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Respondents said they were also concerned more rate hikes are on their way, Bozinoff said. Some 12 per cent of those surveyed said they expect the impact of higher rates to be extremely negative, a 6 percentage point increase from a similar poll conducted in August.

That said, 17 per cent believe rate hikes will have some positive aspects: You’d expect debt-free seniors to welcome higher returns on GICs and fixed-income investments. Another 38 per cent don’t think it will have an effect either way.

Bozinoff is more concerned that 26 per cent of respondents have no emergency savings, and 40 per cent have a cushion of a month or less.

Financial planners generally recommend three to six months as a hedge against job loss or other setbacks. A minority do: 14 per cent have two to three months, 9 per cent four to five months, and 13 per cent six months to a year. Only 15 per cent have a year or more and predictably, 56 per cent of the latter group are age 55 or older.

Unfortunately, the young are in a “really precarious situation,” Bozinoff said. More than a third (35 per cent) of Millennials aged 18 to 34 have no savings at all, while another 10 per cent have less than a month.

Laurie Campbell, CEO and executive director of Credit Canada, predicts “we’ll see more fallout” if rates rise another percentage point. “We’re seeing people one or two paycheques from financial disaster, with no cushion for job loss, rate hikes or to repair the roof.” Canadians now owe $1.67 for every $1 they earn, compared to 90 cents for every $1 earned back in 1990.