Healthcare costs in retirement are a concern for many Canadians, but few are actually taking steps to address it, according to a Sun Life Financial survey.
The survey results reveal that 65% of Canadians expect they need to spend some of their retirement income on healthcare costs, but only 37% have actually saved for this expense.
“Paying for healthcare in retirement is something that is definitely on the minds of Canadians, employers and the government,” says Brigitte Parent, Sun Life Financial Canada’s senior vice-president, group benefits.
“What we’ve seen is that Canadians are looking for ways to get ready to pay for healthcare costs in retirement and this survey reinforces that, but also highlights the fact that they are not acting on these concerns just yet.”
When asked about the amount of money needed for healthcare spending in retirement, 43% of respondents didn’t know what to expect in terms of annual costs. Amounts ranged from less than $500 to more than $13,000 a year.
A total of 1,530 full-time, part-time and self-employed people were interviewed for the survey.
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