Canadians' outlook on retirement is declining, report finds | Advisor.ca

The proportion of Canadians with a negative outlook on retirement is growing thanks to rising inflation, poor economic growth and rising interest rates, according to a report from Fidelity Investments Canada ULC. But having a financial plan and an advisor could change people's outlook.

The 2024 Fidelity Retirement Report found that while most pre-retirees and retirees continue to have a positive outlook on their retirement, that share has steadily decreased over the past few years.

Sixty-nine percent of Canadians expressed having a positive outlook on retirement in this year's edition of Fidelity's annual survey, down from 73% in 2023, 75% in 2022 and 77% in 2021.

However, Canadians with a written financial plan and a financial advisor were more likely to be optimistic about retirement, the survey found.

"Despite uncertain economic times, working with a financial advisor, developing a written financial plan, sticking to that plan, and especially staying invested can help Canadians live the retirement they envision," said Peter Bowen, vice-president of tax and retirement research with Fidelity, in a release.

Several macroeconomic factors are affecting Canadians who are gearing up for or already in retirement, the survey found.

Roughly 82% of survey respondents said increases to the cost of living are negatively affecting them financially in retirement, while 58% said poor economic growth is to blame.

Stock market volatility (45%) and rising interest rates (44%) were also cited as factors affecting Canadians' retirement plans.

Having a financial plan, advisor affected outlook

The decline in the outlook of Canadians this year was driven by those without a written financial plan, the survey found.

In 2024, 92% of retirees and 81% of pre-retirees with a written financial plan said they have a positive outlook on retirement. That's largely similar to sentiments expressed over the past two years (91% of retirees and 85% of pre-retirees in 2023; 93% of retirees and 86% of pre-retirees in 2022).

Retirees and pre-retirees without a financial plan were less likely to express a positive outlook on retirement, and those figures also remained mostly steady.

In 2024, 73% of retirees without a financial plan and 54% of pre-retirees without a financial plan were optimistic about their retirement. Those figures were 79% and 55% in 2023, and 77% and 62% in 2022, respectively.

Despite this correlation, only 27% of Canadians said they have a written financial plan, and of those that have one, 85% worked with a financial advisor to create it, the 2024 survey found.

Quebecers are most likely (34%) to have a written financial plan that specifically deals with their retirement compared to the rest of Canada (26%). Meanwhile, Canadians living in the Prairies (50%) and B.C. (49%) are more likely to work in some capacity in their retirement compared to Canadians residing elsewhere (41%).

The 2024 Fidelity Retirement Report surveyed 2,000 Canadians aged 45 and older online between Jan. 9 and Jan. 23, 2024, with a disproportionate sample of pre-retirees and retirees. The results were then weighted to reflect the national proportionate distribution of the over-45 population.

Total sample results are accurate to plus or minus 2.31 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Noushin Ziafati

Noushin has been the associate editor of Advisor.ca since 2024. Previously, she worked at outlets including the CBC, Canadian Press, CTV News, Telegraph-Journal and Chronicle Herald. Reach her at noushin@newcom.ca.