Edmonton - Saving for retirement remains a challenge for many Albertans. The latest edition of ATB’s Investor Beat surveyed Albertans on their financial outlook finding half of those surveyed are worried they haven’t saved enough for retirement and almost one third believe they will be over 70 years old before they can retire.

Despite these concerns, only 28 per cent of Albertans surveyed are contributing regularly to their RRSPs and 17 per cent of respondents say they have a documented financial plan to help them achieve their goals. An unsettled stock market, lingering economic uncertainty and challenging oil prices are likely exacerbating the financial pinch felt by Albertans to reach their retirement goals.

“Making money in investment markets is never easy, and it’s even harder when markets are as volatile as they have been lately,” said Chris Turchansky, President of ATB Wealth. “Emotions can erode the willpower to keep to your investment plan and lead to reactive decisions that can have a lasting impact on investors’ long-term financial goals, including retirement. While discipline is hard, my advice to Albertans is to have a solid financial plan and stick to it.”

For many retirees and those nearing retirement, uncertain markets can affect their nest egg, especially if they’re dependent on their Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and RRSPs as income. For Albertans surveyed who have not yet retired, 51 per cent want to retire between the ages of 60 and 69. Of the Albertans surveyed who are saving or have saved for retirement, 45 per cent started to save for retirement before turning 30.

“Starting to invest at an early age allows people to position themselves to reach their long-term financial goals, such as retirement,” said Turchansky. “But it’s never too late. I encourage Albertans to seek professional financial advice to not only have an investment plan to reach their goals, but to help navigate market cycles and ensure they’re making confident financial choices, not emotional ones.”

Other highlights of this quarter’s ATB Investor Beat survey include: Pessimism about the oil market continues, likely due to frustrations around pipeline construction and declining oil prices.

While retirement continues to be the top financial goal, it’s closely followed by the desire to pay down debt (49 per cent) and to spend less (44 per cent). Only half of respondents openly talk to their spouse or other family members about their financial decisions and plans.

ATB’s Investor Beat survey was conducted by Ipsos November 7-21, 2018 and involved 1,000 participants. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Find full results at atb.com/InvestorBeat

To schedule an interview with the President of ATB Wealth Chris Turchansky, please contact:

Karin Põldaas
Communications Director
ATB Financial
403-660-5296
kpoldaas@atb.com​

About ATB Financial

With $54.3 billion in assets, ATB Financial is an Alberta-based financial institution. But don't let that fool you—we're so much more than a bank. We got started in 1938 to help Albertans through tough economic times, and today we have 175 branches, 144 agencies, a Client Care Centre, four entrepreneur centres, and mobile and online banking. And did you know we're fast becoming the digital bank and the bank for entrepreneurs? We're already the place to work for our more than 5,400 team members who love to serve our 760,000-plus customers in 247 Alberta communities.

About ATB Wealth

ATB Wealth is the wealth management division of ATB Financial. Our team consists of the experts, products and services formerly offered by ATB Investor Services and Alberta Private Client. By integrating investments with private banking services, we are able to understand Albertans’ goals and challenges to deliver personalized wealth solutions and advice.