$1.7 million needed to retire!!!!!

[Big Sky]

People might have to work a bit longer. Either that or lower their expectations.

Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/cana...rvey-1.6262927


$1.7 million seems kind of high.
Most people have trouble making RRSP contributions so the $1.7 million seems to be a bit of a stretch. I think that most people will be counting on OAS, CPP, and some RSP to get by in retirement. A paid off house can give you a bump when you decide to downsize.

People who have a paid off house and have been keeping up with RSP contributions should come close or meet the $1.7million goal.

[schreyer]

I’ve been putting away since I was in my early twenties. I still have about another 25 years of work to go before I retire. I max out what my company contributes to RRSPS’s.

I don’t plan on winning the lotto, nor do I expect to get paid if a family member passes.

I’ve read the book called The Wealthy Barber. It would be a smart move in schools to have that book being mandatory to pass.

[Trochu]

If the house is paid off, that would be a comfortable retirement. Lets say one retires at 65, average life expectancy in Canada is 82, $1.7M/17 = $100k per year. The problem is if you beat the average, live to 100 or something, $1.7M/35 = $48.5K. And the longer one lives, I'd assume the more expensive it becomes. All boils down to how long your retirement actually is, which is kinda tough to calculate.

[tirebob]

Originally Posted by Trochu

If the house is paid off, that would be a comfortable retirement. Lets say one retires at 65, average life expectancy in Canada is 82, $1.7M/17 = $100k per year. The problem is if you beat the average, live to 100 or something, $1.7M/35 = $48.5K. And the longer one lives, I'd assume the more expensive it becomes. All boils down to how long your retirement actually is, which is kinda tough to calculate.

I would think though that your 1.7mil is invested and you are making and living on the interest/dividends etc and hopefully not touching the principle, no? If you have pension as well you may not be living large, but I imagine you are living comfortably assuming you have realistic expectations.

Big difference between the guy who wants to travel the world still and buy a new Benz every 2 years versus the guy who just wants to putter away at hobbies and go fishing and hunting regularly in his truck he will probably have until the day he dies if you know what I mean...

[nick0danger]

Originally Posted by tirebob

I would think though that your 1.7mil is invested and you are making and living on the interest/dividends etc no? If you have pension as well you may not be living large, but I imagine you are living comfortably assuming you have realistic expectations.

Big difference between the guy who wants to travel the world still and buy a new Benz every 2 years versus the guy who just wants to putter away at hobbies and go fishing and hunting regularly in his truck he will probably have until the day he dies if you know what I mean...

Yup 2 million gives you 100K a year at 5%, my guy tends to get that percentage every year!

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by tirebob

I would think though that your 1.7mil is invested and you are making and living on the interest/dividends etc and hopefully not touching the principle, no?

Well, there is that....

[-JR-]

I would say that is way over board unless you are traveling overseas every two weeks and buying a new car every year and a new cabin or two I would say yes you need that . But once you hit 65 .you really slow down . You travel less and eat less etc . Those that want you to have that much are the banks and your kids so they can have it when your gone .
My co-worker retired 4years ago at 65 ,and the bank told him his $200,000 in RSP was enough to retire on . So what has changed ?

[Talking moose]

You would think that 1.7 million at age 65 invested the right way, would be easy living no matter how old you get.
Is it out of line to believe 1.7 million can work for you and not have to even touch the principal?

[Sledhead71]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

You would think that 1.7 million at age 65 invested the right way, would be easy living no matter how old you get.
Is it out of line to believe 1.7 million can work for you and not have to even touch the principal?

Absolutely, after taxes you will still be pulling 6 figures.

[Grizzly Adams1]

What's a comfortable retirement ? If you plan on continuing to live what some of us would consider an extravagant life style, your income will have to match that, but most seniors tend to reduce their expectations and expenditures as they age and physical limitations come into play.
These numbers usually come from investment bankers who have a stake in encouraging you to place as much of your hard earned dollars in their care. In the final analysis and it happens more often than we care to think, there is no guarantee that after working 40 to 50 years that there will be a nice nest egg waiting for you.

Better enjoy life as you live it, not spend it trying to achieve a certain bank balance, granted we now live longer, but the "golden Years" are a myth.

Grizz

[jungleboy]

I am going to go the WEF route. I will have nothing and I will be happy. Whether I like it or not .

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

What's a comfortable retirement ? If you plan on continuing to live what some of us would consider an extravagant life style, your income will have to match that, but most seniors tend to reduce their expectations and expenditures as they age and physical limitations come into play.
These numbers usually come from investment bankers who have a stake in encouraging you to place as much of your hard earned dollars in their care. In the final analysis and it happens more often than we care to think, there is no guarantee that after working 40 to 50 years that there will be a nice nest egg waiting for you.

Better enjoy life as you live it, not spend it trying to achieve a certain bank balance, granted we now live longer, but the "golden Years" are a myth.

Grizz

Agree. Live and enjoy while you can.

[fishnguy]

Median (after-tax) income of Canadian households was 73,000 in 2020 (source). So that would take about 25 years to save $1.7M, depositing the entire income to the savings account. So… dream on?

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Trochu

If the house is paid off, that would be a comfortable retirement. Lets say one retires at 65, average life expectancy in Canada is 82, $1.7M/17 = $100k per year. The problem is if you beat the average, live to 100 or something, $1.7M/35 = $48.5K. And the longer one lives, I'd assume the more expensive it becomes. All boils down to how long your retirement actually is, which is kinda tough to calculate.

Statistically, there is no guarantee you will live to collect your pension, I see it in the obituaries every day. Die before that magic date, that most governments are now trying to move up and your CPP contributions go to support those who outlived you, you get Nada.

Grizz

[I’d rather be outdoors]

I think that needs to really sink in for people. EVERYONE in Canada basically needs to be a millionaire to retire. How realistic is that for the general population? Don’t worry, the lieberals are more than happy to increase that number for you by recklessly spending not only yours, but your children's futures.

[tirebob]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Statistically, there is no guarantee you will live to collect your pension, I see it in the obituaries every day. Die before that magic date, that most governments are now trying to move up and your CPP contributions go to support those who outlived you, you get Nada.

Grizz

My dad worked his entire life to try and sock away enough to live a humble but secure retirement, working 6 to 7 days a week always and was not a wealthy man even remotely. He died of cancer in his early/mid sixties and never got to have even a day of retirement.

That is one of the reasons my wife and I always travelled, drank the good wine and whisky, ate the good food, etc etc. Don't get me wrong we were never irresponsible but we were never worried about saving and saving. My thought was more of one where I would do those things I wanted too while we were still young enough to enjoy them and when the day came to retire, we can say we already did all that and focus on living a nice quiet life with family and our hobbies etc and not need all the extra money to do the things we have already done.

My dad always used to tell my mom that he thought we were being impulsive and irresponsible, but my mom told me after my dad passed that near the end he confided in her that maybe it was us who did it right and he made the mistake trying to be overly responsible. I don't think there is a right or wrong to be honest, but I certainly have no regrets.

[huntinstuff]

Lol

1.7 million at 65 means a 67% chance someone will inherit 1.3 million when you die

I hear that bs daily...."oh when i tun 65 im gonna retire and travel and climb mountains and windsurf .....bull****.....

You likely will have heart meds, be unfit for travel insurance and be less interested in bikinis and more interested in a nap.......

Do things throughout life. Betting on retirement fun at 65 is a pipe dream for most

Stop buying crap you dont need with money you dont have.

[Geraldsh]

It all depends on your level of expenditure. I was told to save 11 times my annual salary. IE: if you make $80,000 you want $880,000 in savings to augment your cpp & oas. It works for me.

[Nova]

$1.7m is definitely a lot, more than I feel I need. But the article does mention it being 20% more than 2020, and I do feel the 20% increase part is certainly realistic.

The last 3 years have been an absolute morale beat down and I have little to no optimism at this point. My prior plan was to work hard until my investments hit $1m, and at that point continue working to address any needs for retirement (boat upgrade, new truck/camper or a cabin in the Flin Flon area). And then once those needs were addressed either retire entirely or maybe just look at some seasonal work like at a fishing lodge for something to do. Pre-COVID I had high hopes I could achieve that around 2030, which would have had me at least semi-retired by 45. Now, I barely give it any thought and stopped analyzing my expenditures for the time being. I don't see any point for as long as the liberals are in power, things will keep going up as long as sparkle socks keeps throwing money into the wind. Hard to even try to plan anything with the recent trends.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by schreyer

I’ve been putting away since I was in my early twenties. I still have about another 25 years of work to go before I retire. I max out what my company contributes to RRSPS’s.

I don’t plan on winning the lotto, nor do I expect to get paid if a family member passes.

I’ve read the book called The Wealthy Barber. It would be a smart move in schools to have that book being mandatory to pass.

Funny. We read that book also when we moved out. It’s been useful. It’s strategy is flexible as you age and income changes.

Too many kids these day are on the “need the newest and latest” bandwagon. The 2023 version of keeping up with the Jones’.

A iPhone 12 isn’t good enough. Need the 14. Ski jacket isn’t trendy enough. Eating out all the time. I see a lot of kids today needing to work till their 80.

[Big Sky]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Too many kids these day are on the “need the newest and latest” bandwagon. The 2023 version of keeping up with the Jones’.

A iPhone 12 isn’t good enough. Need the 14. Ski jacket isn’t trendy enough. Eating out all the time. I see a lot of kids today needing to work till their 80.

To quote the great philosopher, Cheryl Crow "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got."

[Drewski Canuck]

Is it just me, or is there an RRSP Contribution deadline fast approaching?

If you know ANYTHING about the financial services industry then you know the commissions earned from fresh deposits.

THEN there is the issue of management fees buried into the RRSP Mutual Fund you bought, which is likely an investment house owned by a BANK!!!!!

So, drink the Koolaid kids!!!

If you do not put your last nickel into the the RRSP, then the world will end.

Drewski

[eric2381]

Then put in the work and effort and manage your own RRSP account.

[walker1]

Originally Posted by Big Sky

To quote the great philosopher, Cheryl Crow "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got."

" If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad..." another from Crow!!!!

No health means no happy IMO.
The 1.7 mil does not seat everyone for the reasons listed here. So many people live outside their means and the banks love seeing people line up to borrow/rent more money!
One vital key is paying off debt as fast as you can . I recall going for a loan when I first moved here as I had an old z-24 with 300k on it ( poor mans Z28!!!)
Denied . Would not loan me $ without any investments and me with 30 grand in student loans at the time as I went out of country ( USA)for my second degree with the dollar at .68.
Times were tough.
I recall stating in my head that it was hard to invest for the future when I was in so much debt in the present!!!
I did take the advice and afforded 50 bucks a month into an RRSP and was able to secure a small loan a year later.
I thought writing a book being a recent University grad with all the debt and had the name picked out....... Trying Times!!!!

[bigbuck]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Funny. We read that book also when we moved out. It’s been useful. It’s strategy is flexible as you age and income changes.

Too many kids these day are on the “need the newest and latest” bandwagon. The 2023 version of keeping up with the Jones’.

A iPhone 12 isn’t good enough. Need the 14. Ski jacket isn’t trendy enough. Eating out all the time. I see a lot of kids today needing to work till their 80.

It is a great book. I read it at 28 years old, wish I got my hands on it 10 years earlier.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by schreyer

I’ve been putting away since I was in my early twenties. I still have about another 25 years of work to go before I retire. I max out what my company contributes to RRSPS’s.

I don’t plan on winning the lotto, nor do I expect to get paid if a family member passes.

I’ve read the book called The Wealthy Barber. It would be a smart move in schools to have that book being mandatory to pass.

That sounds similar to what I started too, age 20 started investing, age 25 bought my first fixer upper house and went from there, small baby steps with a lot of away from work sweat equity to sweeten the pot.

[Talking moose]

I put all my money into partying until I was 35.
Now I put in 18 bucks for every hour worked into rrsps.
All you skool kids and youngsters reading this I advise you go this route.
Tons of regrets but tons of fun as well.

(Don’t do this)

[Cageyc]

I don’t have 1.7 and am retired. I’m speculating but I think that this info came from investment firms that want to throw a scare into you to give them more of your hard earned $$$$$$

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Cageyc

I don’t have 1.7 and am retired. I’m speculating but I think that this info came from investment firms that want to throw a scare into you to give them more of your hard earned $$$$$$

You got er, once you don't have a mortgage, realize you can get by with one vehicle and health insurance won't cover you for travel, your income requirements decline dramatically. It's guys like Madoff that promote this crap.

"We had 32 million with Bernie, our life savings, now we can't pay the bills".

Grizz

[The Cook]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

You got er, once you don't have a mortgage, realize you can get by with one vehicle and health insurance won't cover you for travel, your income requirements decline dramatically. It's guys like Madoff that promote this crap.

"We had 32 million with Bernie, our life savings, now we can't pay the bills".

Grizz

Paid off the mortgage & line of credit the year before I retired (6.5 years ago). Without having to pay $2500 a month to the bank That money is mine and living in the most expensive town in Alberta every penny counts. We have more than enough to live (70k combined income) a normal life. Being debt free is a must for retiring happily ever after.