Gen Z investing in RRSPs earlier than previous generations: IG Wealth Management

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Gen Z is putting money into a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) earlier than any previous generation, according to numbers from IG Wealth Management.

The numbers show 18 per cent of Gen Z – who are typically 18 to 25 years old - started an RRSP in their late teen years, at around 15 to 19 years old.

Meantime, the data shows 21 per cent started between the ages of 20 and 24.

This is higher than any other generations in those same age groups, with 13 per cent and 17 per cent for Millennials, seven and 14 per cent for Gen X and nine and 11 per cent for Baby Boomers.

Christine Van Cauwenberghe, the head of financial planning at IG Wealth Management, said she is not surprised by the data.

"I think that people in the Gen Z generation, they've got a lot of competing demands. There's lots of things that they need to make sure it's taken care of," said Van Cauwenberghe.

"They don't expect the government or a long-term employer to take care of them long-term the way, perhaps, a Baby Boomer may have expected to retire with a defined benefit pension plan."

She said each generation's willingness to start saving depends on the environment they are born into.

"I think for Boomers, a lot of them grew up in an environment where the next generation always continually did better than the last one. So I think there's a lot of optimism there."

She adds finding the right way to save is unique to every single person and is based on what their expectations for retirement are.

"I think that you really need to look at your own personal situation and say, 'what's important for me?'"

Van Cauwenberghe said future generations can learn from Gen Z and see the importance of starting an RRSP as soon as possible.

HOW TO START SAVING FOR RETIREMENT?

While a number of people have started to save for retirement, there are still those who have yet to do so.

According to the data, 59 per cent of Gen Z respondents didn’t have an RRSP, while 31 per cent of Millennials were in the same boat. A smaller amount of Gen Xers hadn’t established the retirement savings plan yet, at 22 per cent, and 16 per cent of Baby Boomers said they too didn’t have RRSPs.

Van Cauwenberghe said it's never too late to start saving, and people need to take one small step at a time.

"The best time is to start today, and the next best time is to start tomorrow and just take baby steps. Don't think about it in terms of having to save one huge lump sum."

She recommends getting a financial advisor to set up a plan that works best for you.

"I think there are lots of people when they go see a financial planner and they run the numbers, and they sort of work backwards, and they see how much they have to save on a monthly basis and break it down into a smaller digestible piece - they realize really, it’s not as big a deal as they thought."

If people still want to contribute to an RRSP for the 2022 tax season, contributions can be made before March 1 and they will be able to claim it on their 2022 tax return, as long as it's below their maximum contribution.