In spite of having some of the country’s highest average household asset values, it turns out British Columbians are not particularly great at managing their wealth, according to BMO’s Wealth Management Index.
B.C. placed ninth out of 10 provinces in the ranking, which was released June 12. The only other province that scored worse was New Brunswick.
The study looked at household debt and asset levels, financial plans retirement savings, insurance plans, estate planning and contingency savings.
Households in B.C. carry the country’s highest level of debt, with an average of $103,500. The amount saved in a “rainy day fund” is $24,000 on average in this province – $10,000 less than the national average of $34,000 and the lowest in the country.
They also score the worst on how they rank the importance of their retirement preparations.
The study found that 77% of households in B.C. do not consider retirement savings to be a top priority.
The news isn’t all bad, however. B.C. households’ asset values average at $516,600 – second only to Alberta. As well, many British Columbians (65%) have a prepared estate plan, and 81% have financial strategies in place.
“It’s great to see many British Columbians are thinking about their finances and have some form of financial strategy in place,” said BMO Private Banking vice-president and managing director Jennifer Muench.
“However, the concept of wealth is multi-dimensional and includes adjusting to unexpected changes in your life and environment.”
Despite ranking so poorly in the study, many B.C. survey respondents said they felt confident about their financial preparedness.
Fifty-nine per cent said they feel would comfortable, financially, with upheavals such as job loss, retirement, getting married or having a baby.
According to the survey, Saskatchewan households are the best at managing their money, followed by Quebec and Alberta.
@EmmaHampelBIV
