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Originally Posted by Enoch Root
And that is valid - there is certainly some reason for skepticism, and there are certainly some advisors who put their own interests first (though I think a big part of the disconnect is that advisors work mostly with people who have significant savings, so that can skew their view of the landscape).
The flip side is that there are also a lot of people providing 'advice' who shouldn't be. The reason there is an entire industry serving this need is because there IS a need. And it is a lot more complex than simple rules of thumb. It is also very important to get good advice, to do it right. and to err on the upside. Because the alternative, not having enough, is a pretty awful way to spend your retirement years.
When you've gone through the exercise with hundreds of families, you see trends, you see mistakes, and you learn where many misconceptions lie. One of the first things you notice is that the vast majority of people under-estimate their requirements. That isn't self-serving, that's a fact.
So while I understand your skepticism, I find all the free, non-professional advice to be a much bigger problem.
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When you say the vast majority under estimate their requirements do you base that on the actual results of people retiring with to little or peoples projections of the lifestyle they want versus their current savings rates?
In terms of poverty rates the elderly have very low rates relative to the rest of Canadians. Now this is obviously because we have a UBI for old people and there is a difference between not living in poverty and living the retirement lifestyle you want. But at least from a low income perspective the elderly have fewer monetary issues than the younger demographics.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1...pid=1110013501
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Because the alternative, not having enough, is a pretty awful way to spend your retirement years.
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I think this is interesting. The assumption here is that it’s better to work more today to offset a risk of having less in the future. I think to much emphasis is made on having a bullet proof retirement plan and results in people making more sacrifices today for perceived risk. The worst case outcome of being 80 with a paid off house and just CPP OAS and GIS isn’t as bad as outcome as often made out to be.