A generation ago, it wasn含羞草研究社檛 uncommon to spend your entire career with the same company, building a pension that when paired with your Canada Pension Plan and maybe some RRSPs, would provide for a comfortable, well-earned retirement.
Today, we含羞草研究社檒l often work with multiple companies over the course of our career 含羞草研究社� a shift accelerated by factors like the pandemic. Others might take the self-employment route for a while 含羞草研究社� couples navigating the high cost of childcare, for example. Pension funds might be shifted to other investments or there may be less money available for retirement savings during these mid-career years, especially for those affected by the high cost of housing.
The result is that have no savings set aside for retirement and 57 per cent have doubts they含羞草研究社檒l save enough to retire comfortably.
The solution? It begins with planning, says Charles Barton, a Wealth Advisor with Valley First Credit Union in the Okanagan. And the good news is that while earlier is better, it含羞草研究社檚 never too late to start.
Step 1: Start the conversation with your partner
What kind of retirement do you want? While some aim to completely quit work and travel, many choose to reap the financial and social benefits of semi-retirement first. Fine-tuning your goals makes it easier to determine the best way to reach them.
含羞草研究社淗ave that honest conversation with each other, review your goals and really understand what it is you含羞草研究社檙e trying to accomplish, long term,含羞草研究社� Barton says.
That includes goals you may have for your family, such as helping children purchase a home in a difficult housing market 含羞草研究社� decisions that could have implications later on, especially as we need our retirement savings to do more for longer.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e not only seeing greater wealth transfer, but it含羞草研究社檚 happening earlier than it ever has. I see members who want to pass on their investable assets to their children but when we run the numbers, it含羞草研究社檚 too early, especially since people are living longer now.含羞草研究社�
Step 2: Sit down with your financial planner
A financial planner can look at all the pieces of your financial puzzle 含羞草研究社� savings, investments, pensions, debts, goals 含羞草研究社� and help you chart a course forward.
That may mean putting more into savings, or more aggressively paying down debt. No single answer is right for everyone, but having someone who can see all the pieces, and understand how they fit together, is essential.
Whether you aim to reduce debt or boost savings 含羞草研究社� or simply have a better grasp on your spending habits before retirement, it含羞草研究社檚 never a bad idea to look at your spending. Netflix含羞草研究社檚 standard subscription might be just $16.49 per month, but add all the other streaming services and suddenly you含羞草研究社檙e topping $100.
含羞草研究社淚t can really chip away at your ability to start that savings plan,含羞草研究社� Barton says. 含羞草研究社淧eople will say, 含羞草研究社業 don含羞草研究社檛 have money to put away.含羞草研究社� But they haven含羞草研究社檛 even really paid attention to where their money含羞草研究社檚 going.含羞草研究社�
The takeaway: Don含羞草研究社檛 wait. 含羞草研究社淭he more time we have to work with people, the better off they含羞草研究社檙e going to be when we含羞草研究社檙e trying to meet all of their goals,含羞草研究社� Barton says, urging the balance between rational decision-making and emotional response, which, admittedly, can be difficult to navigate.
含羞草研究社淭his whole process is supposed to be so rational, yet we含羞草研究社檙e human and we含羞草研究社檙e emotional,含羞草研究社� he reflects. 含羞草研究社淏ut the more rational and the more comfortable a family is with their value-based system, those are the people I typically see being more successful in their retirement years because they really pride themselves on understanding where their money goes and how to use it effectively.含羞草研究社�
To take the next step 含羞草研究社� or the first step 含羞草研究社� on , contact to make an appointment with an advisor at your local branch today.