Youth planning for early retirement with little savings: study

A recent study shows young Canadians aren’t saving for retirement, but the president of Thunder Bay’s youth professionals network says it’s all about planning for the future.

The Bank of Montreal released a report that showed 41 per cent of those surveyed between the ages of 18 to 34 expected to retire in their 50s.
Around 55 per cent expected to finish working by 69 years old.

Although the study showed that young professionals may want to retire earlier they aren’t necessarily putting enough away.

Nathan Lawrence, president of SHIFT, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that young professionals weren’t saving as much as they should be.
Young professionals don’t always have the money to be able to set aside what they need to retire.  He pointed out some of the most costly expenses in a person’s life – such as paying off student debt or starting a family – usually happens at the start of someone’s career where they are typically paid a lower salary.

“We all have different expectations of what we want when we retire,” Lawrence said. “Understanding that will determine whether or not we have to really get the ball rolling now to start saving or focus on other things like paying down debt.

“I think it comes down to balance. As young professionals, we are still in the early stages of our careers. We’re not at our highest earning bracket as of yet. Our dollars may not be readily available to us at this time but even if we make small contributions now we`ll lighten the load down the road.”