Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
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.
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A lot of Canadians are definitely under-prepared. Over a third don’t have any savings to speak of at retirement. But as you say, a great many Canadians over-save as well.
In the most general terms:
A third of Canadians don’t save anything for retirement, and may well have a tough time. They’re ignored by financial planning advice.
A third of Canadians put away a moderate amount ($150-400k) and manage just fine. They’re also pretty much ignored by the financial planning industry.
A third (mostly made up of the high-earning professional class) have the capacity to put away large sums for retirement. That’s the market for financial planning services. And those services have an incentive to encourage these high earners to over-save (partly by pretending the second group doesn’t exist).