Half (51 per cent) of Canadian employees say they’re behind in their retirement savings and 34 per cent are worried about not having enough money saved when they retire, according to a new survey by Manulife Financial Corp.
The survey, which polled more than 1,500 employees and more than 500 retirees, found generation X (35 per cent) was least likely to be on track to retire, followed by generation Z and millennials (36 per cent) and baby boomers (42 per cent). Baby boomers were most likely to say saving for retirement is a priority (61 per cent), followed by gen Z and millennials (51 per cent) and gen X (50 per cent).
On average, workers expect to retire five years later than they’d like to. Half (50 per cent) of gen X respondents said they expect to retire later than planned in order to pay off debt, followed by baby boomers (42 per cent) and gen Z and millennials (35 per cent).
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Two-fifths (41 per cent) of respondents described their financial situation as fair or poor, while a fifth (19 per cent) described it as very good or excellent (19%). More than half considered their level of debt to be a problem and only 32 per cent said they’re concerned about their emergency savings.
The survey also noted 47 per cent of retirees left the workforce earlier than expected, at age 59 on average. However, nearly one in four early retirees said debt is a problem and these respondents indicated they’re facing more financial challenges compared to retirees who were able to retire as planned or later.
“While we used to count retirement in years, many of us can look forward to counting it in decades,” said Aimee DeCamillo, global head of retirement at Manulife, in a press release. “With life expectancy [surpassing age 80], Canadians must now plan for how they’ll live and fund two or even three decades of retirement.”
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