A survey shows that Canadians will have an extra 2,000 hours a year when they retire, and most of them don't know what they will do with it.

When people leave their jobs, they will have an average of 2,000 free hours on their hands each year since they won't be spending it at work. A recent survey of 1,500 working Canadians age 50 or older conducted for RBC shows that 73% of them don't know what they will do with all this extra time.

The poll revealed that although 64% had done at least some financial planning for their retirement, fewer than half had considered the kind of life they want to live. RBC says that just 46% have thought about what kind of activities they will do in retirement, and only 44% have thought about where they will live and where they will travel,

In fact, the majority of those surveyed plan to stay put when they finish working; 61% of the respondents expect to remain in their current home when they retire, with 28% of this group planning on carrying out some renovations, while 33% want to downsize to a smaller home.

“Too often, the word ‘retirement’ is tied to the money, rather than to the life you hope to lead when you retire,” comments Bill Hill, national financial planning consultant and retirement designer at RBC, “You should start by asking yourself, ‘What do I want to do when I retire?’ If you’re part of a couple, have you discussed each other’s hopes for retirement – or are you assuming your partner fully agrees with what you personally want to do? If you’re an individual, have you thought about what will be truly important to you when you retire?”