Canadians still concerned about having sufficient income to maintain their lifestyle in retirement: Russell Financial Health Index

• Above all, Canadians are concerned about their health and their spouse's health

TORONTO, April 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Strong performance by the financial markets and the economy so far this year has Canadians feeling a bit better about their overall financial health, but the latest Russell Financial Health Index (RFHI) shows that Canadians remained concerned about having sufficient income for their desired lifestyle in retirement, and are particularly concerned about the financial impact of a medical issue or the death of a spouse.

Overall, for the first quarter of 2012, the Russell Financial Health Index - an online calculator that gauges the financial health of Canadian investors around retirement - rose slightly to 47.62, up from the previous quarter of 47.08, to the highest level in more than a year.

"Financial markets have had a good start to the year and that's helped Canadians feel a little better about their financial security in retirement," said Bob Leeming, Director of Client Solutions, Russell Investments Canada. "But as baby boomers head into their retirement years, they're starting to worry about issues such as their health and their spouse's health. Changes to benefit plans and government programs are having a huge impact on the ability to address all expenses, for example, medical costs, so it's not surprising that the Russell Financial Health Index is reflecting those issues."

The results of the latest RFHI indicate that although investor confidence is returning, Canadians still have real concerns about their financial health in retirement, pointing to the need for financial plans that incorporate multi-asset solutions to help individual investors meet their investment goals.

Interested in finding out how your financial health measures up versus an average Canadian investor? Visit the Russell Financial Health Index at www.russell.com/ca/My_Retirement.

About the Russell Financial Health Index

The Russell Financial Health Index gathers its data from a confidential web survey, which takes approximately five minutes to complete. Based on a user's answers, a Financial Health Score is assigned, which can be measured against the scores of other Canadian investors who have used the tool.

Each score is a result of analyzing variables that include physical health, personal finances, unexpected events and financial planning. Respondents are also asked questions related to how prepared they feel to ride out changes in their long term investment performance before and during retirement.

Findings from the Index will be used to assess and report findings, on a quarterly basis, about how Canadians perceive their financial health, as they deal with different economic environments and changes in their lives.

Important Information:

Nothing in this publication is intended to constitute legal, tax securities or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. This is a publication of Russell Investments Canada Limited and has been prepared solely for information purposes. It is made available on an "as is" basis. Russell Investments Canada Limited does not make any warranty or representation regarding the information.

Russell Investments and the Russell Investments logo are registered trademarks of Frank Russell Company, used under license by Russell Investments Canada Limited.

Copyright Russell Investments 2012. All rights reserved. This material is proprietary and may not be reproduced, transferred, or distributed in any form without prior written permission from Russell Investments.

RETAIL-2012-04-26-0146 (EXP-12-12)

About Russell Investments

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offer actively managed, multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Working with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals, Russell's core capabilities extend across capital markets insights, manager research, Indices, portfolio implementation and portfolio construction.

Russell has about C$155 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/12) and works with 2,400 institutional clients, more than 580 independent distribution partners and advisors, and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2.4 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 12/31/11).  It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 2,200 managers around the world. Russell traded more than $1.5 trillion in 2011 through its implementation services business. Russell calculates more than 80,000 benchmarks daily covering 98 percent of the investable market globally, 85 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $3.9 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indices. 

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, Russell and has offices in around the world including Amsterdam, Auckland, Beijing, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow us @Russell_News.

Media contact: Beja Rodeck at 416-825-2125
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