Despite a year of economic uncertainty and volatile stock markets, Canadians intend to maintain contributions to RRSPs this year, according to an Investor's Group survey released Tuesday.
More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) plan to contribute the same amount or more to their RRSP than they did last year.
Of the 24% of Canadians who opened a tax-free savings account this year, 81% say they plan to invest the same amount or more in their TFSA next year.
However, while Canadians plan to save the same amount, what they are investing in has changed.
About 44% said they would choose what they consider to be safer investments this RRSP season, a sharp increase from the 19% who said in 2007 they targeted more conservative investments.
More than a quarter (28%) of pre-retirees say they plan to invest more cautiously in response to the economic uncertainty compared to 21% who said the same a year ago.
The recession, however, has impacted the retirement plans of households hit by job loss.
More than half (54%) of Canadians who have lost their jobs expect to retire later than they originally planned and 30% expect they will have to work after they retire.