Are you ready for retirement?Do you feel you have enough money for retirement? As part of Investor Education Month, we recently released new research on Canadians and their financial readiness for retirement and behaviour towards investment opportunities.
Findings in our 2010 Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Survey on Retirement and Investing show that:
- Alberta investors are more likely to believe they will have enough money to meet their retirement needs (60 per cent) as compared to their non-investing counterparts (24 per cent). Nationally, the numbers are 63 per cent and 31 per cent respectively;
- a higher percentage of Albertans have investments set aside for the future (69 per cent) as compared to the rest of Canadians (62 per cent); and
- Albertans were more likely to do more research on an investment offering high returns recommended by a friend, family member, co-worker or member of a group they were associated with (56 per cent) as compared to other Canadians (44 per cent nationally).
We’re encouraged by these survey results, as it shows Albertans are doing their homework before investing in riskier investments. Want to know what you can do before you invest? Here are three top tips for protecting your retirement money:
1. Do a background check on any individual or company offering you an investment opportunity.
2. Be familiar with tactics used by investment scammers such as affinity fraud, cold calls and advertising. You can use the ASC’s resource, Investment Fraud: How to Protect Your Retirement to learn more.
3. Contact the ASC if you think you have been approached with a suspicious or fraudulent investment. Call toll free 1-877-355-4488 or email inquiries@asc.ca.
Remember, it’s your money. Take your time to Check First and do your research.
To find out more about Albertans and their investing behaviours, read the full Final Report and the News Release.