Last Year was Good for RRSP Holders

The 10^th annual RRSP survey conducted for BMO Bank of Montreal showed that the number of Canadians with a registered retirement account rose from 60 to 69-percent last year. That’s a significant number.

And the average amount in the account rose by $10,000 or roughly nine-percent last year – a result of the strong performance in equity markets.

This new-found popularity earned kudos from the financial experts at BMO who said it was encouraging to see Canadians focusing more intently on retirement savings. Here in Saskatchewan, the average held in an RRSP was $92,000 which was the lowest in the nation.

When asked about their retirement and saving plans, the majority of respondents said they planned to retire at 62 years of age although one-quarter had no idea when they’d pack it up. And there is no certainty about just how much money a person needs to fund their retirement. When pushed on the subject the answer they gave was somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million. And there is generational gap: millennials figure it was $1.7 million…boomers under $1 million.