More Albertans Investing in their Retirement in 2013

Some interesting statistics are emerging from a new survey conducted by CIBC. Figures were released on Monday showing that 65% of the residents of Alberta are planning on contributing to their retirement funds this year. The investments will be going towards a TFSA, an RRSP or both.

This is a lot higher than the overall Canadian figures released that showed that 60% of Canadians are planning on contributing to their retirement portfolio in 2013.

According to a report released by Statistics Canada also on Monday, Calgarians showed the highest median contribution towards their RRSPs at $3900, which was higher than any other metropolitan city in Canada for 2011. There was $2 billion added to the RRSP fund from the region of Calgary during that year, which was up 1.7% over 2010's figures.

In 2011, there was a total of $34.4 billion contributed to RRSPs by Canadians, which was an increase of 1.6% over the amount contributed in 2010. Overall, the median amount contributed was $2830.

While Calgary had the highest median contribution during 2011, the highest regional figures were coming from the territories including the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut. The Yukon median contribution was $3480 to RRSPs, in the Northwest Territories it was $3450 and residents in Nunavut contributed a median of $4,750. Alberta's median RRSP contribution for 2011 was $3300.

In Alberta, of those that are planning to invest in their retirement savings this year, 37% are planning to contribute to a TFSA and an RRSP while 9% are only planning on putting money into a TFSA and 18% are only intending to make a contribution towards an RRSP.

On a national level, 28% of Canadians have expressed their intention to make a contribution to both a TFSA and an RRSP in 2013 while 13% will only be placing their money into a TFSA and 19% will be targeting only their RRSP investments.

According to CIBC Tax and Estate Planning Managing Director, Jamie Golombek, these are definitely positive numbers to see but don't actually reflect the reality of the investments that will be made. When looking back through previous years, 47% of eligible Canadians have had good intentions to invest in their retirement savings but only 26% of them actually went ahead and made the investment.

If you're planning on making a contribution this year to your retirement savings, make sure that you follow through on the plan and turn it into a reality. Don't be one of the many Canadians that has good intentions but doesn't take the actions to pull it all together. You'll thank yourself in the coming years for taking the time now to follow through.

Source: http://www.justinhavre.com/blog/more-albertans-investing-in-their-retirement-in-2013.html

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