Retiring "rich" is more than a matter of money for many Canadians, a new poll suggests.
While 61 per cent of Canadians rate their amount of savings as very important in deciding when to retire, lifestyle issues are emerging as significant factors, says RBC Financial Group's latest RRSP poll.
When asked how much money they need to retire rich, 40 per cent said "it's not about the money."
Fifty-four per cent of poll respondents said health-care requirements were an extremely important consideration, while 40 per cent of respondents rated planning where they will live once retired and planning what they would do in retirement as very important.
"Our research clearly shows that Canadians no longer believe money is the only key to retirement success," said Mike Reed, RBC's head of retirement client strategies.
"With longer life expectancies and increasing health-care costs, it's not surprising that health-care requirements have surfaced as a key consideration."
This doesn't mean financial security isn't important to Canadians looking ahead to their retirement years, Reed said. "It also doesn't eliminate the challenge of determining just how much money is enough to support their retirement wants and needs."
The RBC RRSP poll found that, while more Canadians than ever before are planning and saving for retirement, they're not really sure how much money they'll need for life after work.
Thirty-one per cent of Canadians do not have a specific dollar amount in mind for their retirement, but expect they will be ready to retire when they think their savings "are enough to live on. One in four believe they will be ready when they reach a specific dollar goal for their savings.
"The traditional approach to retirement planning has been to start with the money aspect first and then build a life plan around it," said Reed.
"We've learned from our clients that a more effective approach may be to have a clear view of what retirement looks like first, and then to create a financial plan that matches the needs of lifestyle goals and implement investment solutions to achieve this retirement vision."
