservatively" (44% "strongly agree" and 35% "somewhat agree").

• Younger Canadians are more likely to say they would rely on family members for money if they become ill or were hurt and unable to work (38% of those aged 18 to 34; 22% of those aged 35 to 54 and 16% of those aged 55+).

Half Of Canadians Have Disability Insurance

Half (48%) of Canadians report that they have disability insurance, that is insurance that would replace their income if they became ill or were hurt and unable to work. Of those, half (52%) do not know exactly what coverage they have, when their benefits would start, how much they would get and how long benefits would last.

• Men more likely than women to say they know exactly what coverage they have through their disability insurance (48 per cent vs. 41 per cent).

• Understanding of coverage is lowest at 34 per cent among those aged 18 to 34 compared to those aged 35 to 54 (49 per cent) and those aged 55 and over (49 per cent).

Concerns about Critical Illness...

Over half of Canadians (60%) agree with the statement "I worry about getting, our someone in my family getting, a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke, cancer, or kidney failure (32% "strongly agree" and 28% "somewhat agree").

• Canadians aged 18 to 34 are most likely to be worried about getting, or someone in their family getting a critical illness (68% of those aged 18 to 34; 58% of those aged 35 to 54; 54% of those aged 55+).

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sandra Guiry
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900