Canadians are less hopeful that they’ll be able to retire on time and free from financial burdens, finds a recent report from the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council (CPPLC).
The report released Monday from the group of public service pension plans looks at Canadians’ views on retirement and reveals a stark decline in Canadians’ confidence between 2016 and 2022.
“Many worry they could run out of money during retirement,” said CPPLC co-chair Derek Dobson in a statement. “People have been through the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living increases. The financial stress they are feeling affects workplaces and households throughout Canada.”
In 2022, Canadians were 15% less likely to express confidence in their ability to retire on time compared to 2016, the report found. Respondents also anticipated working an average of six years longer than desired and were 16% less likely to believe they could retire debt-free.
When it comes to the impact of these concerns, respondents reported that retirement stress affects their personal health (28%), career decisions (23%) and choice of employers (23%).
According to a recent survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Abacus Data, more than half of Canadians aged 55 to 64 said if inflation keeps rising, they will have to push back their intended retirement date.
The CPPLC survey showed women were 12% more likely than men to worry about running out of money during retirement.
The survey also revealed regional differences in retirement confidence, with those living in British Columbia being the least confident in maintaining their standard of living during retirement, followed closely by Ontario. Concerns about the financial impact of climate change were also prevalent among Canadians, with 71% believing it will increase their daily living costs.
“The data shows how geography, gender and access to a workplace pension may have affected Canadians’ retirement perceptions during the last six years,” Dobson said. “As a group, Canadians are less confident they will achieve their financial objectives. They are also hesitant about managing their own retirement savings.”
A report published by the C.D. Howe Institute last week argued that the federal government should provide Canadians with increased retirement savings room and allow them to defer CPP and OAS to as late as age 80 to improve overall retirement security.
About one in five Canadians without a workplace pension feel confident they can retire when they want to and maintain their standard of living, according to the CPPLC. This improved to one in three among Canadians with a workplace pension plan.
The survey, commissioned by CPPLC and conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights in September 2022, included 2,001 randomly selected Canadians representing various age groups, genders, and locations.