A new report from Statistics Canada underscores the extent to which middle-aged Canadians are uncertain about when they will retire.

Figures from the General Social Survey released Tuesday show that nearly one-third of people in their late 40s and 50s feel they haven’t made adequate financial preparations to maintain their standard of living after they leave their job.

About 12% of Canadians aged 45 to 59 did not know when they plan to retire, and 18% said that they did not intend to ever retire. Together, these two groups represent nearly 1.4 million people, almost one-third (31%) of all non-retired Canadians aged 45 to 59.

The plans, preferences and expectations for retirement among this group will have a large impact on whether the long-established trend towards retirement at younger ages will continue, StatsCan said. It notes that the Labour Force Survey shows that since the late 1970s, the average age of retirement in Canada declined from about 65 to 61 years of age.

The survey shows a wide variation in the age at which Canadians plan to retire. About 22% said they plan on retiring before 60, another 22% said they plan on retiring between 60 and 64, and 23% said 65. Only 3% said they plan on retiring after 65. The remaining 31% said either that they don’t know when they plan on retiring, or that they do not intend to retire.

About two-thirds of Canadians approaching retirement age felt they were making adequate financial preparations to maintain their standard of living after they left their job. However, nearly one-third felt they were not making adequate financial preparations.

StatsCan said that this finding is consistent with data from the 1999 Survey on Financial Security, which showed that, given their current asset situation, about one-third of Canadians may not have saved enough to replace two-thirds of their earnings, or to generate an income in retirement that is likely to be above Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off.

The 2002 General Social Survey was conducted between February and December 2002. The survey covered almost 25,000 individuals over the age of 45 and asked questions about help provided to and received by seniors, as well as transitions to retirement and retirement experiences.