Should personal savings be emphasized and employer pension plans ended? This question is on nearly everyone's lips these days, especially for members of a pension plan having financial problems. Yet the answer is clear: NO!
Nothing beats a pension plan offered by an employer!
It's unfortunate, but financial planning for retirement is often an afterthought. Most Quebeckers do not know how much they will need to save for retirement. Are they planning blind? Are they saving enough?
Contributing to a pension plan forces you to save systematically. And since the employer also makes contributions in most cases, the amount saved increases quickly. In addition, group savings
- deliver better returns than personal savings
- provide immediate tax benefits through payroll deductions
- have preferential management fees.
Understanding your pension plan is important but not necessarily easy.
This being said, you always need to know where your money's going. Take the time to review your statement of benefits. You could be in for a surprise! You may find that you need additional savings. For most of us, public plans do not provide enough to maintain your standard of living in retirement.
Everyone retires. So you may as well as take advantage of all the savings vehicles available to ensure you can retire comfortably.