While 72% of younger Canadians ages 18 to 34 say they owe it to their parents to keep them comfortable in retirement, 76% of those ages 50 to 69 don’t want their help, finds an RBC poll.
Part of the reason is that parents think their children’s generation faces more financial pressures (61%) and is less prepared for retirement (59%). And this is despite the fact that 37% of boomers say they haven’t saved enough for retirement.
Read: Canadians feel less prepared for retirement
“We’re seeing a strong desire among boomers for financial independence in retirement, coupled with uncertainty around how they will accomplish this goal,” notes Richa Hingorani, senior manager, financial planning support, with RBC.
Other generational differences around retirement savings identified in the poll show younger Canadians (48%) are more likely to say that having enough savings is one of their top concerns in retirement, compared with boomers (38%). Those ages 18 to 34 are more worried about balancing immediate savings with long term/retirement savings than boomers (80% versus 70%, respectively).
Read: Canadians don’t expect to retire early
The poll also finds younger Canadians with unused RRSP contribution room are more worried about the impact this may have on their retirement (39%) compared with boomers with unused RRSP contribution room (22%).
More boomers (38%) are making one-time contributions to their RRSPs, compared with younger Canadians (18%); younger Canadians are using regular contribution plans more than boomers (42% versus 23%, respectively).
A version of this story originally appeared on our sister site, Advisor.ca.
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