Seniors and newcomers have higher than average financial confidence

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By The IJ Staff | Nov. 18, 2019, 2:33 p.m.

Photo: Freepik

Overall, Canadians are feeling slightly less financially confident in 2019 versus the same period a year ago, according to a new survey released by IG Wealth Management on Nov. 18. The second annual IG Financial Confidence Index, conducted in partnership with Ipsos Canada, showed the Index dipping three points (from 59 to 56) compared to last year.

However, the survey also indicated that newcomers (people who have been in Canada less than 3 years) and seniors (Canadians aged 65+) both posted higher Index scores (66 and 64, respectively) than the national average.

“Newcomers are more confident (than the average) that they will be able to achieve their financial goals and reported being less anxious about their finances while seniors are more likely to feel satisfied with the financial decisions they have made and to review their finances on a regular basis,” says IG Wealth Management.

The annual Index tracks and reports on Canadians overall financial confidence through six survey questions, which account for short-term and long-term financial considerations.

Unique challenges

"It's encouraging to see that both seniors and newcomers scored higher than the national average when it comes to their level of financial confidence, especially since both groups have many unique challenges," said Jeff Carney, President and CEO, IG Wealth Management. "For example, many Canadians are so focused on saving for retirement that they don't realize how complicated retirement can be including developing an RRSP withdrawal strategy and taxation optimization. And those who are new to Canada face a variety of challenges, including understanding new financial systems, savings, taxation and getting access to credit to get their families settled."

IG Wealth Management says Canadians' overall confidence in areas related to macro-economics – such as the stock market and overall performance of the Canadian and global economies – remain largely unchanged from 2018. What contributed to the small decline year-over-year, are areas related to personal finance.