Forget about retiring comfortably — a growing number of workers aren’t even sure if or when they will retire, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada.
The October 27 study from the Conference Board of Canada found one-third of respondents do not know when they would be able to retire, while nearly one in five did not believe they’d ever be able to retire.
Meanwhile, 60% of respondents do not feel they have saved enough to retire comfortably.
And the results did not improve as respondents got closer to retirement age. Nearly 60% of Canadians between 55 and 64 years old also said they have not saved enough to retire.
In a statement, Conference Board of Canada Judith MacBride-King called the results “disturbing” but pointed to one positive trend.
"A good number of younger Canadians are beginning to consider their future post paid-work. About 34% indicated that planning for retirement is a priority for them — and 24% noted that they have formulated a plan to prepare for their eventual retirement."
Workers lacking funds to set off into the sunset when they hit 63.2 years old — the average planned retirement age, according to the report — were instead planning for a life that involved working as a senior as opposed to living uncomfortably.
Slightly more than 45% of respondents said they planed to work either part-time or on a contract basis past their planned retirement age.
That number jumped as respondents got older as 51% of those aged 45-64 and 60% of those more than 60 years old all said they would work past their official retirement.
