A recent survey reveals that 46% of Canadians aged 50 or older say they are not confident that Canada’s current system of pensions and retirement savings will be able to provide them with a comfortable retirement income.

A further 37% of Canadians aged 50 plus say they are ‘somewhat confident’, with only 15% expressing that they are ‘very’ or ‘completely’ confident in the current system, according to the survey conducted by TNS Canadian Facts.

Men (18%) tend to express slightly greater confidence in the Canadian pension system than women do (11%).

Answering the question “how well do you think the current pension system meets Canadians’ needs?” the results are even more startling: fully two out of every three Canadians aged 50 or more (67%) respond “not well, or not very well, and that some reform (47%) or extensive reform (20%) is needed.

Support was very strong (82%) for a three reform proposals, including: increasing contribution limits for Tax Free Savings Accounts; having pension surplus belong to employees, not employers; and having Canada Pension Plan benefits guaranteed against bankruptcy.

In addition giving self-employed Canadians the right to voluntary supplementary CPP contributions and benefits is supported by 80% of Canadians 50 years or older; and 76% support giving pensioners priority in the event of bankruptcy proceedings.

“Clearly, many Canadians are approaching their retirement years with considerable trepidation,” explains Norman Baillie-David, vice president of TNS Canadian Facts, member of the firm’s Finance Sector practice.

“Obviously recent events have many people very concerned, and I think we are seeing a build-up of grass roots support for some action,” he says.

The survey also reveals that not only are Canadians concerned, but that they are
Forty-one per cent say they will increase their own savings and investments to lessen reliance on employer and government pensions, with 60% of those individuals indicating they will increase their RRSPs, 47% of them saying they will use savings accounts, and 46% using TFSAs (respondents were allowed several answers).

“We’re starting to see shifts in support for change to how pensions are managed in this country, but many aren’t sitting around and waiting to see what happens. Many people are taking their own initiative to manage their retirement finances by increasing their own savings and investments,” says Baillie-David.

“We may be seeing a tipping point, with substantial implications for both politicians and the financial industry in terms of how pension savings are managed.”

For the study, a national sample of Canadian adults was randomly selected from TNS Canadian Facts’ Internet research panel and invited to complete an online survey. In total, 584 Canadians aged 50 years or older completed the survey between February 11 and 16. The survey data were weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the Canadian population aged 18 years and older.

IE