Two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian millennials said they worry if they buy a home and delay their savings, they won’t have enough for retirement, according to a new survey by KPMG.
However, among millennial survey respondents who do own a home, 42 per cent said they’re putting their retirement savings on hold to pay off, or pay down, their mortgage.
“The financial future for millennials is vastly different from that of previous generations,” said Martin Joyce, partner and national leader of human and social services at KPMG, in a press release. “They face unique challenges when it comes to building wealth despite having more education and income, primarily because of housing unaffordability.”
Read: Surveys show pension concerns for both Canadian millennials, seniors
The survey, which polled 2,500 Canadians, including 1,000 millennials, also found 90 per cent of this age group believe people will remain in the workforce longer and 84 per cent think the retirement age will be higher than 65.
Among all survey respondents, 77 per cent said they expect there will be a significant shortfall in retirement savings. A majority also said more Canada Pension Plan/government benefits will be required to support income needs (82 per cent), that the federal government must do more to protect pension plans (89 per cent) and that Canada will need to overhaul public and private pension and retirement savings (83 per cent).
Read: Engaging millennials in retirement requires different solutions