Retirement

As I experience this business more and more, I sometimes have to stop and take a look at what it is that I really do. I have a couple that are clients, they are really nice people, seem to have their heads on straight, but had no idea that they should have started saving for their retirement a long time ago. It dawned on me that maybe, just maybe if I hadn't knocked on their door that fateful morning, that they would have gone 10 more years before thinking about their retirement. Now, just so this is out there, I don't think of myself as the be-all and end-all of Financial Advisors...yet. I'm sure someone at their bank would have eventually mentioned something to them...maybe.

Sadly, in todays economy, things are so darn expensive that the last thing on people's minds are how they're going to feed themselves when they retire. They're too busy worrying about the mortgage, the car payment, the kid's college and the list goes on and on and on.

I read an article last week on retirement that said that the average Canadian will retire with just over $60,000 in RRSP's. Now, that may seem like a decent amount, but keep in mind that that is all of the income that you'll have to live on for the next 20 years...unless you want to be a Walmart greeter. There is something like $490 Billion in unused RRSP Contribution room all accross Canada.

I try to tell each and every person I meet that their retirement should be top of mind every year. So, my advice to everyone reading this who is at any stage pre-retirement, whether you're just starting out or whether your knocking on retirement's door, call your Investment Advisor and come up with a plan, heck, call me (as long as you live in Ontario) and I can help.

I know this sounds like a horrible sales pitch, but it's not. In my line of work I see people and hear about people who don't plan ahead, and really pay for it...literally. They work themselves too hard trying to fund a retirement that just won't be very enjoyable. We work too hard when we're young to have to work hard when we're older.

Nobody plans to fail, but sadly, many people fail to plan.