Jul. 13: BEST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

July 13, 2026

How to catch up if your retirement savings efforts haven’t really got on track

Let’s face it – life is expensive, especially if you’re looking after kids, renting or owning a home, and still finishing off paying down student debt. These legitimate life expenses can make saving for retirement seem impossible.

But, writes Vishesh Raisinghani for Money Canada, there are a number of ways you can jump-start your retirement savings and catch up.

He begins by noting that for most people, it’s usually not until “the final five years before they retire” that their “earnings have peaked, their children are self-sufficient, and their mortgage is close to being paid off.” This is when “your top priority is typically boosting your (retirement) nest egg as much as possible,” he adds.

Yet, perhaps not surprisingly, many in the pre-retirement years haven’t saved much, Raisinghani writes.

“Many older Canadians still aren’t as fully prepared for retirement as they’d like to be. A 2025 survey by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan found 36 per cent of adults aged 55 to 64 have $5,000 or less saved for their retirement, with only 21 per cent having over $100,000 in savings,” he notes.

So, how does one turbocharge one’s savings? Raisinghani gives us a couple of strategic ideas.

First, he suggests, “max out your tax-advantaged accounts.”

“If you’re close to retirement age and have a registered retirement savings Plan (RRSP), you could take advantage of any carryover room you may have from previous years. That’s because any Canadian with an RRSP can accumulate unused contribution room year after year and carry it forward indefinitely — creating a significant opportunity for you to `catch up’ and build your savings over the last five years of your career,” he explains.

While the 2026 RRSP limit is $33,810 or 18 per cent of your income (whichever is lower), “many Canadians have far more room available because of unused carryover from previous years,” he adds.

Another catch-up strategy would be deferring your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits until you are 70, Raisinghani notes.

“If you wait until you turn 70 to collect CPP payments, you could significantly increase the monthly amount you receive,” he writes. “That’s because even though you’re eligible to start collecting CPP at 60, the maximum monthly amount you could receive at that age is 36 per cent less than if you were to start receiving at 65.” It’s 42 per cent more if you wait until age 70 to collect, he adds.

Similar rules apply to OAS, he notes.

Consider, he adds, moving to a professionally managed investment portfolio rather than doing it yourself.

“Not everyone knows how to do these things on their own, especially when it comes to calculating withdrawal rates, factoring in variables like inflation or putting together a retirement portfolio that will go the full distance. That’s why there are professionally managed portfolios that can do the work for you, building the right mix of investments from various asset classes that can help you maximize your returns and minimize risk,” he suggests.

Another important idea is to know, in advance, the tax consequences of withdrawing from your savings. Taxes are higher, he notes, on investments that pay out interest. And you should make sure you are making maximum use of your Tax Free Savings Account.

You’ll also need to have a retirement “lifestyle plan” in place, he recommends.

“You need a lifestyle plan just as much as a withdrawal or tax plan. If you want to continue working side gigs or part-time hours, include that in your plan. If you want to spend more time travelling, remember to add that as well,” he explains. In other words, you need to spell out what you intend to do with all your time, so that your savings support that lifestyle.

Contributions to your Saskatchewan Pension Plan account are based on your available RRSP room, so if you have a lot of carry-forward room your SPP account can benefit from a large top up.

SPP also permits you to transfer any amount into the plan from other RRSPs you may have. This will consolidate your retirement nest egg.

All hard-saved dollars are invested in SPP’s professionally managed, diversified, low-cost pooled fund, where they will grow in the years leading up to your retirement. And when that day comes, your options include the security of a lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the flexibility of the Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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