A CIBC poll conducted by Harris/Decima just two weeks before the March 3 RRSP deadline finds that 31% of eligible Canadians have left their planned contributions for the 2013 tax year to the last minute.
Among those pushing up against the deadline, 15% haven’t made any RRSP contributions for the 2013 tax year, while another 16% have put something away but still have more to contribute to reach their target investment for the year.
“Our poll shows that, once again, the last few days before the contribution deadline are going to be busy, as millions of Canadians make their final decisions about investing in their RRSPs,” says Christina Kramer, executive vice-president, retail and business banking, with CIBC.
Among those most likely to leave their RRSP contribution to the last minute are Canadians ages 25 to 44, with 37% saying they still need to make a contribution before the March 3 deadline. Notably, 22% of Canadians in this age group have not made any contributions to date.
Canadians closer to retirement fared slightly better, with only 9% of those between the ages of 45 and 64 having made no contributions so far.
Past CIBC research notes that younger Canadians are often trying to balance debt repayment with savings, which may contribute to delaying their RRSP contributions.
“Canadians balancing debt and savings need to consider both sides of their finances when making decisions about retirement savings, which is what makes it even more important to spend some time evaluating their options before the deadline,” she adds.
There were 885 Canadians who took part in the survey between Feb. 13 and 17.
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