Malcolm Hamilton
An area man, Malcolm Hamilton, has written an alternative view of how well Canadians are preparing themselves for retirement. Mr. Hamilton is a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute and was previously a partner for many years at Mercer, the pension specialist firm. He disagrees with forecasters who say people do not save enough and concludes that these gloomy analysts are looking at the facts in the wrong way. He says that many more young people are buying a home rather than just putting a few dollars into an RRSP Mortgages show up in most surveys as consumer debt. But paying off the mortgage builds equity. It is among the most effective method of saving known. As to retiring Boomers, Hamilton says too many analysts miscalculate what it costs to live in retirement, adding in expenses like the cost of kids, mortgage payments and work expenses, These costs typically don’t apply to retirees. Hamilton says these two interpretations are giving a false reading on savings rates. He says most Canadians will have a comfortable future with a combination of pensions, savings and Old Age Security (OAS). Report
