Surprising numbers from retirement survey
Posted Jun 1, 2011 1:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
25 percent of Albertans feel when it comes to their golden years, they’ll end up outliving their savings.
The stat is courtesy of a new TD Waterhouse report on retirement.
Here in Alberta, 58 per cent of respondents feel their retirement is “mostly” or “exactly” what they were expecting.
“Even though it says six in 10 are enjoying retirement,” says TD’s Crystal Wong, “that means four in 10 are not. Even the six in 10 admit there’s things they would have done differently to alleviate the financial concerns that they’re having right now.”
But Wong says retirement can’t be measured in dollars and cents alone.
“Retirees from Alberta that we polled in this survey, three-quarters of them said take care of your health,” she adds. “So that’s the big one that we all want to make sure that we’re doing. You need enough money at retirement. But you have to be healthy enough to enjoy that retirement.”
Even if your retirement planning is lacking, and the date is is only five or 10 years away, Wong says there’s still time to take action.
“The closer you get, the more important it is to take action about your savings program as well as working with somebody who can help you get there,” Wong tells 660News. “Because the littlest changes you that you make, five or 10 years out, will make substantial difference by the time you end up needing the money at retirement.”
Among the 40 percent concerned about their retirement, 30 per cent are worried they don’t have enough money to do what they want in retirement.
Even more disturbing: 25 percent feel they’ll outlive their money.
Advice from seniors includes paying off your debt before retirement, including your mortgage. Three-quarters of retirees say take time to understand what you want to do during retirement.
