While eight in 10 Canadian homeowners who have debt indicate it’s very important to be debt-free by the time they reach retirement, only 56% are confident they’ll achieve that goal, according to a survey by Manulife Bank of Canada.
When asked what they’d do if they reached their planned retirement date and still had debt, sentiment was divided.
Forty-seven percent of homeowners say they’ll continue to work until they are out of debt, and 45% would retire even if they still carried debt.
Thirteen percent of homeowners plan to access the equity in their homes to supplement their retirement income, with 4% planning to borrow against their home equity and 9% planning to downsize and use the excess equity to provide retirement income.
“For most people, their home equity represents an important part of their net worth—and it may make sense for them to include this in their retirement plan,” says Doug Conick, the bank’s president and CEO.
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