More Canadians over 40 are planning to delay retirement, according to a new survey conducted for Desjardins Financial.
Approximately 42% of respondents said they'll postpone their retirement by an average of 5.9 years due to the recent market turmoil. This was especially true for women. More than half of female respondents said they'll be delaying retirement compared with 36% of men.
The results are a significant shift from responses to similar surveys conducted by Desjardins in June and August, which found that Canadians were still confident about their financial security and retirement plans.
The survey found that Canadians are becoming more cautious about their financial decisions as 47% of respondents said they were concerned about the financial strength of their financial institutions; 40% said they were concerned about investment returns.
In the earlier surveys, respondents said they'd be reducing everyday expenses to increase their retirement savings. More than 80% of respondents said they'd postpone a major purchase or expense to avoid the use of credit, and 77% said they'd take fewer expensive vacations.
Almost 70% of respondents said they'd reduce their car use and start bringing bagged lunches from home rather than eating out.