Almost a third (29 per cent) of Canadians believe their employer-sponsored pension plan will be their primary source of retirement income, while 15 per cent said they’re relying on government pension plans, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest financial well-being index.
The survey, which polled 3,000 Canadian employees, found the overall financial well-being score decreased slightly to negative 2.4 from negative 2.3. Two-thirds (67 per cent) said they’re questioning how much money they’ll need in retirement and, among these respondents, 44 per cent said they’re unsure and 23 per cent said they didn’t know. The latter group had a score of negative 13, more than 10 points below the national average.
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By comparison, the highest financial well-being score (8.2) was reported by the 10 per cent who think most of their retirement income will come from personal investments. A third (32 per cent) said they know how much they’ll need to maintain their desired standard of living in retirement and this group also reported a favourable financial well-being score (7.9).
The survey also found women were 50 per cent more likely than men to indicate they don’t know how much of their pre-retirement income is needed to live comfortably in retirement. More than half (53 per cent) of employees said they most value a guaranteed monthly pension, while 34 per cent said they most value a retirement savings program with a contribution from their employer.
“Almost half of Canadians are looking to either their employer or government as their primary income support during retirement,” said Idan Shlesinger, president of retirement and financial solutions and executive vice-president at LifeWorks, in a press release. “Additionally, the majority do not know how much they need. Looking at this together, Canadians are trusting that their retirement income needs will be met. It is clear that specific planning is required. Both governments and employers are in a good position to support such planning.”