One in five Canadians (20%) expect to save $100,000 or less for retirement, while over one-third (35%) of Canadians intend to save $250,000 or less. according to a new Ipsos-Reid poll commissioned by Scotiabank.

The bank says that’s not enough to fund the retirement dreams of Canadians. According to calculations by Scotiabank, a 45 year-old Canadian with a current income of $50,000 retiring in 20 years would need to have saved almost $400,000 to fund a comfortable retirement.

While averages don’t tell the whole story, Ron Laursen, senior VP, Day-to-Day Banking, Scotiabank says, “It is important that people carefully review their own situation and, if there is a gap between intended savings and what is required, take a fresh look at how they are going to achieve their goals.”

The findings are consistent across age groups with 36% of 18 to 34 year-olds; 35% of 35 to 54 year-olds; and 37% of those 55 years old and above believing that $250,000 or less will be a sufficient retirement nest-egg.

“While $250,000 might sound like a lot of money to most people, it’s not that much to fund a comfortable retirement for 15 or 20 years,” says Laursen.

According to the survey, Albertans were the most aggressive in their retirement goals with 24% stating that they intend to save $1 million or more, compared to 17% in B.C., 15% in Ontario, 8% in Atlantic Canada, 7% in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and only 5% in Quebec.

The findings come from an Ipsos-Reid telephone poll conducted on behalf of Scotiabank between Dec. 9 and 11, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,055 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 3.01 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.