How to save for retirement
Canadians are diverse in many ways, including their choices of employment, the distances they’re willing to commute for work, or even their favourite coffee chain. But one thing most of us have in common is that, at some point, we want to retire
and be able to enjoy life after work.
While it is a positive goal, retirement is one of life's biggest expenses and saving for it isn't easy. Most Canadians simply are not saving enough or preparing as well as they could be. To help address
that, we have identified five value drivers that, used individually or in combination, can help your money do more and go further to help keep Canadians on a path to a more affordable retirement.
Source: The Value of a Good Pension
Saving - Be a disciplined saver.
Saving for retirement early and consistently can significantly reduce the overall cost and enhance your ability to retire comfortably.
It is important to be aware of all the potential factors that could impact your ability to save, like:
- life events
- wage changes
- spending habits
- focusing on current needs.
Fees and costs - Keep more money in your pocket.
Canada has among the highest mutual fund fees in the world. Over a lifetime, these fees can significantly reduce your overall returns.
Our research shows that investment fees and costs can add as much as $275,000 to the total cost of retirement when compared to the more cost-efficient Canada-model pension plans (which use all five value drivers in unison).
Lower your
fees and costs and keep more of your money working for you.
Investment discipline - Avoid bad behaviour.
Studies show that when it comes to investing, individual investors have a “striking ability to do the wrong thing.”* Managing a retirement fund over a working career requires a level of discipline to avoid common psychological traps
that frequently plague investors.
If you choose to go it alone, it’s even more important to be aware of common investment traps. Our research shows that traps like “Buy low, sell high”, “loss aversion” and “market timing” can cost the
average Canadian $116,000 in foregone performance over their saving lifetime. Having professional money managers helps – when the experts do the heavy lifting, you have more time to focus on saving and enjoying life.
*Andrea Frazzini and Owen Lamont, “Dumb Money: Mutual Fund Flows and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns” (2008)
Fiduciary governance - Putting investor interests first.
Individuals managing their own money will try to do what’s best for them financially, but when working with outside advisors, fiduciary governance lets savers know that their interests are put first.
Having your money managed by experts at an institution that has a fiduciary duty to member investors can generate better results than investing in retail funds managed under a profit-driven model.
Risk pooling - There's strength in numbers.
Risk pooling involves combining money with others in a single pool, with the ultimate goal of reducing risks – specifically, longevity risk (the risk of outliving your money) and investment risk.
Risk pooling, of all five value drivers, has the largest impact on retirement savings and, according to our research, it can reduce the amount individuals need to save over their working life by almost $400,000.
Learn more
For more information on the five value drivers and HOOPP’s efforts towards advocating for more affordable retirement, take a moment to read Improving Retirement Affordability.
This document provides a simplified overview of HOOPP's benefits based on the terms of the HOOPP Plan Text at the time of publication. From time to time, HOOPP may amend the HOOPP Plan Text. In cases where the information provided in this document differs from that contained in the HOOPP Plan Text, the HOOPP Plan Text will govern. More details, including the full HOOPP Plan Text and a complete description of the Plan and its benefits, can be found on hoopp.com.
What can we help you find?