Average Canadian expects to be debt-free by age 55
Being debt-free is a long term financial goal for many Canadians and most surveyed in a recent CIBC poll conducted by Harris-Decima said that by age 55, they’ll be free of debt.
However, only 35 percent of current 55 to 64 year-olds are currently debt free.
A key finding of the poll shows that across all age groups, Canadians tend to believe they will be debt-free within approximately 10 to 15 years of their current age. The poll found:
- Canadians aged 18-24 believe they will be debt-free by age 32, on average
- Canadians aged 25-34 believe they will be debt-free by age 44, on average
- Canadians aged 35-44 believe they will be debt-free by age 54, on average
- Canadians aged 45-54 believe they will be debt-free by age 60, on average
- Canadians aged 55-64 believe they will be debt-free by age 65, on average
Albertans saw themselves as being debt-free at age 52 on average, the youngest age in the poll. Atlantic Canadians and residents of British Columbia were less optimistic, targeting age 58 to be debt-free, on average. In other regions of the country, respondents answered as follows: Alberta – Age 52; Manitoba and Saskatchewan – Age 56; Ontario – Age 54 and Quebec - Age 54.
The poll also revealed that a small percentage of Canadians see themselves as having debt long-term, with 8 percent of poll respondents believing they will be into their 70s before their debt is paid off, and 10 percent of respondents saying they will never be debt-free.
“A key finding in this poll is that the passage of time alone is not enough to achieve the goal of paying down your debt,” said Christina Kramer, Executive Vice President, Retail Distribution and Channel Strategy, CIBC in a statement. “Canadians with a goal of being debt free would benefit from having a realistic plan in place that includes extra payments towards their debt and a strategy to minimize their interest costs.”
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