Over 54% of respondents age 45-plus have concerns about the economic uncertainty and how it may affect their retirement savings, according to a poll conducted recently by Sun Life Financial Inc. with its new partner CARP, a 350,000-member organization supporting a new vision of aging for Canada.

Over 5,400 CARP members responded over a two-day period to this poll on their attitudes towards retirement planning in today’s climate. The overall uncertainty in the economy weighs heavily on their minds, with a majority confirming they are anxious about saving enough.

When it comes to retirement planning, the survey also found:

  • Over 33% worry about losing money due to market downturns.
  • Over 30% fear unexpected events that create extra expenses.
  • Despite concerns, over 69% are confident that they have a plan to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.
  • Over 30% are concerned about keeping their lifestyle and believe their plan needs some work.

This poll marked the first joint initiative under this exclusive partnership between CARP and Sun Life Financial, which is now CARP’s recommended financial services partner. This partnership will bring the organization’s 350,000 members access to Sun Life Financial advisors and services such as financial advice, retirement planning, and estate planning.

“These poll results reflect some concerns that we are hearing from our clients in the 45-plus age bracket about the economic challenges,” says Kevin Dougherty, president, Sun Life Financial Canada.

Both CARP and Sun Life Financial have initiatives underway to help Canadians start planning sooner for their retirement.

Moses Znaimer, CARP president and ZoomerMedia Limited founder and CEO, said they wanted to partner with a national financial services company built on a strong foundation.

“Generally speaking CARP members are living longer and better than ever. Many have planned or are mindful about the need to plan for their complete, or semi, retirement; but are concerned about the world situation’s impact on their savings and the possibility of outliving their money. That’s why we’ve been extremely careful about selecting our financial services partner. So we looked long, we looked hard, and we finally found Sun Life Financial, a company with a 140-year history and tremendous and trusted coverage of advisors across Canada,” said Znaimer.

The Sun Life Financial and CARP Poll was conducted from October 18 – 20. Over 5,400 CARP members responded to a survey emailed to 76,000 members.