The New "Retirement"
Toronto, ON - On behalf of Bank of Montreal, Ipsos Reid recently surveyed financial decision-makers age 45 or over with at least $25,000 in financial assets. The survey canvases opinions from an already well-established set of Canadians, whether they are retired or anticipating retirement and illustrates a populace that is comfortably positioned for retirement and confident in their expectations.
The survey finds that 87% of these Canadians agree that the word "retirement" needs to be redefined because it sure doesn't mean today what it meant years ago.
When comparing responses from the pre-retired group with those currently retired, it is striking to find more similarities than differences. Both groups were asked in detail about their perceptions and expectations concerning retirement. The portrait painted is pretty positive. Some examples of what the Canadians surveyed selected when describing retirement are "freedom", "more leisure time", "fun", "more time for family", "optimism", "confidence", "less stress", "accomplishment" and "being in control". Words or phrases that were rejected in the context of retirement include: "anxiety", "loneliness", "uncertainty" and "disconnection".
The survey reveals that these retirees retired mainly because they felt they had enough of work and wanted more time to pursue hobbies and interests. Ideally these Canadians wouldn't like to be working in retirement. In reality, 1 in 4 retirees [28%] work and 3 in 4 pre-retirees [74%] expect to work in retirement mainly for the following reasons: "to be mentally active", "to keep in touch with people" and "to earn money".
Finally, 66% of these Canadian carry debts in or into retirement and among those, over 1 in 4 (28%) don't feel comfortable about carrying debts.
These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/BMO online survey conducted from October 21 to October 27, 2005. For the survey, a randomly selected sample of 5325 financial decision-makers age 45 or over with at least $25,000 in financial assets completed an online survey. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-1.34 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire Canadian population of 45 years or over with at least $25,000 in financial assets been polled. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and asset composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.
Please open attached files to view full press release and detailed tables.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos Reid
416.324.2900
[email protected]
Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada - including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country - all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.
To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.
Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.
Member companies 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. They measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2004, Ipsos generated global revenues of 605.6 million Euro ($752.8 million U.S.).
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