WATCH: Financial experts say the lack of RRSP line-ups on deadline day is a troubling sign for personal finances. Ted Chernecki reports.
Today is the deadline to make your 2014 RRSP contribution.
Polls indicate Canadians are not taking advantage of the investment program like they once did.
“Things have been slowing down over the last couple of years,” says Frederic Chalut, an investment advisor with Vancity.
In Vancouver between the years 2000 and 2012, the number of residents under the age of 45 buying RRSPs dropped 9.7 per cent. In Victoria, the number dropped 11.2 per cent. Seventy-five per cent of those younger than 45 make no RRSP contributions whatsoever.
National numbers suggest only 16 per cent of Canadians had already made their entire RRSP contributions for 2014, and 16 per cent intended to still make contributions before the deadline.
“Part of the reason might be Canadians are in debt right now and there’s a choice to make,” says Chalut. “Do you pay down your mortgage a bit faster or do you keep contributing to RRSPs?”
Ask Vancouverites about how they plan to fund their retirement and they’ll likely point to the equity built up in their property. But Chalut and other investment advisors warn of putting all your eggs in one basket.
The best advice, they say, is to diversify your retirement investments and it’s never too late to start.
For last-minute RRSP advice, visit Global’s Smart Money page.
WATCH: RRSP advice from Global’s Smart Money series
-with files from Ted Chernecki
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