This Valentine's Day, commit to financial security. Love yourself enough to start planning your retirement now.

TORONTO, February 14, 2008 - It may be the height of RRSP season, but chances are that today, many Canadians won't be thinking about investments; they'll be thinking about romantic dinners. In fact, according to a national study recently published by Desjardins Financial Security, many Canadians seem to be inclined to spend more time choosing a new exotic restaurant than planning for their retirement years.

According to the annual DFS retirement survey, the proportion of workers 40 and over who say they have a savings accumulation plan is down to a low of 53%, compared to 62% of respondents in 2006. The rate drops even lower for workers 40 and over with only a high school education (42%), for those with household incomes of $50,000 or less (27%) and personal savings of $25,000 or less, and for those who consider their physical condition to be poor or fair (21%).

"It is disappointing, but not surprising" says Monique Tremblay, Senior Vice President, Savings and Segregated Funds, at Desjardins Financial Security. "People tell us that they can't imagine their lives five or ten years down the line, let alone 30 or 40! Our challenge is not only to communicate a certain sense of urgency, but also to show them it can be fun and easy to save by giving them tangible strategies they can use today to start on the road to a financially secure retirement."

The survey also indicates that 28% of workers 40 and over who had a retirement savings management plan had prepared it themselves. While there is a considerable amount of financial information available nowadays, one might wonder if those plans take into consideration a variety of factors and risks that can have an impact on the yield and longevity of their nest eggs, such as market-related factors (e.g., inflation), rising life expectancies and healthcare costs.

Tremblay adds, "In the years leading to retirement, many feel like they have all the time in the world to plan and prepare for life after work. One unfortunate consequence of this is that many Canadians entering retirement do not have adequate savings in place or a prepared plan that specifies not only how they will use their savings to generate retirement income, but also how they will pay for the expensive care they might need in the last few years of their lives."

So this Valentine's Day, Canadians may want to consider buying some simple chocolates and preparing a nice meal themselves and trading the expensive dinners for the ultimate show of self-love: a hundred bucks in their RRSP and a renewed focus on how they can better prepare for their future.

About the Survey

SOM Surveys, Opinion Polls and Marketing conducted the survey on behalf of Desjardins Financial Security between July 24 and August 31, 2007. In total, 1,505 interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Canadian adults. The sampling plan provides proportional estimates with a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 2.6% at a 95% confidence level (19 times out of 20). For more details on the survey results, please visit www.rethinkretirement.ca.

About Desjardins Financial Security

Desjardins Financial Security, a subsidiary of Desjardins Group, the largest integrated cooperative financial group in Canada, specializes in individual and group life and health insurance, as well as retirement savings products and services. Every day, over 5 million Canadians rely on Desjardins Financial Security to ensure their financial security. Desjardins Financial Security employs over 3,700 people and administers over $22.0 billion in assets from offices in several cities across the country including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec, Lévis, Halifax and St. John's. For more information, visit www.desjardinsfinancialsecurity.com.

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