New retirees pay it (way) forward

By MoneySense Staff on June 16, 2010
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Retiring baby boomers are finding that debt is following them

This article is 11 years old. Some details may be outdated.

Today the Financial Post introduces us to James and Jane Kennedy. 59 years old and recently retired from good jobs, they should be enjoying their golden years. Instead, they’re $70,000 in debt, thanks to too-little savings and a mistaken assumption that their home would appreciate in value enough to cover their debts. The Kennedys aren’t alone. More and more Canadians are carrying untenable levels of debt into retirement, and a number of factors are cited — from a baby boom generation more comfortable with credit than their parents to overly-early retirement. And according to a 2007 report by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, there’s a 40% chance that an average Canadian retiring at 55 will run out of savings by 85, and a 90% chance of being broke altogether at 95.