Pandemic sparks worries for those nearing retirement, poll finds

Canadians’ worries over outliving their retirement nest eggs have reached their highest level in 10 years, according to a new RBC poll.

Conducted by Ipsos, the poll for RBC surveyed Canadians 50 and older who are not yet retired. Among them, 21% with more than $100,000 in investable assets expect to outlast their savings by a decade, compared to 16% in 2010.

The pandemic has led Canadians to revise their retirement dates and their savings goals, with some Canadians having to cut back on savings and retirement contributions. Almost one in five respondents (18%) said they’ll be retiring later than expected. In Alberta, one in three expect to retire later.

Those with more than $100,000 in investable assets now expect they’ll need to save, on average, $1 million. That’s about $50,000 more than two years ago. But more than three-quarters of those respondents are falling short of their $1-million goal by an average of $300,000.

Canadians with less than $100,000 in investable assets have brought their retirement savings’ bar down to $533,153 compared to $574,354 in 2019. Their savings gap of $472,991 is even larger than the other group’s.

Of those with more than $100,000 in investments, 55% said they would cash in some investments if they needed more money in retirement, and 37% said they would stay in their current home and live frugally.

Among those with less saved, 36% said they would return to paid work if their money ran out.

Ipsos conducted the online poll between May 21 and June 1, surveying 2,200 Canadians 50 and older, of whom 1,100 were pre-retirement. Online surveys can’t be assigned a margin of error because they don’t randomly sample the population. This survey was weighted to ensure a more accurate representation.