Money falls from the family tree into the hands of retiring
boomers, RBC poll finds
Survey examines whether or not parents will leave money
to their kids
TORONTO, November 7, 2007 — More than half
of Canadians in their fifties (57 per cent) have received
or are expecting to receive money from their parents and in-laws,
according to the results of an RBC poll. As a result of the
largest and most anticipated transfer of wealth in history,
many boomers say they will do things differently than their
parents when it comes to bequeathing their wealth.
"Boomers are expected to inherit up to $1 trillion from
their parents," said Mike Reed, head, retirement and
affluent client strategy, RBC. "Given the enormous amount
of wealth that will change hands within the next decade, this
transfer needs to be managed effectively through proper planning,
particularly as people head into retirement."
Approximately three in five respondents in their fifties
(61 per cent) expect to give money, during their lifetime,
to their own adult children. Of those, more than two in three
(69 per cent) say they will do so because they want to see
their children enjoy their lives.
While a majority of those in their fifties expect to give
money to their adult children, nearly one in ten (7 per cent)
respondents say that they would not, believing that their
children need to earn their own way or wait until their parent
dies. Other respondents say that they will need the money
themselves or that their children do not handle money very
well.
Although Canadians in their fifties have considered who will
benefit from their accumulated wealth, three-in-ten (29 per
cent) feel that they have not given enough consideration to
their legacy. When contemplating their legacy, seven in ten
respondents (70 per cent) feel strongly that they want to
be remembered as a person who enjoyed time with their family.
This family focus is also reflected in the finding that four
in five of those in their fifties (81 per cent) believe that
their children are their legacy.
Despite their family orientation, boomers are not confident
that their efforts to support them will be sufficient, only
one-in-five (20 per cent) respondents in their fifties believe
they have done enough to make sure that their family will
be okay.
"One message that came through clearly in our research
is that, for most people, family comes first - and this finding
is echoed in our experience with clients who participate in
our retirement life planning program Your Future by Design,"
commented Reed.
The RBC Retiring Boomers Poll was conducted by Ipsos Reid
from August 3 to 8, 2007. The online survey was based on responses
from 1,225 adult Canadians between the ages of 50 and 59 with
household assets of $100,000 or more. With a sample of this
size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.8
percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would
have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled.
The margin of error will be larger within regions and for
other sub-groupings of the survey population.
Your Future by Design® is RBC's distinctive approach
to help clients identify, plan, and realize their goals for
retirement. With the guidance of RBC financial planners and
investment and retirement planners, Your Future by Design
helps clients create a blueprint for a successful lifestyle
and financial plan for retirement based on what is truly important
to them in key areas in life, including family, health, home,
lifestyle, work/business, mind and spirit, and legacy. To
find out more about how RBC can help build a blueprint for
the future, visit www.rbc.com/yourfuture
or call 1-866-335-4055.
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Media contacts:
Rina Cortese, RBC Wealth Management, (416) 974-6970
Jackie Braden, RBC Media Relations, (416) 974-2124
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