Although research from RBC Wealth Management shows that almost a third of Canadians who are approaching retirement have no financial plan, most people are optimistic about their financial future.

In its recently published Retiring in Canada report, RBC points to a poll of people aged 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000 which found that 28% of them had no financial plan.

The same survey also found that, once people are retired, they tend to have fewer concerns about money than they did in the years leading up to retirement. "Specifically, those approaching retirement expressed worries about managing their cash flow in retirement, but the majority reported no difference in cash flow once they had actually retired. While pre-retirees voiced concern about creating a regular income stream in retirement and managing their tax burden, retirees were far less anxious about it," reads the report.

In fact, RBC's research reveals that 91% of retirees were optimistic that their money would last for at least their lifetime, compared to the 79% of those approaching retirement who were of the same opinion. RBC says that this high level of optimism may mean that their retirement funds either went further than expected or that retirees were pleasantly surprised by the adequacy of their retirement income.

"These statistics also appear to support the proposition that Canadians are more financially prepared for retirement than they may initially think," concludes the report.