The Canadian Press

Canada’s retirement income is in pretty good shape, according to a major — and counterintuitive — research paper led by economist Jack Mintz and prepared for Friday’s federal-provincial finance ministers meeting in Whitehorse.

“The first conclusion from the research is that Canadians are, by and large, doing relatively well in ensuring that they have adequate savings for their retirement,” the report states.

Among the key findings:

• Canada’s retirement income system is one of the most adequate in the world, having reduced seniors’ poverty dramatically.

• About one-fifth of Canadians don’t have sufficient savings to maintain their standard of living once they retire, but it’s unclear precisely who and why.

• Statistics that suggest Canadian savings have dwindled over the past few decades fail to recognize that savings can take on many different forms. Household net worth was six times earnings in 2009 compared to four times earnings in 1970.

• Canadians who are not covered by company pension plans find other ways to save, and are generally able to maintain their lifestyle into retirement.

• Passive management of savings gives better returns over time than actively managed portfolios because of high management expense ratios; but it’s not clear why individuals and pension funds have a penchant for actively managed savings.