Was Dorothy right?

Canada is the number one retirement destination, for (you guessed it) Canadians. Given a choice of retiring anywhere in the world, the vast majority of working Canadians would stay in Canada — in fact, many wouldn’t even move from their current address even if they could retire in style anywhere they wanted.

A recent survey found that 78% said they plan to retire in Canada, and of those, roughly half said they would retire where they now live, while the other half would consider moving elsewhere.Of those who said “elsewhere,” the majority chose Canada — with B.C. as the top destination — while the remainder chose another country, with the U.S. as the top choice. Not surprisingly, the Royal Bank survey also found that about 60% consider their homes a major part of their retirement saving strategy.

Only 24% of adult Canadians polled said they would live somewhere other than Canada during the winter months even if they could afford it, and only 16% consider having enough money to live outside Canada during the winter a big part of their retirement planning.