As they approach retirement, Canada’s younger boomers (aged 50-59) are focusing on health concerns over finances, with 70% ranking changes to their physical health highest on the list of top challenges they expect to face as retirees, according to the RBC Retirement Myths & Realities Poll.
Finances ranked a distant second, with 57% expecting changes to income to be a challenge during retirement. Within these rankings, men (73%) are particularly concerned about changes to their health, compared to women (66%).
The RBC poll, now in its fourth year, continues to underline how expectations don’t always match realities. For example, while four-in-10 younger boomers (40%) don’t expect health or disability constraints to ever change their lifestyle or independence, almost three-in-10 (27%) report that a significant health issue or decline has affected them or someone in their family within the past year.
Read: Too many boomers retire with debt
At the same time, 42% of these younger boomers responded that being a caregiver to another adult was a support role they had already performed, were doing now or expected to do in future. Some of the impact of that caregiving, already experienced or expected by younger boomers, include:
- Significant increase in stress levels (50%)
- Significant out-of-pocket expenses (24%)
- Moving/making accommodation changes (18%)
- Reducing number of paid hours worked (15%)