As Canadians struggle to make ends meet and manage growing debt, they’re increasing putting their future financial plans — including retirement — on the back burner, according to a new survey by BDO Canada.
The survey, which polled more than 2,000 Canadians, found more — 39 per cent compared to 31 per cent in 2018 — said they have no retirement savings, including 32 per cent of baby boomers and seniors.
Read: Majority of Canadians worried about level of retirement savings: survey
Meanwhile, 38 per cent of generation X said they have no retirement savings, compared to 33 per cent in 2018. Almost half (47 per cent) said they can’t afford to save for retirement and 19 per cent said they need to pay off debts first.
“An increasing number of Canadians in their 40s and 50s are financially stretched and unprepared for retirement and unexpected costs,” said Doug Jones, president of BDO Canada’s financial recovery services practice, in a press release. “This can lead to a greater reliance on debt to support living expenses.”
The majority (82 per cent) of working Canadians said they think younger generations will have to work longer than the generation before them, compared to 75 per cent who said the same in 2018. And 69 per cent of survey respondents said that, even if they save, they still won’t have enough to last through their retirement years, compared to 64 per cent who said the same in 2018.
Read: Four ideas to mitigate challenges of Canada’s retirement savings gap