“Canadians are trying to do the right things financially, but many still feel uncertain about retirement,” said Kevin Fahey, acting CEO, plan manager, and CIO at CAAT Pension Plan. “Our research suggests the retirement system increasingly places the burden of navigating complex financial decisions and long-term risk on individuals themselves. Even people who are actively saving and planning can find that difficult to manage with confidence over time.”
The income difference between pension holders and those without is considerable.
Retired households with pension income report average annual earnings of $85,735, compared with $52,570 for retirees without a pension. The gap is even more pronounced at the median level, $75,000 versus $25,000, suggesting the benefit extends across the distribution rather than being concentrated among high earners.
The research also documents a widespread tendency among pre-retirees to adapt to retirement uncertainty not by saving more aggressively, but by pushing back their expected retirement date. The average ideal retirement age across respondents is 60, while the average expected retirement age is 67. That seven-year gap holds consistent across age cohorts from 18 to 59.
Workplace plans
More than half of non-retired Canadians, 58%, say the absence of a workplace pension directly limits their ability to build retirement savings. One third of retirees say the same lack of access held them back earlier in life, and 68% of retirees without a pension say they wish they had been able to contribute to one.
