With Canada’s long-cherished retirement safety net seeming less sturdy all the time, a study suggests 56% of Canadians have doubts about their ability to afford the life they want during retirement.
The GfK results show Canadian women are slightly more pessimistic about their retirement finances, with 57% saying they are unsure or not confident, compared to 55% of Canadian men.
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This disparity is comparable to levels found across all 19 countries measured; globally, 57% of women were uncertain or pessimistic, versus 52% of men. But Canadian women were more likely to choose the two strongest negative answers (“disagree somewhat” or “disagree completely”)—39% for women, versus 30% for men.
Older age groups in Canada are more likely to say they not sure or lack confidence in being able to afford their ideal retirement, but the younger generations are not far behind.
More than six in ten of the 40-to-49 (64%) and 50-to-59 (63%) age segments in Canada are unsure or no confident they will have the funds they need, followed closely by the 20-to-29 (60%) and 30-to-39 groups (51%). These results are roughly in line with the global averages in the study, though the 20-to-29 level is notably high.
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Globally, people in Japan, Poland and France expressed the greatest levels of doubt about their retirements, with 74%, 68% and 68% (respectively) saying they are either uncertain or not confident about their retirements. Alternatively, respondents in China (48%) and Spain (45%) were least likely to express doubt about their retirement funding.
More than 23,000 people from 19 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States) participated in the study.
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