The majority of Canadian made or planned to make contributions to their RRSPs before last Friday’s deadline, according to the results of a BMO study released this weekend.
BMO Financial Group’s fourth annual Post-RRSP Deadline Study found that 63% of Canadians made a contribution – up 25 percentage points from last year, when 38% of respondents said they would contribute.
“It’s encouraging to see that the number of Canadians who contributed to an RRSP is up this year,” said Christ Buttigleg, senior manager, wealth planning strategy, BMO Financial Group.
“People need to remember than planning and saving for retirement should not be limited to the month prior to the annual RRSP deadline.”
The study did find, however, that the average amount contributed was significantly lower – $3,544 this year, compared with $4,644. This is a decrease of 24%.
The study asked respondents what motivated them to make a contribution, and found that:
- 35% said it made them feel good about themselves;
- 31% are worried about not having enough money for retirement; and
- 17% had extra money and felt it would make sense to invest it in their RRSP.
