Canadians Have Had to Change Their Retirement Plans

Almost half of Canadians have had to change their retirement plans due to economic factors out of their control.

At a time when cost of living is having a major impact on Canadian’s lives, our latest national survey aimed to explore the topic of retirement. When asked at what age they plan to retire, one third (35%) plan on retiring before the age of 65 and three in ten (30%) plan on retiring after 65.

Of the Canadians who plan on retiring after 65, most plan on retiring between the ages of 65 and 69, with much smaller proportions thinking it will be after 70 or even after 75 before they retire. Millennials and Gen Xers are the least likely to see retirement as an option they will ever be able to undertake (14% and 12% respectively), with only a small number of either Boomers (4%) or Gen Z (4%) thinking they will be unable to retire.

Just under half of Canadians (46%) have had to change retirement plans due to economic factors out of their control. Interestingly, income level had no major impact on these results, showing that economic factors seem to be affecting all income levels when it comes to retirement.

Results are somewhat split when it comes to how comfortable Canadians believe they will be living during retirement. Overall, about one third (35%) of Canadians believe they will be more comfortable during their retirement years than they are now, whereas 28% believe they will be less comfortable and 37% believe they will be as comfortable during their retirement years. Compared to other provinces, those in Compared to women, men are significantly more likely to believe they will be more comfortable during retirement (40% and 30% respectively).

As for what factors influence having a happy retirement, Canadians value being healthy above all else. Quebec residents placed the most importance on health compared to those in all other provinces. Financial stability followed very close behind, with all ages and genders valuing it to a very similar degree. Canadians feel that having close connections to friends and family is less important, and that participating in activities, hobbies and social engagements is the least important factor when it comes to having a happy retirement.

Results are from an online survey conducted in partnership between Narrative Research and the Logit Group. The survey was conducted between March 12 and 14, 2024 with 1,230 Canadians, 18 years of age or older from the Logit Group’s online Canadian Omnibus. Data were weighted based on the 2016 Census, by gender, age, and region to reflect actual population distribution, and data tables are available upon request.

The questions asked were:

At what age do you plan to retire?
Do you expect your retirement years to be more comfortable, as comfortable or less comfortable than your lifestyle today?
Have you had to change retirement plans due to economic factors out of your control?
In your view, what are the most important factors in order to have a happy retirement? Please rank the following factors by dragging them into order, where 1 is most important and 4 is least important.

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Chapman, COO & Partner, Narrative Research – 902.493.3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca or Sam Pisani, Managing Partner, Logit Group – 416.629.4116, sam.pisani@logitgroup.com.

Narrative Research is a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned research company, certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE). Narrative Research provides clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services.

The Logit Group is a leading North American data collection and market research execution company headquartered in Toronto, conducting large-scale projects for a variety of well-known research agencies and brands. Logit employs industry-best technologies.