Canadians say they are less prepared for the realities of retirement than their international peers.
An HSBC survey finds four in 10 Canadians are not confident in their ability to maintain a comfortable retirement, which is somewhat above the global average of 35%.
“The global research suggests that Canadians may not be feeling the tailwinds of the economic downturn on their retirement savings simply because the chill of too much debt and a high cost of living is taking precedence,” says Betty Miao, executive vice-president and head of retail banking and wealth management with HSBC Bank Canada.
Read: Canadians without a pension aren’t saving more
“Despite signs that the global economy picked up in 2014, only 24% of Canadians surveyed have been able to save more for retirement this past year than in the previous year—well below the global average of 40%,” she adds.
In fact, the majority (52%) of Canadians say paying off their mortgage or other debts is stopping them from adequately preparing for retirement, and 33% of Canadian respondents say they are less able to save money today than they were just one year ago—compared with a global average of 27%.
Read: Canadians want to pay down debt
Canadians are also bucking global trends when it comes to building retirement income in addition to government and private pension plans. Thirty-nine percent of Canadians plan to fund their retirement in part through investment properties—well below the global average of 65%.
More than 16,000 people—including 1,000 Canadians—from 15 countries and territories took part in the survey.
Also read: