Canada has slipped two spots to No. 10 among developed nations in the 2021 Global Retirement Index  by Natixis Investment Managers. 

The index shows that many Canadian retirees feel their retirement dreams are slipping away, mainly because of economic issues from COVID, including increased government debt, rising inflation and low interest rates. 

And savers believe they are shouldering a greater share of the responsibility for funding their retirement and are increasingly looking to the private sector and financial advisors for help. 

Two-thirds of Canadians confident they can retire financially secure 

The survey of Canadian investors found that two-thirds remain confident they can retire financially secure, but a quarter say it’s going to take a miracle to do so.  

While 83 per cent recognize it is increasingly their responsibility to fund retirement versus relying on pensions, nearly half say it would be difficult to make ends meet if public benefits are lower than expected. This was also true for 28 per cent of high net-worth respondents. 

Nearly four in 10 have accepted that they will have to keep working longer, yet 34 per cent worry they won’t be able to stay employed for as long as they want. 

“The pandemic has exacerbated financial inequality and accelerated long-term trends that are eroding the prospect of retirement security for many,” said Jim Roach, senior vice president of Retirement Strategies at Natixis Investment Managers.