Canadians fear retirement savings will run out

Nearly one-third of Canadian retirees are worried that they'll run out of money over the long term, even though they are generally satisfied with the current quality of retirement, says a new poll by CIBC.

The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing and released on Monday, found that 69 per cent of retired Canadians say the quality of their retirement is what they had hoped for. However, 28 per cent said they are afraid of running out of money over the longer term.

British Columbia retirees were among the most afraid (45 per cent) of running out of money to sustain certain lifestyles, while Atlantic Canadians were among the least likely (21 per cent) to be worried about running out of money.

"While it is positive to see that a majority of retired Canadians are living the retirement they hoped for, our poll findings also show there is concern around whether their retirement savings will sustain them in the years to come," says Christina Kramer, executive vice president, retail distribution and channel strategy at CIBC.

Kramer added there are some unique factors facing retirees including low interest rates on savings and the need to make their retirement funds last longer than previous generations, which makes long-range planning even more important.

The results also showed that more than half of retired Canadians indicate that a short-term financial shock could cause cash flow problems, with 54 per cent saying they would not be able to handle an unexpected extra payment of $500 a month given their current budget. Of that figure, 34 per cent said it would be very unmanageable and 19 per cent said it would be somewhat unmanageable.

The poll was conducted online and used a sample of 867 pre-retirees and retirees between over a period of four days in late September, according to a CIBC release.