Saving for retirement is a lengthy process and often involves utilizing contributions to both a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and a tax-free savings account (TFSA).

However, statistics show Canadians are saving less than four per cent of their disposable income and, despite the billions of dollars invested in RRSPs and TFSAs, have plenty of room to add more to their retirement nest eggs.

CBC News has compiled a number of important figures on retirement and financial planning in Canada. All figures are from Statistics Canada unless otherwise indicated.

5,956,010 number of Canadians who contributed to an RRSP in 2010.

26% percentage of eligible tax filers who contributed to an RRSP in 2010.

$33.9 billion total RRSP contributions in 2010 (up from $33 billion in 2009).

$717 billion total amount Canadians were entitled to contribute in 2010 (up from $671 billion in 2009).

$632.9 billion total unused RRSP contribution room.

21 million number of Canadians with unused RRSP contributions in 2010.

$2,790 median RRSP contribution in Canada in 2010 (up from $2,680 in 2009).

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Retirement savings in Canada — by the numbers

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -02/29/12)- As the February 29th deadline approaches to make a contribution to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and as part of its ongoing commitment to improving financial literacy, BMO Financial Group will be providing daily retirement tips during the month of February from BMO Retirement Institute Head Tina Di Vito's new book 52 Ways To Wreck Your Retirement...And How To Rescue It.

Tip Number 52:

Online calculators do not tell you the whole story

There are a variety of online financial calculators available today that can be useful tools to get a quick idea of whether or not you are on the right track to your retirement savings goal. Many of them provide you with a snapshot of how much your savings will grow over a number of years, and how much you should be saving to retire at your preferred time.

Calculators are simple projections based on a series of pre-set inputs and assumptions. They can give you misleading answers if you over- or under-estimate your investment returns over time.

What calculators do not offer you is personal advice. They cannot advise on whether your investments are appropriate for you, whether you have an effective estate plan, or who will care for you if you become disabled.

If you would like a realistic, personalized retirement plan that takes into account both your financial and personal goals, then consider hiring a professional financial advisor.

For more information on retirement: http://www.bmo.com/retirement.

Get the latest BMO press releases via Twitter by following @BMOmedia.

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BMO Retirement Tip of the Day: Get Personal-Online Retirement Savings Calculators Do Not Tell the Whole Story

If you're investing for retirement that is still more than 20 years away and you do not have inclination to sell when stocks take a dive, is there any advantage to owning bonds at all? Or are bonds only for scaredy cats who will sell their stocks during a market plunge? -- Tom McCarthy, Wilmington, Delaware

It's easy for long-term investors like you to think bonds are nothing more than a drag on returns and undeserving of a place in your portfolio.

After all, if you check out "Ibbotson Associates' Classic Yearbook," a compendium of stock, bond and Treasury bill returns since 1926, you'll find that stocks have not only outperformed bonds over the past 86 years -- earning an annualized return of 9.8% vs. 5.4% -- they've also beaten bonds much more often than not over rolling periods of five, 10 and 20 or more years within that span.

But I wouldn't say that there's no advantage to owning bonds. Nor would I recommend that an investor, even one in it for the long term, invest only in stocks. While history shows what happened before, it doesn't predict how things will play out in the future.

True, stocks have beaten the pants off bonds in the past. And I fully expect stocks to continue to do so over long periods in the future. But I'm not convinced enough to make an all-or-nothing bet on stocks. When dealing with uncertainty (and your retirement money), it's prudent to hedge your bets.

There's another compelling reason for long-term investors to own bonds. As impressive as stocks' gains have been, they've come with quite a bit of drama.

From March 2000 to October 2002, the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped almost 50%. It no sooner recovered when it fell again, this time by nearly 60% from October 2007 to March 2009. Over the 10-year stretch from 1999 through the end of 2008, stocks posted a negative 1.4% annualized return.

I mention these figures for two reasons. One is to prevent you from committing what Stanford professor Sam Savage calls the "flaw of averages" or the fallacy of using single numbers to represent uncertain outcomes. By focusing on stocks' long-term annualized gains, you may overlook how far they have fallen and how long they've remained depressed en route to those gains.

The other reason is that even though you think you're in for the long-haul now -- when the Dow has been on a roll -- it's been my experience that most investors feel differently when things fall apart.

People get very upset when they see the value of their retirement savings drop by half -- or more, as investors in the technology-heavy Nasdaq stock index discovered when it plummeted almost 75% from the beginning of 2000 through mid-2002. (To this day, Nasdaq is still 35% or so below its peak nearly 10 years ago.)

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Bond investing for retirement

In my industry, we do a lot of measuring.

Of course, that's a good thing because we need to know whether the retirement planning industry is helping investors move toward their retirement goals. That being said, some measurements are more valuable than others.

[See top-ranked ETFs by category ranked by U.S. News Best ETFs.]

For example, take surveys that ask employers whether they feel their employees are prepared for retirement. I'd prefer to know how plan participants are doing--to know whether retirement investors are on track to meet retirement goals.

Likewise, there are participant surveys that measure investors' confidence in retirement readiness. How confident are you that you'll have the retirement you envision? I'd rather know how close you are, numerically, to your retirement goals. There are countless examples of people throughout history who've felt confident only to return poor results.

[See Using Brokerage Windows to Expand Your 401(k) diversification]

What can you do to move beyond confidence and into the realm of knowing you're on track?

Engage in your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Know how much you're contributing and how much your employer is contributing. Pay attention to your monthly statements, your annual investment returns, your plan investing options, and your plan's other benefits, like advice and tools.

Create a retirement savings goal based on your retirement plans and your investing profile. Map your entire retirement savings strategy. Include everything. Things to consider include:

--How much do you contribute to your employer-sponsored plan now? And how much do you plan to increase your contributions over time? Does your employer contribute to your plan now, and will that change in the future?

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In Retirement Planning, Knowledge Trumps Confidence

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Dream high 2 - Ailee Nana JB and Siwoo's performance [ep 10] - Video

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -02/29/12)- Prosper.com, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace for personal loans and investments, announced today that investors seeking consistent and predictable high-yield returns in their retirement accounts can now open a new or rollover IRA at Prosper.com and earn industry-leading 10.46%(1) tax deferred returns.

Traditional, Roth, SEP and 401(k) rollovers are eligible for investing in a Prosper IRA. The minimum investment requirement is $5,000. The federal deadline to fund a Prosper.com IRA is Tuesday, April 17, 2012.

"Unfortunately, retirement portfolios have been hit hard by the volatility of the markets and many investors don't have the luxury of time to make up for losses," said Joseph Toms, Chief Investment Officer of Prosper.com. "Investors eager to boost their retirement savings can now benefit from the consistent high-yield of our industry-leading returns with the tax advantages of an IRA. The Prosper IRA is also an ideal option for younger investors seeking longer term tax-deferred growth. It's a great time to open a Prosper IRA."

Along with best-in-class seasoned returns of 10.46%, the benefits of a Prosper IRA are:

For more information, Prosper.com is hosting a free webinar on Thursday, March 15 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Prosper.com's Chief Investment Officer, Joseph Toms, and Mike Kurka, Institutional Sales Executive at Sterling Trust will lead the conversation: "Boost Your Retirement Savings: The Advantages of a Self-Directed IRA for Your Peer-to-Peer Lending Investment." Register here.

About Prosper Prosper Marketplace Inc., a peer-to-peer lending marketplace for personal loans and investments that brings together creditworthy borrowers with individual and institutional investors, allows people to invest in each other in a way that is financially and socially rewarding. Individual and institutional investors invest in minimum increments of $25 on loan listings they select. In addition to credit scores, ratings and histories, investors can consider borrowers' personal loan descriptions, endorsements from friends, and community affiliations. Prosper.com handles the servicing of the loan on behalf of the matched borrowers and investors. Prosper.com was co-founded by Chris Larsen, co-founder of E-LOAN. Prosper.com has raised $83.85 million in venture capital and is backed by financial and technology luminaries including, Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; David Silverman of Crosslink Capital, Accel Partners; CompuCredit; Omidyar Network; Capital One Co-founder Nigel Morris of QED Investors; Court Coursey of TomorrowVentures; Larry Cheng of Volition Capital.

Notes offered by Prospectus.

1. Seasoned Return calculations represent historical performance data for the Borrower Payment Dependent Notes ("Notes") issued and sold by Prosper since July 15, 2009. To be included in the calculations, Notes must be associated with a borrower loan originated more than 10 months ago; this calculation uses loans originated through February 28, 2011. Our research shows that Prosper Note returns historically have shown increased stability after they've reached ten months of age. For that reason, we provide "Seasoned Returns," defined as the Return for Notes aged 10 months or more.

To calculate the Return, all payments received on borrower loans, net of principal repayment, credit losses, and servicing costs for such loans, are aggregated and then divided by the average daily amount of aggregate outstanding principal. To annualize this cumulative return, it is divided by the dollar-weighted average age of the loans in days and then multiplied by 365.

All calculations were made as of December 31, 2011. Returns have been audited by a 3rd party for all data through September 30, 2011. Seasoned Return is not necessarily indicative of the future performance on any Notes.

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Prosper.com Brings Consistent, High-Yield 10.46% Returns to IRAs

Shopping center developer CBL & Associates announced a 5 percent hike Friday in its quarterly dividend. Chattanooga-based CBL is a member of a special class of pass-through investment vehicles known as real estate investment trusts, or REITs. These securities are often favored as income plays, and represent an excellent way for investors to gain broad exposure to real estate assets without the hassle of being a landlord.

Congress enacted legislation in 1960 that created REITs as a means of enhancing real estate investment opportunities for the general public. Recognizing the capital intensity and long-term nature inherent in large real estate ventures, Congress established a special class of ownership aimed at expanding the breadth of participation and spreading the risk of property investing.

Most large real estate trusts in the U.S. are publicly traded on the major exchanges just like other stocks and are therefore quite accessible to most investors.

Many smaller REITs are not publicly traded and hence unsuitable for all but the most sophisticated investors, owing to their inherent lack of liquidity and transparency.

To qualify as a REIT, a company must distribute at least 90 percent of its taxable income each year in the form of dividends to shareholders. In return, the company is not required to pay corporate income tax, since the profits are passed through to shareholders.

This is a considerably higher payout fraction than most companies maintain, hence dividend yields tend to be greater on average than for most common stocks.

REIT investments generally fall into one of two specific categories. Equity REITs own and often operate physical properties like shopping malls, warehouses, and industrial buildings. CBL, which owns Hamilton Place and Northgate malls, is an example of such an equity REIT.

Mortgage REITs are involved in the financing of properties through ownership of mortgages or direct lending to real estate owners.

REITs have gained wide acceptance as an essential asset class within a well diversified portfolio. Returns have demonstrated a relatively low correlation with traditional equity classes, contributing important diversification.

And historical performance has been impressive, although no guarantee of future results. Over the past three decades, the total return for equity REITs has outpaced the S&P 500 by over one percentage point per year.

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Personal Finance: REITs such as CBL offer investor benefits

HOUSTON, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. (NYSE: "KRA"), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers or "SBCs," in partnership with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) is pleased to announce the findings of The NCAT Pavement Test Track project that tested and compared the performance of Kraton HiMA technology against competing asphalt pavement technologies.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/DA58923LOGO-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/DA58923-b)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/DA58923-c)

The NCAT Pavement Test Track, a road and bridge industry-renowned, accelerated pavement-testing facility has been operating for eleven years. It is a cooperative project with individual test sections sponsored by highway transportation agencies and commercial interest groups to validate and develop new technologies for improving roadways to make them smoother, quieter, safer, last longer, and more economical. It is NCAT's proving ground to help validate those technologies in an accelerated fashion. To view an edited video about the NCAT Test Track, please click here.

Kraton Polymers sponsored test section North 7 (N7) to determine if a highly modified binder using its HiMA technology could reduce the total pavement thickness and still achieve adequate and even superior performance. Kraton kept the same gradation and mix design and simply replaced the binder, which gave the Kraton section a total thickness of 5 3/4 inches versus seven inches (18% reduction in thickness) from the control section. "Even though there is no cracking to date, NCAT has conducted an analysis based on actual pavement strain and back calculated modulus data along with laboratory fatigue tests," said Bob Kluttz, Sr. Scientist, Research and Development at Kraton Polymers. "The analysis shows many times the fatigue life of the control indicating that our thinner section may significantly outperform the control in bottom up fatigue cracking as well. At the end of the 2009-2011 trafficking cycle the average rut depth of section N7 was 2.2 mm versus 7.1 mm for the control section S9," he concluded.

"Partnerships between the NCAT Pavement Test Track and private industries such as Kraton Polymers are key to the continued success of both organizations," says Test Track Manager Buzz Powell. "Funding for projects on public roads is scarce, and the test track gives Kraton a solid proving ground for their new technologies," he concluded.

Polymer modification of asphalt binder is the government transportation agency solution of choice to enhance the durability of roads exposed to heavy traffic or harsh climates. The added performance that an asphalt binder achieves through polymer modification is required to meet the evolving expectations of drivers, road agencies and authorities, and the wider community. As pioneers in asphalt modification, Kraton Polymers leads the paving industry by offering new and innovative polymers that deliver greater performance and processability.

The current NCAT test track sponsors include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), numerous state departments of transportation and four private industry groups. NCAT's annual budget is about $5 million.

For additional information about Kraton HiMA technology, please contact Marcie Coronado at Marcie.coronado@kraton.com or 281-504-4975. For information regarding the test track and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Karen Hunley at the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Karen.hunley@auburn.edu or (334) 844-7328.

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Kraton Performance Polymers and the National Center for Asphalt Technology Announce Exceptional Performance Results of ...

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Telit Wireless Solutions (AIM: TCM.L - News), a global leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless technology, today announced a new dual GPS/GLONASS module that dramatically improves navigation performance by providing access to both the Russian GLONASS global navigation satellite system and U.S. GPS.

Telit Location Solutions new Jupiter SL869 provides three times the usual satellite visibility by accessing to up to 22 satellites compared to the six or eight satellites normally available through standard GPS, providing optimum performance for any navigation application, from personal and asset tracking to automotive solutions.

The Jupiter SL869 reduces the delay from several minutes to seconds for a navigation device to acquire its position after being powered on. The module also reduces the incidence of lost satellite coverage, especially problematic in urban areas with tall buildings, by enabling additional satellite fixes that reduces blind spots. Finally, the module enables more accurate positioning, better pinning a person, car or an assets true location on a digital map.

Accessing the combined GPS/GLONASS constellations is a major step forward in navigation, providing the best satellite geometry to obtain the most accurate position possible more often, said George Arnott, vice president, Telit Location Solutions, a business unit of Telit. The difference in performance between standard GPS and GPS/GLONASS is like night and day. Telit is proud to be one of the first OEM module providers to offer this innovation to the global market.

With the identical form factor of previous product generations, the Jupiter SL869 can easily replace standard GPS modules in devices and applications. The product also features automatic jamming immunity, automatically blocking up to eight radio frequency interferers, increasing the performance of the GPS.

With its first official product launch under the Telit umbrella, Telit Location Solutions has released a leading-edge navigation module thats destined to have a major impact on the GPS industry, said Oozi Cats, CEO of Telit. As with all Telit products, customers will also receive premier global support from design to deployment.

Formerly known as Navman Wireless OEM before being acquired by Telit in January 2012, Telit Location Solutions has more than 20 years of experience serving the GPS market and has sold millions of its high-performance Jupiter GPS modules worldwide.

For further information about Telit, visit http://www.telit.com.

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Telit Wireless Solutions Announces High-Performance GPS/GLONASS Module for Navigation Devices

So what makes consumers more willing to give out their personal information? A paper just published in the Journal of Service Researchby professors at The University of Alabama, Troy University and Loyola Marymount examined the factors that affect a consumers willingness to reveal basic and sensitive personal information online.

The researchers found four basic factors that individually, or in combination, affect the likelihood that consumers will divulge personal information. Specifically, their study suggests that (a) sensitive information is riskier to divulge and therefore less likely to be disclosed, (b) giving consumers control over how their information will be used by the firm can increase disclosure, particularly if that information is sensitive in nature, (c) customizing the web experience to provide enhanced web benefits can increase disclosure particularly if the firm also enhances consumer control and lowers consumer privacy concerns specific to their website, and (d) web strategies that lower privacy concerns can increase disclosure particularly when the requested information is sensitive.

While the acquisition of sensitive information is often the goal of online marketers, our research suggests that control, customization and trust-building activities to reduce privacy concerns are critical to convincing consumers that it is in their best interest to divulge such information, saidDr. David Mothersbaugh, professor of marketing at the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama and one of the authors of the study.

Given consumers reluctance to provide sensitive information, firms should be vigilant in obtaining the least amount of sensitive information possible, while still effectively marketing to their customers, saidDr. Sharon Beatty, professor of marketing at Culverhouse and another author of paper. They also should note the importance of building trust in their firm, as well as providing consumers control to the use of the information, before attempting to obtain this information.

Some firms are already changing their websites to conform to what the research has found. Google recently changed its privacy policy to emphasize both a consumers control over the personal information they share, as well as the perceived benefits of Google using such information.

A section called privacy tools gives consumers, according to Google, meaningful choices to protect your privacy through features like encrypted searches, incognito mode in Chrome, off-the-record chatting, and general personalization opt outs. As Google states on the website, our new policy simply makes it clear that we use data to refine and improve your experience by getting consumers better search results, ads and other content (google.com).

This is, or should be, the goal of any website, the researchers said.

New privacy policies and features to help users control personal information will help make such goals transparent and, in theory, easier to achieve, saidDr. Katherine Lemon, Accenture Professor at Boston College and editor of the journal. More firms can follow Googles lead to redesign their websites and privacy polices so they can encourage customers to willingly disclose additional information.

In recognizing the burdens of disclosure and the difficulty of overcoming consumer concerns, firms should consider, the researchers said, matching their information requests to the specific needs at hand.

A one-size-fits-all strategy to information gathering is not appropriate,Mothersbaugh said. Firms must consider both their information needs and the privacy concerns of their various consumer segments and request the least sensitive information possible for effectively marketing to each of those segments.

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Building consumer trust critical to online marketing success, researchers find