People in BC put less into RRSP’s than national average
Posted March 4, 2014 5:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If you are like most people in BC, you probably put less money into your RRSP this year.
The survey from BMO shows people in this province put aside about $2,900 for retirement compared to national average of more than $3,500.
Scott Hannah with the Canadian Credit Counselling Society suspects our debt has led to less money being saved. “It is not just mortgage debt. It is other forms of debt. Credit cards, lines of credit, car loans. So after allocating parts of your paycheque for living expenses, mortgages and the debts themselves, in many cases there is nothing left for savings.”
He says in the mid-90’s people typically set aside 10 to 12 per cent of their gross annual income for savings. Today that number is less than five per cent.
Hannah says until we get out of debt, we will never be able to plan for our financial future. “We’ve moved away from a society that valued saving up for something or making do with what you’ve got to a society that has to have the best, the latest, and the greatest.”
This woman in Vancouver feels more young people should be setting money aside. “People should really think about the importance of it because retirement does eventually come around.”
This woman doesn’t think an RRSP is the best way for her to plan for retirement. “I think we have to invest in retirement on our own and I don’t really think that RRSP’s are the way to do it.”
The Bank of Montreal has found three out of five BC respondents contributed to an RRSP, with the same number saying they wish they were able to contribute more.
Nearly two-thirds nationwide and in BC intend to spend their tax refund rather than save or invest it.
