Jan 5: BEST FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

January 5, 2026

Are Canadians prepared for a retirement that could last for decades?

Writing for the Financial Post, Pamela Heaven asks if Canadian early retirees are prepared for a retirement that could span four decades.

“Instead of the 20 to 30 `golden years’ of earlier generations, workers today are potentially looking at retirements that span 40 years or more,” she writes.

Life expectancy, she notes, is driving these longer retirements.

“Canadians are also living longer. Since 2023, life expectancy in Canada has risen two years to 83, and since 2001 the number of people over 100 has doubled, said the study. Globally, the number of centenarians is expected to grow by 800 per cent by 2050,” she adds.

Yet, Heaven writes, those who are retiring early today may not always have chosen this longer path.

“Almost half of the retirees in a survey by Manulife Group Retirement this week stopped working earlier than they planned at an average age of 59 — and the bulk of these early retirements were for reasons beyond their control. Either they suffered a health issue, needed to care for a loved one or lost their job,” Heaven explains.

Alarmingly, the same Manulife study found that only “15 per cent retired early because they saved enough, which raises concerns about how prepared Canadians are for an increasingly lengthy retirement,” she continues.

Let’s unpack this – more of us are going to be retired for longer than we may have expected, and most of us haven’t saved enough for our golden decades.

And, Heaven points out, this is not the best time to be trying to save for retirement.

“Financial pressures on Canadians have escalated since the pandemic. The share of working Canadians who consider their financial situation fair or poor has risen from 33 per cent in 2020 to 41 per cent today, and those who consider their retirement savings behind schedule has jumped from 35 per cent in 2021 to 48 per cent,” she reports.

So there’s been a shift away from the idea of retiring at 55 to staying on at work a little longer, the article notes.

“The share of working Canadians who want to retire later has climbed from 26 per cent in 2020 to 35 per cent today, and in Manulife’s global study, 40 to 50 per cent of workers in all markets said they planned to work in retirement,” Heaven writes.

In practice, the article warns, citing wording from the Manulife research, working after retirement isn’t as common as one might expect.

“Unfortunately, the reality in North America is that only 16 per cent of retirees surveyed work full or part time,” Heaven writes, quoting from the study. “And retirees surveyed stopped working far earlier than they’d planned, mostly due to their own health challenges or to care for a loved one,” she adds, again citing findings from the research.

Another study finding – retirement can be expensive, and you can start going through your savings faster than expected.

“Plan ahead,” warned one Gen Xer in the Manulife study, the article notes. “It’s here before you know it.”

So, if retirement savings is not currently part of your budget, you will need to add it in, even if you have to start small.

If there’s any sort of retirement program where you work, be sure to sign up and start contributing as much as you can. If not, a great option is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings plan room.

You can make annual SPP contributions at any level you like up to your RRSP limit. If you have other RRSPs that aren’t locked in, you can transfer any or all of their balances into SPP to consolidate your nest egg. You can start small and ramp up as you earn more.

SPP does the heavy lifting of investing for you, growing your hard-saved dollars in our professionally managed, low-cost pooled fund.

When work is over, your SPP income options include a monthly annuity payment you’ll receive every month for as long as you live, or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

Financial Post

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