Seniors increasingly likely to retire in poverty, study says

Calgary millennials admit they aren't storing enoughcash awayfor their retirement years and more seniors are at risk of retiring in poverty.

While a newstudy from the Broadbent Institutefocused on those approaching retirement between the ages of 55 and 64financial experts say it highlights a trend young people who aren't planning for the future.

For many, retirement is at the back of their minds.

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Engaged couple JayMochand Gail Medley are bothmillennials.

"There's other things to think about. We've got a wedding to pay forand a mortgage so you kind of are thinking about paying all of that off before you think about retirement, which is probably stupid in the long run," said Medley.

Her fianc says he feelslike there is still plenty of time.

"I think our generation is probably a lot less prepared than the generationsbefore. I look at my grandparents and my parents and they're set," saidMoch.

Dig out of debt

Daniel Harrison dug himself out of a debt burden when he was 20-years-old;anexperience that helped launch his career with planning firmFinancial Strategies.

He specializes in helpingothermillennialsmanage their moneyand says most of his clients aren't properly educated about retirement.

"People are left to just kind of to figure it out for themselves," said Harrison.

He says people put off saving or paying down debt until they are closer to retirement"that'swhen they start to realizethen it's too late to really do anything."

In order to improve his personal finances he consulted banks and switched his focus from earning more to controlling hisspending and says he's in better shape for the future.

Report findings

Researchers with theBroadbentinstitute found that only 15 -20 per cent of middle-income Canadians who are retiring without an employer pension have saved enough to retire comfortably.

About 47 per cent of Canadians don't have a pension from their employerand that number drops among younger workers.

That means the number of seniors who slip into poverty will worsen in the decades aheadas moreseniors are becoming dependent on government programs like Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, the report says.

Angela Lock, a bankruptcy specialist with Grant Thornton Ltd.,says there's a generational gap when it comes to managing debt and saving.

"Seniors carry a lot more guilt and a lot more stress, as a contrastthe younger people don't carry that same sense," she said.

The report's author is urgingfederal government to move quickly on CPP reform and to think about enhancing the GIS benefit for both singles and couples entering retirement to reduce their chances ofslipping into poverty.