Four out of 10 Canadians say they’re not saving enough each month for their retirement, and the same number of people do not have a workplace pension, according to a new Nanos/CTV News survey.
Less than a quarter of those surveyed said they save enough for retirement.
“Think of it this way: If you are walking down Main Street, Canada, four out of every 10 Canadians have a dark cloud hanging over them in terms of retirement and pension and how they are going to live as seniors,” pollster Nik Nanos said.
“That is a very dramatic number.”
Still, more than half said they likely won’t need to work after age 65 in order to pay for their living expenses. More than 60 per cent said they are confident or “somewhat confident” that they will be able to comfortably retire at 65.
More than 70 per cent also said that recently-announced changes to the Canada Pension Plan will not affect their retirement plans. Last month, the federal government and most of the provinces and territories agreed to a number of changes to the CPP, including increased premiums on employers and employees, starting in 2019.
The federal budget, tabled in March, also returned the age of eligibility for Old Age Security pension to 65.
Only five per cent of those surveyed said the CPP changes will impact their retirement plans.
When it comes to workplace pensions, 41 per cent said they don’t have one. Thirty-one per cent said they have a workplace pension and just over a quarter said they have one, but are not currently receiving benefits.
One expert says a good way to start saving for retirement is by putting aside about six to seven per cent of each paycheque.
“If you haven’t started by your 40s, you’d better get started,” Karen Diamond of Diamond Retirement Planning told CTV News.
Nanos conducted a random hybrid phone (cellphones and landlines) and online survey of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 and older, between June 28 and 30. The margin of error was 1.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
With a report from CTV’s Jill Macyshon
