Although this is written from a Canadian’s perspective, the points are valid for American’s – and are excellent.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Steve
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You’ve probably seen some of those studies hectoring Canadians about not saving enough for retirement. Often they draw that conclusion after presenting a survey, such as a recent one which found “only” 48% of Canadians are currently saving for retirement. If those kinds of studies make you feel guilty for not saving or not saving enough, you’re not alone. But are those studies telling you the right thing?
Everyone knows saving for retirement is a good thing, but like many good things, it can get pushed far beyond the point of where it makes sense. The truth is, there are many situations where saving for retirement shouldn’t be a priority. That’s especially true for people in the first half of their working lives who are struggling to buy a home or cover mortgage payments while starting a family. “In order to shame people into saving, we’ve sort of developed this national obsession with trying to make everyone feel guilty about not saving quite a bit, even at young ages when there’s no natural reason why they should be doing that,” says Malcolm Hamilton, well-known retirement expert and fellow with the C. D. Howe Institute.