In times of increased economic uncertainty, the number of tough financial choices facing the average person seems to rise exponentially.
Clashing priorities battle it out: Will the latest paycheque be swallowed by the mortgage, car payments and bills? Can $100 or more be spared each month for an emergency fund? Or to tuck away in the kids’ registered education savings plans as well as a registered pension plan?
When grocery bills and gas prices are up and pay raises are muted by inflation, is there even anything left after paying monthly expenses? It’s a challenging time with no hint of improvement on the horizon.
Read: Vancity using data to support employees’ financial, mental health amid rising cost of living
But these aren’t the questions of every generation. The questions above are mine — an elder millennial who relates more with generation X. Different age groups, income brackets and genders are facing these challenges in very different ways.
This is exactly why Benefits Canada rebranded the 20-year-old CAP Member Survey to the Employee Savings Survey in 2025. In its sophomore year, we still compared the results with previous years, but we also took a deeper dive into the demographic data.
At the end of March, we hosted the 2026 Employee Savings Summit, with a panel of experts sharing their views on the results by exploring the unique perspectives of different generations, genders and income groups. See the full coverage here.
Read: 2026 Employee Savings Survey: A demographic deep dive into the state of workplace savings
For the first time, we asked plan members how the cost of living has impacted their financial situation, with a majority (61 per cent) saying somewhat or very negatively. On the other hand, for several years we’ve asked respondents to rank their top financial priorities, with paying for day-to-day expenses regularly taking the top spot. This year, saving for retirement was up five percentage points —from 42 per cent to 47 per cent — and creating an emergency fund was up three percentage points — from 36 per cent to 39 per cent.
In this month’s Head to head, we asked whether it’s more important to contribute to a pension plan or an employee share ownership plan during the current cost-of-living crisis. It’s the debate I raised earlier, the choice that fluctuates between age groups: Do you save for the short term or for the long term?
A Starbucks Corp. employee highlights the merits of the organization’s stock option plan, which she uses to save for her long-term goals, as well as short-term expenses — for example, paying to attend a family reunion in Germany and to cover an unexpected vet bill. And a professor and expert in financial wellness takes a more balanced view, noting it depends on the design of the savings plan, with contribution levels and employer matches important considerations.
Of course, none of this matters if plan members don’t know anything about their workplace savings programs and the benefits of participation. The 2026 Employee Savings Survey asked members for their views on the advantages, with 12 per cent saying they don’t know. And there were other concerning ‘don’t know’ responses across the survey, all demonstrating the importance of continuous communications and financial education from plan sponsors.
Read: PepsiCo Canada enhances financial wellness strategy with personalized platform
In this month’s Employer Strategy, PepsiCo Canada shared details about its new financial wellness platform, which is designed to personalize information for plan members and helps to build confidence in financial decisions. “What matters to someone early in their career is very different from someone approaching retirement,” says the organization’s Jess Harmgardt. “The platform adapts to where you are.”
While this year’s Employee Savings Summit explored deeper data from the annual survey, plan sponsors also have access to a lot of data to help them better communicate and engage their members. In the Savings Update, EllisDon’s Marie-Lynn Bromilow shares what kind of data the organization uses to enhance engagement with its workplace savings plan.
Read: How can savings plan sponsors use data to better engage, communicate with members?
These include dashboards, quarterly reporting, annual plan reviews and plan member feedback. “We analyze a wide range of data to gain insights into participation rates and how our employees are engaging with their programs.”
For plan sponsors, it highlights the opportunities in harnessing all of this data to personalize communications, while also ensuring plan members understand the design of their savings programs and how they can be maximized to help with different financial priorities throughout their working lives.
Jennifer Paterson is the editor of Benefits Canada and the Canadian Investment Review.