For the fifth year in a row, paying down debt tops the list as Canadian’s top financial priorities, according to a Nielson poll for CIBC.
Paying off debt is also growing as a financial concern: 22% of poll respondents said cutting debt in 2015 would their top priority, compared with 16% who said the same thing in 2014.
Meanwhile, retirement planning continues to drop further down the list. Just 5% of respondents listed saving for retirement as their top priority, compared with 7% in 2014 and 2013, 11% in 2012 and 13% in 2011.
The poll also found that boomers nearing retirement were more focused on reducing their debt load than planning for retirement. Among 45-54 year olds, 31% picked paying down debt as their main financial focus, compared with 16% of 45-54 year olds who said the same last year. For 55-64 year old respondents, 25% picked reducing debt, compared to 14% in 2013.
CIBC noted that these age groups would typically be in their “peak retirement savings years.” But the poll results suggest that preoccupation with paying down debt has nearly doubled over the past year.
@jenstden
