However, Majority (53%) Would Cut Back To Part-Time Or Occasional Work Rather Than Continue Full-Time (29%)
January 29, 2008 – Toronto, ON – A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC finds that even if they had enough money to retire, most (82%) Canadians would still continue to work. However, it appears that the nature of that work would likely change, with a majority (53%) of Canadians indicating that they would work part-time or occasional hours as opposed to continuing to work full time (29%). Just 18% of Canadians would immediately retire if they had enough money to do so.
In fact, the data also reveal that a majority (56%) of Canadians indicate that they �plan to continue working as long as possible�. More specifically, four in ten (38%) believe that they will work past the age of 65, and three quarters (72%) feel that they could return to work if they require additional income in their retirement.
* Interestingly, suggesting that one�s opinions might change over time, nearly two thirds (64%) of individuals aged 18 to 34 agree that they plan to continue working as long as possible, while six in ten (59%) Canadians aged 35 to 54, and four in ten (43%) individuals aged 55 and older plan to continue to work for as long as possible.
Perhaps the intentions of many to work past 65 years of age are grounded in various financial obligations. For example, 30% of individuals who plan to retire after the age of 65 expect that they will be supporting someone else during their retirement, compared to 22% of individuals who plan to retire at age 65 or younger and expect to be supporting someone during their retirement. Another possible explanation is that most (91%) Canadians agree that �it is important to retire debt-free�.
Similarly, nearly one half (49%) of the individuals who plan to retire after the age of 65 are concerned that they will not have done enough to save for their retirement. However, seven in ten (72%) of all individuals are confident that they will be able to return to work if they need additional income in retirement.
The poll also showed that most Canadians will not be taking full advantage of their RRSP contribution allowance for the 2007 tax year. In fact, just three in ten (30%) of those who currently have an RRSP plan to invest the maximum allowable contribution to their RRSP for this year.
These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC from Oct 23 to Nov 5, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1200 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within �2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample’s regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.
About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada’s market intelligence leader, the country’s leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca
