A prolonged period of rising inflation and interest rates has led to another significant downturn in the financial wellbeing of adult Canadians, risking their retirement readiness and security, according to the 2023 Canadian Retirement Survey from Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Abacus Data. Findings for the 55-64 age group, in particular, suggest retirement may be an increasingly elusive dream even for older adults who should be the most prepared.

This year’s data showed Canadian adults at every age struggling to save for retirement, but there were some particularly troubling trends amongst the 55-64 group – an age when, ideally, many people are preparing to transition into their retirement years:

1. 44% of the non-retirees in this group have less than $5,000 in savings and 75% have $100,000 or less in savings
2. One in five workers say they have not set aside anything for retirement
3. More than half (54%) said that if inflation continues to rise, they will need to push out their target retirement date.

Executive summary

Complete presentation