- BMO offers financial tips to help millennials
TORONTO, July 18, 2017 /CNW/ - BMO Wealth Management
today released a report examining the financial and non-financial
issues uniquely affecting today's millennials.
The report – "Generation Why" – found that almost one third (29
per cent) of Canadian millennials consider paying down debt as
their greatest financial concern and 23 per cent highlighted it as
their highest financial priority. Further, one in five (19 per
cent) Canadian millennials indicated that they would rather pay off
their accumulated debts before starting to save for retirement.
According to the Canadian Federation of Students, in 2015,
Canadian millennials carrying student debt owed an average of
$27,000.
"With the number of students pursuing post-secondary education
twice the number of previous generations, millennials have focused
on higher education as the best path to increase their
opportunities in a challenging and competitive employment market,"
said Chris Buttigieg, Director,
Wealth Institute, BMO Wealth Management. "However, the opportunity
to pursue further education has to be weighed against the
accumulation of additional debt, which makes the decision a
difficult one."
He added that the cohort is uniquely positioned with a strong
skill set and has an ability to grasp and use new technologies so
are able to make positive changes by virtue of their skills and
education.
Concerns about the present and future
The BMO Wealth Management Report also looked at the personal
matters that affected Canadian millennials' ability to save
including lack of job security or opportunities (63 per cent) and
uncertainty in personal relationships, such as divorces or partners
losing income (62 per cent).
In addition, Canadian millennials are focused on short-term
financial goals – 41 per cent do not consider long-term goals, like
saving for retirement, an immediate priority.
BMO offers the following financial tips for Canadian
millennials:
Insure yourself: Unforeseen events, such as illness, can
happen at any time and can cause considerable financial strain.
Insurance can help ensure plans for the future, whether they are
personal or for the family as a whole, are not derailed by
disability or other incidents.
Financial goals and planning: A financial plan will help
prioritize goals and determine the actions that can be taken to
achieve them. A financial professional can also provide information
and guidance that will help increase financial literacy specific to
any areas of concern.
Invest in an RRSP or TFSA: The BMO Wealth Management
Report found that millennials prefer to use a savings account
rather than tax-advantaged accounts such as a Registered Retirement
Savings Plan (RRSP) or Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). While
savings accounts enable easy access to accumulated funds, they do
not provide any of the additional advantages of an RRSP or
TFSA.
To view a copy of the full report, please visit
www.bmo.com/wealthreports.
To follow the discussion about this BMO Wealth Report on
Twitter, follow @BMO.
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About BMO Financial Group
Established in 1817, and
currently marking its 200th year of operations, BMO Financial Group
is a highly diversified financial services provider based in
North America. With total assets
of $719 billion as of April 30, 2017, and more than 45,000 employees,
BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking,
wealth management and investment banking products and services to
more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three
operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth
Management and BMO Capital Markets.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group