Some baby boomers not adequately prepared for retirement.

OTTAWA -- Almost one third of the baby boomers aged 45 to 59 years feel they haven't made adequate financial preparations to maintain their standard of living when they leave their jobs, and don't know when they will retire says the General Social Survey Social Support and aging 2002.

As well, 18 per cent of the 25,000 individuals over the age of 45 years who were surveyed between February 2002 and December 2002 said they did not intend to ever retire while 12 per cent said they did not know when they planned to retire.

In the 2001 Census, data showed slightly more than six million Canadians were aged 45 to 59 years, including the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1965, who comprised about three quarters of the six million. Consequently, in the next ten years, more Canadians than ever before will be poised to retire largely as the baby boomers move through their 50's and 60's.

The survey also notes that the "plans, preferences and expectations for retirement among this group will have a large impact on whether the long-established trend towards retiring at younger ages will continue."

Since the late 1970's the average age of retirement in Canada declined from 65 years of age to 61 years, but the boomers appear to be prepared to buck that trend with there being a wide variation in the age at which Canadians plan to retire.

Just over 22 per cent of those survey said they were planning to retire before 60 years of age while comparable portions of boomers said they plan on retiring between 60 and 64 years of age or at 65.