Survey Finds Canadians Retiring at 58 on Average
12/08/2005 - With debt seen as OK by 48 per cent

December 5, 2005

Canadians are retiring during prime earning years with a more lackadaisical attitude toward debt, a new survey suggests, but economists warn the trend can't continue.

The average retirement age is now 58, according to an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted for RBC Financial Group. And while 85 per cent of working Canadians polled believe it's important to pay their debts before retiring, 48 per cent don't believe it's necessary to retire debt-free.

Currently, about one-third of retired Canadians have debt, with the average load weighing in at about $35,000.

"We seem to be observing an emerging mind-set where many Canadians do not see the need to retire their debt before they themselves retire from work," said Dave Richardson, vice-president of RBC Asset Management Inc.

"While entering retirement debt-free continues to be the most prudent approach, these findings suggest that some Canadians, especially baby boomers, generally have different lifestyle expectations for retirement and are making different choices than previous generations," he said.

More women than men believe it's essential to be debt-free before retirement, as do more young people.

Benjamin Tal, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, believes many people have been lured into retiring with debt by low interest rates, which decrease the carrying costs of loans and other debts.

Already, large numbers of those people are finding they must start up a business for income, Tal said. If interest rates rise in the future, many more people may find themselves forced back to work, he said.

Between 2001 and 2005 there has been a 33 per cent increase in self-employment among those 65 and older, he said, markedly higher than all other ages combined.

Monday's poll also found that 20 per cent of retired Canadians currently boost their income by working part-time, occasionally, or on contract.

About 35 per cent of those who retired with debt found themselves working occasionally, while only 13 per cent of those who retired debt-free pick up occasional work.

Aside from returning to work, another less-frequent but increasingly popular means of boosting income is reverse mortgages, Tal said. Use of reverse mortgages will diminish inheritances for the next generation, he noted.

Meanwhile, as the baby boomers leave their jobs, the ratio of workers to retirees is falling, decreasing the amount left in pension funds and other support systems. That will push the retirement age up in the future, Tal said.

While official statistics have recently placed the retirement age between 59 and 60, "in 10 years the average age will be much higher," he said.

Jayson Myers, chief economist at the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said some manufacturing sectors are already facing a labour shortage because those people trained in the necessary areas have retired.

"Fewer people are going to be available in the next 10 years to fill these positions," he said.

The Ipsos Reid/RBC poll was conducted from Nov. 11 to 21. A representative randomly selected sample of 1,250 adult Canadian was interviewed by telephone.

With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate for extrapolation within 2.8 percentage points, or 19 times out of 20.

Source: Canadian Press

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3. Focus. They have laser like focus on where they want to go and what they want to achieve.

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