Number of people expecting to be retired at 66 down 50 per cent in 5 years

Saving for retirement top priority for one-third of baby boomers: Survey

Economic uncertainty over the past five years has had an impact on Canadians' retirement plans, as the number of people who expect to be retired at age 66 has dropped to 27 per cent, down from 51 per cent in 2008.

The number of Canadians who expect to be retired at 66 is almost equal to those who expect to be working full time at that age (26 per cent), found Sun Life Financial's Canadian Unretirement Index.

Another third (32 per cent) expect to be working part time at 66, adding up to almost 60 per cent of Canadians who expect to work past the traditional retirement age, while about 15 per cent are not certain.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) expect they will need to work past 66, compared with 37 per cent wanting to work, found the survey of 3,017 working Canadians from 30 to 65 years old.

Saving for retirement is a top financial priority for 37 per cent of early baby boomers, in the 57- to 65-year-old age group. The number drops to 12 per cent of people in generation X — the 30- to 46-year-old age group — who say it's their top financial priority.

With people expecting to be retired for an average of 20 years, 38 per cent said there is a serious risk of outliving their retirement savings. Almost one-third (31 per cent) of respondents are not at all confident they will have enough for medical expenses.

While Canadians anticipate requiring an average income of $46,000 per year for their retirement, they are only aiming to have $385,687 in retirement savings (excluding their home and other property).

Latest stories