There is a lack of retirement readiness among workers in Canada and globally, according to a survey.
The Changing Face of Retirement: The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2013 finds that just 12% of workers globally are very optimistic that they will have enough money to live on when they are retired. In Canada, that number is slightly higher at 21%.
“The trends are clear in nearly every market—people living longer than ever before, a declining number of working-age populations to pay for those entering or already in retirement, the shift by employers from DB to DC plans, persistent global economic uncertainty, and constrained government budgets—all compounded by the fact that too few are taking sufficient action to provide for their personal financial security,” the survey says.
Read: Employee retirement readiness a priority
A key element in managing retirement risks is simply having a plan.
Unfortunately the survey shows only 37% of people have a retirement strategy. However, a majority of respondents in Canada (57%), China (67%), Germany (59%), and the United States (56%) have a retirement plan.
Today’s employees have adopted a more flexible and fluid attitude to what retiring means. The majority (64%) are planning to work until at least 65 and gradually transition into retirement rather than stopping work altogether.
Only 34% of current employees plan to stop working and retire immediately, a trend that varies by country. In France, it’s 49% compared to 22% in Canada, 23% in the United States, and 25% in China.
The survey also finds a degree of pessimism about the future. Sixty-four percent expect future generations to be worse off in retirement than current retires. Respondents in France and Hungary were the most pessimistic, with 80% expecting that to be the case, compared to 57% in Canada and just 20% in China.
The survey covers 12,000 employees and retirees in 12 countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
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