Canadians are overly optimistic in their expectations of when they will be debt-free, according to a survey released Monday.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce survey of people between the ages of 18 and 64 showed 55 as the average age people expected to be without debt.
But in the same survey, only 35% of people between the ages of 55 and 64 reported being debt-free.
The survey showed that people tended to predict they would have all their debt paid off 10 to 15 years from now.
For example, those 18 to 24 picked 32 as the average age for being debt-free, those 25 to 34 said 44, people 35 to 44 said 54, 45- to 55-year-olds said 60, and 55- to 64-year-olds said 65.
Most age groups' expectations for being debt-free appeared to be unrealistic, given the corresponding data on indebtedness. For example, while those age 25 to 34 picked 44 as when they would be without debt, only 18% of people 45 to 54 in the survey were found to be debt-free.
Moreover, 10% of those surveyed said they would never get rid of their debt, while 8% said they would be owing money into their 70s.
The survey of 2,008 people was done between June 30 and July 10 by phone. It's considered representative of the general population within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out 20.
