Canadian households are on track to replace only 50% of
their pre-retirement income in retirement, says new research by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC. The firm today launched a tool called a “retirement index,” which measures how financially prepared working Canadian households are for retirement.

The Fidelity retirement index tells Canadians whether they will have enough when they retire, said Peter Drake, vice president of economic and retirement research at Fidelity, in a news release.

The Index analyses the broad financial picture of Canadian households including workplace and individual savings, projected asset growth, future savings, projected government sources of income and pension benefits, expected retirement horizon and longevity. Earlier this year, Fidelity released research that concluded that individuals who want to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement should aim to replace about 80% of their pre-retirement income. The Index results show the gap between this benchmark target and where Canadians are today.

“By introducing the Fidelity retirement index, we hope to spark Canadians into action to start planning and saving for their future,” Drake added.