For the most part, Canadians are getting the income they expect from their retirement plans — and they’re satisfied with it — according to a recent survey from Morneau Sobeco.
Many organizations sponsor pension plans that comfortably exceed the expectations of employees.
There were 217 responses, with 60% from the private sector and 40% from the public sector.
When it comes to retirement income, about half (49%) felt the target should be high enough to maintain a decent standard of living, but not necessarily as high as their pre-retirement way of life.
Exactly half (50%) felt that an acceptable retirement income would allow employees to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.
“In most cases, public sector expectations were significantly lower than what their pension plans actually delivered,” said Fred Vettese, chief actuary for Morneau Sobeco.
There wasn’t much difference between the expectations of workers in the public sector and private sector.
Most employees believed they should reach their target retirement income between the ages of 62-64.
Only 11% said the target should be achievable before age 60.
“It suggests there is no such thing as a normal retirement age any more but rather a range of ages from approximately 60 to beyond 65,” Vettese said.
