While Nine in Ten (90%) Pre-Retirees Expect to Have a Successful Retirement, Four in Ten (36%) `Worried' They Won't Have Enough Money

Toronto, ON - Nine in ten (90%) Canadians aged 50+ who have not yet retired expect to have a `successful retirement', according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC, but nearly four in ten (36%) say they're `worried' that they will not have enough money to live well and do what they want. In fact, 15% would go so far as to say they're `frightened' about the time ahead of them.

Perhaps the fear of many pre-retirees is grounded in the fact that so many report that their parent's money didn't, or isn't likely to, last them through their retirement. Two in ten (21%) Canadians aged 50 and older say that their mother or father outlived (13%) or is likely to outlive (8%) their money in retirement. Interestingly, an equal proportion (21%) of those aged 50+ believe that they too will outlive their money.

According to Canadians who are not yet retired, the average age they expect to live to is 84 years old, using various sources as the basis of this estimate. Nearly half (45%) say the factor that had the most influence on their guess is their family history and the age of their parents, while others cite their current health (20%), the health they expect to have as they get older (15%), their current lifestyle (9%), their expectations of modern medicine (5%), their lifestyle they expect to have as they get older (5%), or some other factor (2%).

Juxtaposing their anticipated life expectancy with the time at which they believe their current lifestyle will change due to health or disability contraints, pre-retirees believe this point in time will come at the age of 76, on average. This means there is likely to be an eight-year gap, on average, where Canadians will encounter a lifestyle change that may require them to begin to rely on others for help and assistance.

Thinking about their anticipated sources of income in retirement, 90% of pre-retirees expect to have RRSPs and RRIFs to fund their retirement, while others will rely on CPP/QPP (84%), Old Age Security (66%), employer pension plan (58%), equity from their home (56%), non-registered savings or investments (47%), TFSA (40%), inheritance (26%), annuity (15%), insurance (13%), Guaranteed Income Supplement (13%), home equity loan (3%), a reverse mortgage (3%) or some other form of income (9%).

A reality of life for retired individuals is keeping pace with inflation throughout their retirement. In order to do this, pre-retirees anticipate having a number of strategies, including adjusting their lifestyle if necessary (70%), investing with inflation in mind (34%), trusting their financial advisor to take this into consideration for them (31%), taking on more debt to invest in assets that will appreciate in value (3%) or some other plan (9%). Three percent (3%) of pre-retirees admit that they simply won't do anything to keep pace with inflation.

These are some of the findings of the 2nd Annual RBC Retirement Myths and Realities Poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between February 25 to March 7, 2011. For this survey, a national sample of 2,245 adults aged 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000 from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of 1772.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada 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
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid
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.

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