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By Jenny Diplock
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
As any personal trainer will tell you, a new fitness routine starts with a personalized plan and a target goal. And to improve performance, you need to train: especially in the off-season. Taking a similar approach to your retirement contribution goals can help you feel confident you’re #RetireReady.
In fact, according to a recent survey from TD, 79 per cent of working Canadians agree that reviewing their retirement contribution goals outside of RSP season is a good idea.
But even with these good intentions, the data shows just 40 per cent of working Canadians contribute regularly to their registered Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs) through pre-authorized contributions, 20 per cent don’t contribute to retirement savings at all, and nearly a third of working Canadians feel stressed out during the February RSP season.
When it comes to saving for retirement, contributing to your RSP once a year is like running a marathon without the right training. Because you’re not in the habit of saving, trying to come up with one large contribution amount just before the annual RSP deadline can be harder than contributing smaller and more manageable amounts throughout the year, potentially putting additional pressure on the rest of your finances.
To help improve your retirement readiness year-round:
1.) Start now
Retirement savings isn’t top of mind for most working Canadians in the summer, but the off-season is a great time to look at your finances, and identify your goals.
2.) Get Advice
You need someone in your corner to help you assess the right moves for you when it comes to retirement planning. Talk to a financial advisor to better understand your investing options so you can make a confident decision.
3,) Set your goals
Think about what’s important to you and how you’d like to live in retirement, and talk to a financial advisor to help you get on track or make adjustments to your plan to help meet that goal. Head to td.com/RetireReady to check out the TD Retirement Calculator to get a better idea of how you should save to retire the way you want.
4.) Make a retirement fitness plan
Decide on the investments that can help you achieve your short and long-term financial goals. Depending on your personal risk appetite, certain mutual funds offer the potential to tap into higher returns, which could be considered alongside traditional savings accounts.
5.) Use Automated Savings tools
Help yourself work towards becoming #RetireReady with a Pre-Authorized Purchase Plan, which can help you automatically invest in TD Mutual Funds at regular intervals with as little as $25 per transaction.
Jenny Diplock is Associate Vice President, Personal Savings and Investing, TD Canada Trust. TD Bank Group commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct a custom survey of 6,021 Canadians aged 18 and older. Responses were collected between February 20 and March 1, 2018. This report includes 3,653 working Canadians.
