16 per cent expect to work into their 70s
A significant number of working Canadians plan to work longer than current retirees did during their careers, according to a survey by TD Bank Financial Group.
About two-thirds (64 per cent) of working Canadians expect to retire in their 60s; 28 per cent in their early 60s; and 36 per cent after 65. Sixteen per cent think they will keep working into their 70s. This is later in life than current retirees, who said they left the full-time workforce in their late 50s (36 per cent) or early 60s (25 per cent), with only three per cent working into their 70s, found the TD Retirement Realities Poll.
The poll also found that 15 per cent of working Canadians only plan to save for retirement for less than five years before leaving the workforce. By comparison, more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of retirees said, in hindsight, they should have saved for retirement for 25 years or more, found the survey of 1,251 working Canadians and 929 retired Canadians.
"If working Canadians don't make retirement savings a priority, day-to-day expenses and more immediate financial needs can pre-empt saving for the future. Don't get caught 30 years from now saying 'I wish I had started saving sooner,'" said Kim Parlee, vice-president, TD Wealth Management.
The top piece of advice retirees have for working Canadians is to save more money by creating a budget and sticking to it (52 per cent), followed by contributing the maximum amount to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) each year (44 per cent) and paying off all debts before retiring (43 per cent).
