A generation ago, it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 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乌鸦传媒檒l often work with multiple companies over the course of our career 乌鸦传媒� a shift accelerated by factors like the pandemic. Others might take the self-employment route for a while 乌鸦传媒� 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乌鸦传媒檒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乌鸦传媒檚 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.
乌鸦传媒淗ave that honest conversation with each other, review your goals and really understand what it is you乌鸦传媒檙e trying to accomplish, long term,乌鸦传媒� Barton says.
That includes goals you may have for your family, such as helping children purchase a home in a difficult housing market 乌鸦传媒� decisions that could have implications later on, especially as we need our retirement savings to do more for longer.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e not only seeing greater wealth transfer, but it乌鸦传媒檚 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乌鸦传媒檚 too early, especially since people are living longer now.乌鸦传媒�
Step 2: Sit down with your financial planner
A financial planner can look at all the pieces of your financial puzzle 乌鸦传媒� savings, investments, pensions, debts, goals 乌鸦传媒� 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 乌鸦传媒� or simply have a better grasp on your spending habits before retirement, it乌鸦传媒檚 never a bad idea to look at your spending. Netflix乌鸦传媒檚 standard subscription might be just $16.49 per month, but add all the other streaming services and suddenly you乌鸦传媒檙e topping $100.
乌鸦传媒淚t can really chip away at your ability to start that savings plan,乌鸦传媒� Barton says. 乌鸦传媒淧eople will say, 乌鸦传媒業 don乌鸦传媒檛 have money to put away.乌鸦传媒� But they haven乌鸦传媒檛 even really paid attention to where their money乌鸦传媒檚 going.乌鸦传媒�
The takeaway: Don乌鸦传媒檛 wait. 乌鸦传媒淭he more time we have to work with people, the better off they乌鸦传媒檙e going to be when we乌鸦传媒檙e trying to meet all of their goals,乌鸦传媒� Barton says, urging the balance between rational decision-making and emotional response, which, admittedly, can be difficult to navigate.
乌鸦传媒淭his whole process is supposed to be so rational, yet we乌鸦传媒檙e human and we乌鸦传媒檙e emotional,乌鸦传媒� he reflects. 乌鸦传媒淏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.乌鸦传媒�
To take the next step 乌鸦传媒� or the first step 乌鸦传媒� on , contact to make an appointment with an advisor at your local branch today.