An equal amount of Canadians believe they need $25,000 or less for retirement as those who say they’ll need between $1 and $5 million, according to a recent survey conducted by Sun Life Financial.

The wide range in estimates of one’s retirement savings is backed up, said Sun Life, by the fact that 43% of Canadians said they didn’t know how much they needed to save for retirement.

A little more than half of working Canadians expect to be retired for at least 20 years, and yet the survey revealed that nearly nine million working Canadians don’t know how many years they’ll need their retirement savings to last.

According to the survey Canadians would love to retire between 55 and 60 years old, but don’t expect to be able to until they are between 65 and 70.

“These results are sobering, but synching up your ‘wants’ with your ‘expectations’ when it comes to retirement is achievable for most people,” said Kevin Strain, senior vice president, individual insurance and investments, at Sun Life Financial Canada. “Especially now, when market volatility and retirement savings are top of mind, it’s important to take that next step and work with an expert to develop a financial plan that will help you reach your retirement goals,” he added.

Running out of retirement money is becoming one of the most significant concerns that individuals have expressed about retirement. Three-quarters of employed Canadians contribute to some type of registered retirement savings plan, according to this survey.

However, beyond that, respondents didn’t know how much they’d need to save or for how long. When asked about their most pressing retirement concerns, not saving enough money to retire was top of the list, followed closely by a worry that they would outlive their savings.

Overall, the survey results suggest that Canadians expect to retire while they are young enough to enjoy their retirement years, but haven’t necessarily taken the steps to work with a financial advisor to build their savings and create a financial plan.

The survey was conducted by Omnitel, a division of Maritz Research, for Sun Life Financial.