With debt levels per person higher than ever before, there is an alarming trend of employees who do not possess the regulation or tools to responsibly save for a stable retirement. This also causes high levels of stress for people, which trickles down into their everyday lives.
In response to this challenge, we created a unique position at Green Benefits Group to offer our clients’ workforce a personal, financial solution – a Financial Health Specialist. This program is a complimentary service and an opportunity for our clients to support the financial wellbeing of their employees.
Significantly, millennials are worried about their finances more than any other age group, according to BlackRock study.1 58% of people ages 18 to 34 said they are too focused on their current financial situation to save for their future, and 47% of respondents to a survey conducted on behalf of insolvency firm MNP said they don’t expect to be able to cover basic living expenses over the next year without taking on more debt. A slightly greater proportion (48%) of respondents said they have less than $200 remaining at the end of the month after covering living expenses and debt payments.
You have options and we are here to help!
Introducing Trevor Kearns. Trevor has been in the financial services industry for almost two decades. Having worked for a number of banking institutions in numerous customer-facing roles, Trevor brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience to financial planning. Trevor earned his Certified Financial Planner® (CFP)* designation in 2012 and uses his financial planning expertise to give every mortgage client their full financial picture and find the best product for their financial goals.
Contact Trevor to get started on a financial future designed just for you.
Green Benefits Group focuses on how individuals or families obtain, budget, save and spend their monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events.
Below are just some of the tools we use in our financial planning process to assist you in your goals:
Individual life insurance
Mortgage Insurance
Segregated fund policies, RRSPs
Payout annuities, RRIFs and LIFs
TFSAs (Tax Free Savings Account)
Leveraged loans
Tax and estate Planning
*A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is a formal recognition of expertise in the areas of financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and retirement.
Financial Statistics:
More than 60% of Canadians are concerned they’ll outlive their retirement savings and 45% don’t feel confident they’ll be able to afford the post-work lifestyle they want, according to a new survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc.2
The worry of outliving retirement savings is a concern for solo retirees as well, according to a survey by TD Bank Group. Some 2,500 Canadian adults responded to the survey, 699 of whom are older than 40 and single, widowed, divorced, separated or never married. Of that cohort, 456 said they plan to live alone in retirement. The TD survey found a majority of respondents are worried about outliving their retirement savings, with concerns ranging from increasing daily living expenses (63%), not having enough money for necessities (41%) and rising health-care costs (39%).3
80% of Canadians would take pension over salary hike. “It is clear that Canadians have a high level of anxiety around retirement security and that we, as a country, need to talk about how to address this growing concern,” said HOOPP president and CEO Jim Keohane. Nearly half (49%) of respondents who don’t have a workplace pension plan say they’ve saved nothing for retirement.4
Nearly Half of Canadians (48%) are $200 or less away from financial insolvency. After paying all their bills and debt obligations, Canadians are, on average, left with $557 at the end of the month, a drop of $142 from last wave in June and its lowest level since 2016. Nationally, men (down $211 to $662) and those aged 18-34 (down $278 to $508) have seen the biggest decreases in terms of absolute dollar terms. On top of that nearly half (48%) of Canadians are $200 or less away from financial insolvency (+4), a proportion that already includes 29% who already cannot meet their debt obligations and are insolvent at month-end (+4).5
Yet most Canadians are not saving enough money to start. Canadians over 50 with investable assets of less than $100,000 want to save $574,000 for retirement yet are more than $500,000 short of their goal. Those with investable assets of $100,000 or more are aiming to save $949,000 yet are still $275,000 short.6
References: 1 CNBC online; BlackRock poll: February 12, 2019 2 RBC poll; RBC website: July 2019 3 Benefits Canada: January 23, 2018 4 BNN Bloomberg: October 9, 2019 5 IPSOS website: October 28, 2019 6 RBC poll; RBC website: July 2019
