Working Canadians remain in the dark about their retirement plans and goals, according to a new study.
A survey by AXA Insurance found that 57% of Canadians are unable to estimate their desired retirement income with the problem getting increasingly worse the lower a person’s income.
Canadians aged between 35 and 49 seemed to be equally in the dark about their retirement goals as younger Canadians just starting out their careers. About 42% of those over 50 still did not know how to estimate their retirement income.
Robert Landry, an AXA executive vice-president, said, “These facts are worrisome because, without exception, we’re talking about groups of Canadians who are closer to retirement or who would benefit from planning their retirement more actively.”
Without knowing the amount of money they would like to have in retirement, it is not surprising that most were not certain about when they would retire. The survey found that an increasing number of Canadians believe they will be forced to retire later than they previously had hoped, with the gap between one’s ideal retirement age and one’s planned age increasing.