Canadians' retirement savings goal of $1.7 million is increasingly unattainable, BMO survey finds. In some provinces, the retirement savings hill is even higher. According to a new survey by Bank of Montreal, Canadians' latest retirement savings goal is 26% higher than the $1.35 million in 2019, which is when BMO started asking how much people thought they would need to get them through their non-working years. However, Canadians' belief in their ability to reach their goal is falling, with 36% admitting they don't expect to attain their target, up from 29% in 2024. Many people also failed to hit the benchmark of putting aside 10% of their income for retirement, BMO said. Nearly three in 10 said they saved less than 5%, while nearly four in 10 saved 5% to 10%. Just 21% managed to set aside more than 10%. But retirement isn't for everyone, as 14% of respondents indicated they planned to keep working. On a generational basis, 27% of boomers who weren't already retired said they planned to stay in the workforce, compared with 20% of gen-Xers, 18% of millennials, and 15% of gen-Zers. Another study echoed BMO's findings that Canadians are skeptical of being able to set aside enough for retirement. Nearly half of Canadians saving for retirement are putting aside as much as they can afford into their workplace pension plans, but just 41% think they will end up with enough to comfortably retire, said a survey by T. Rowe Price Group Inc. The asset manager released its survey about the retirement planning and intentions of more than 7,000 people in five countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Australia. Also similar to BMO's survey, some Canadians said they planned to continue working, rather than retire, with 30% of those 50 and older expecting to continue punching the clock at least part-time compared to 18% of those aged 35-49 and 12% of those aged 18-34. T. Rowe said this expectation should not necessarily be interpreted as negative, as some people choose to continue a form of work in retirement for reasons beyond purely financial, such as maintaining a sense of purpose and engaging socially. It also said a majority of Canadians reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress when it came to saving for retirement. For more information, visit the Financial Post's website and sign up for their newsletters.
