People have good intentions when it comes to retirement savings, with 60% of respondents to a new CIBC poll saying they intend to grow their nest egg this year, but CIBC research from previous years finds many Canadians will not follow through.
“While it’s positive that so many eligible Canadians plan to contribute toward their retirement this year, we know from previous years that only 26% of eligible tax filers actually made a contribution to their RRSP but our data show 47% say they intend to contribute to their RRSP,” said Jamie Golombek, managing director, tax and estate planning, with CIBC.
Last year, among Canadians who didn’t contribute to their retirement savings, the top reason given (by 35% of respondents) was that they did not have the money.
“If you don’t have the money to make a contribution to your retirement savings, the solution may come from having a hard look at your budget,” Golombek says. “Saving for retirement is really about delaying some consumption from the present to the future.”