Help clients erase debts before retirement

Most Canadians expect to erase their debts by age 53, finds a new CIBC poll.

That’s an improvement over the bank’s 2011 poll, which indicated the average age was 55. So, despite a steady climb in consumer debt levels, people are more optimistic about their earning power and spending habits.

Read: The ABCs of cash flow planning: U is for Unification, for more on how to discuss debt restructuring

Currently, most people between the ages of 55 and 64 (67%) are still carrying debt, compared to 64% in 2011. The top types of debt are lines of credit (40%), mortgages (32%), credit cards (29%) and car loans (25%).

Read: Are your clients as wealthy as they claim?

To cut down on amounts owed, people have:

• made sacrifices and cut spending (46%);
• implemented household budgets (41%);
• made at least one lump-sum payment on top of regular payments (40%); and
• worked with an advisor (16%), though 25% haven’t sought help.

“Few Canadians are…having conversation[s] about how to reduce their debt[s] with advisors,” says Christina Kramer, executive vice president of Retail and Business Banking at CIBC. “But most…would benefit from sitting down with [someone] who can look at their personal situations and help them work out realistic plan[s].”

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