Many Canadians in their 30s, 40s not saving enough for retirement

[CaptainCrunch]

You young punks are all the same dagnabbit. You owe us, we built this gosh darn country from the ground up.

Just shaddup and pay.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

You young punks are all the same dagnabbit. You owe us, we built this gosh darn country from the ground up.

Just shaddup and pay.

I refuse to pay for your snark, old man.

[blankall]

I think a large part of the problem is the career options available to people this age. Entry level positions simply do not exist like they used to. Roles that would otherwise be available to young people are still occupied by baby boomers.

I am not talking about lazy young people sitting on their ass either. I am talking about people with degrees in teaching, engineering, law, medicine, etc... they are often forced to pick up work sparingly and barely keep afloat.

The same goes for many young people I know who have become firemen, tradesman, etc..

The full time work is simply not available for them.

[CaptainCrunch]

Oh you'll pay . . . you'll all pay.

Add one Kybosh to the list. Yes sir, when it comes to pay, you'd better look me in the eye and say "Yes sir . . . the bills paid in full"

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by blankall

I think a large part of the problem is the career options available to people this age. Entry level positions simply do not exist like they used to. Roles that would otherwise be available to young people are still occupied by baby boomers.

I am not talking about lazy young people sitting on their ass either. I am talking about people with degrees in teaching, engineering, law, medicine, etc... they are often forced to pick up work sparingly and barely keep afloat.

The same goes for many young people I know who have become firemen, tradesman, etc..

The full time work is simply not available for them.

Partially right. I also blame the fact that our society has become incredibly consumer and credit based.

I was always told to put 10% of my paycheck away. Sometimes it tough but I do that.

Too many people buy to much stuff, consider credit cards as found money and then can't put money away because their trying to keep on top of their bills both neccessary and un neccessary.

I think there's also a sector that believes they'll be dead long before retirement so why save for it.

[SeeGeeWhy]

I would guess that most consider their house (i.e. home equity) their retirement savings.

Why peel cash away into some crappy mutual fund when you can burn down your mortgage principle? Real estate always goes up, right guys?

[Komskies]

I have some friends with really poor spending/saving habits. They've been working full time for 3-4 years and barely have enough money to go to the bar to watch a Flames game. Makes me wonder where all the money goes.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Partially right. I also blame the fact that our society has become incredibly consumer and credit based.

I was always told to put 10% of my paycheck away. Sometimes it tough but I do that.

Too many people buy to much stuff, consider credit cards as found money and then can't put money away because their trying to keep on top of their bills both neccessary and un neccessary.

I think there's also a sector that believes they'll be dead long before retirement so why save for it.

I think the housing market is reflective of this as well, many people got locked into making payments that are much larger than they can afford. In turn, they can't put any money away. A prime example is a friend of mine who bought the exact same design/specs of townhome that I did, only 2 years prior. He paid $368k, I paid $270k.

[Traditional_Ale]

I feel bad for young professionals or tradespeople. Crackberries, vehicles, tools, gas, insurance, student loan payment...add in rent, bills, and groceries and I don't see how anyone in an entry level or beginner position could afford to save for beer, let alone retirement.

[troutman]

At least we don`t have crippling student loans like young professionals in the US.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Partially right. I also blame the fact that our society has become incredibly consumer and credit based.

I was always told to put 10% of my paycheck away. Sometimes it tough but I do that.

Too many people buy to much stuff, consider credit cards as found money and then can't put money away because their trying to keep on top of their bills both neccessary and un neccessary.

I think there's also a sector that believes they'll be dead long before retirement so why save for it.

I agree with this. The problem isn't really an income problem, it's a spending problem. Consumer culture encourages people to live beyond their means and steal from their future for current consumption.

[Phaneuf3]

Old people don't need financial support. They need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be extracted for our personal use.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Old people don't need financial support. They need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be extracted for our personal use.

[Traditional_Ale]

^



EDIT: FAWK, Frank beat me to it.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by troutman

At least we don`t have crippling student loans like young professionals in the US.

Absolutely, that is a really big advantage for Canadians. I payed less than 10K for my 4 years of undergrad tuition....and then payed 30k/per year for grad school in the US. And I'm pretty luck. I know more than a few people around my age (late 20's/early 30's) who have over 100k in school loans to pay off. That's pretty crippling stuff, especially since most of them are not in high-earning categories of employment.

And that's just college. Depending on where you are, private school is often the only option if you don't want your kids going to Ghetto Elementary. A friend of mine is paying 15k a year to send his kid to a PRE-SCHOOL. Imagine doing that a year for 18+ years...per child.

Some pretty hefty bills there. All before you even count health insurance.

[AtlantaMissesItsFlames]

I saved a ton not having to buy playoff tickets this year.

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

I agree with this. The problem isn't really an income problem, it's a spending problem. Consumer culture encourages people to live beyond their means and steal from their future for current consumption.

Yeah, the front line people I work with often have the 'it's so hard to get by' attitude, while wearing their $200 jeans and talking on their new cell phone 10000 minutes a month planning their next trip to Hawaii. I've worked 20 years to get to the point where I can afford all that comfortably, but when I didn't have the money, I just couldn't do it.

It just seems like some people feel they are entitled to a certain standard of living, and if their income can't support it then they 'have' to use up credit to live the way they feel they should.

To be clear, this is not a 'young people these days' comment. There are many motivated, hard working, responsible people that are in their teens or twenties, and lazy entitled people at any age.

[Sylvanfan]

For all the flack my generation gets for spending...I really don't know where I can cut my current spending.

I mean I make a decent wage, the only debt I have is 3 more vehicle payments, after which I won't even have that. I don't own a house because the prices in the Okanagan are crazy. I might eat out twice a week, and often thats lunch for my wife and I at a place like Tim's coming to under $15. But seriously I can't come up with the $2000 a month after taxes that I'll require to have enough money saved to comfortable retire 35 years from now for my wife and I. By the time I pay rent and utilities, insure one vehicle for us to drive and feed my family, as well as maintain some of the stuff we own, I don't have that much left over. Since I was 20 years old I put away anywhere between $5000 and $15,000 towards retirement every year until last year, and I'm still short of a retirement goal of stopping work at 60, and having an inflation adusted income of $35000 a year for 30 years.

I mean I guess I could give up my two dogs and save like $150 a month, but that extra $1800 a year in RRSP savings truely represents so little, it's not worth it for me. I don't buy flashy clothes, fart I hardly buy clothes ever and if I do they're on sale, I might play 12 rounds of golf a year. I did pay $325 to play Rec hockey this past year, so I guess I should put that to retirement as well as my $30 slow pitch fees. I don't see the point of living like a poverty level lifestyle so I can save enough to retire at 60. I'll take my chances that I have to work till I'm 75 and at least eat three meals a day, and enjoy the odd thing while I'm still able to.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

For all the flack my generation gets for spending...I really don't know where I can cut my current spending.

I mean I make a decent wage, the only debt I have is 3 more vehicle payments, after which I won't even have that. I don't own a house because the prices in the Okanagan are crazy. I might eat out twice a week, and often thats lunch for my wife and I at a place like Tim's coming to under $15. But seriously I can't come up with the $2000 a month after taxes that I'll require to have enough money saved to comfortable retire 35 years from now for my wife and I. By the time I pay rent and utilities, insure one vehicle for us to drive and feed my family, as well as maintain some of the stuff we own, I don't have that much left over. Since I was 20 years old I put away anywhere between $5000 and $15,000 towards retirement every year until last year, and I'm still short of a retirement goal of stopping work at 60, and having an inflation adusted income of $35000 a year for 30 years.

I mean I guess I could give up my two dogs and save like $150 a month, but that extra $1800 a year in RRSP savings truely represents so little, it's not worth it for me. I don't see the point of living like a poverty level lifestyle so I can save enough to retire at 60. I'll take my chances that I have to work till I'm 75 and at least eat three meals a day, and enjoy the odd thing while I'm still able to.

I think this illustrates the point very well.

I think most of the consumers other posters are referring to are single peopel who don't have children or mortgages.

Essentially what is happening is that the idea of owning a home or havign kids is becomming totally out of sight. They push back the deadline for these things further and further until they just say screw it and go out and buy a pair of 200 dollar jeans instead.

The logic behind that might seem a little fuzzy, but the reality of the situation produces these results. Saving 150 dollars on jeans is not giong to get you anywhere closer to buying a 500k townhome or even a 400k condo.

[habernac]

I put away some, but I'm putting way too much faith in what I'll get for inheritance.