About three in ten (29 per cent) Canadians who plan to retire within the next two years expect to carry a mortgage into retirement, according to a recent Royal LePage survey conducted by Leger.
Royal LePage said the shift reflects broader housing trends and financial pressures. Canada's ongoing affordability crisis is prompting many to delay homeownership, which in turn leads to more retirees still paying off mortgages.
“The benefits of entering retirement as a homeowner with a paid-off mortgage are clear: more disposable income, insulation from interest-rate changes and even the emotional security that comes from knowing you’ll always have a place to live,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, in a May 27 statement.
Nearly half (45 per cent) of Canadians planning to retire in the next two years say they have already paid off their mortgage, according the survey. An additional six per cent expect to be mortgage-free before they retire.
The survey also found that opinions are split on post-retirement housing plans. Forty-six per cent of respondents nearing retirement said they intend to downsize their home within two years of leaving the workforce, while 47 per cent said they have no plans to do so.
The findings are based on an online survey of 1,626 Canadian adults conducted by Leger between May 2 and 4, 2025. While online surveys do not report a margin of error in the traditional sense, a probability sample of the same size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
