About half of working age Canadian women are worried they won’t have enough money to cover their medical or care expenses in retirement, according to HSBC’s global Future of Retirement survey, released January 8th. In addition, survey results show that about 44% of Canadian women fear they will struggle to pay for basic necessities during retirement compared to 37% of men.

The survey of more than 17,400 people in 16 countries and territories, including just over 1,000 Canadians, indicates that 51% of working age women in Canada either do not know how much they are saving for their retirement or have not started saving at all, compared to 46% of working age women globally.  As well, about 38% of Canadian female respondents and 26% of female respondents globally do not know what proportion of their pre-retirement income they would need for a financially comfortable retirement compared to 23% of Canadian men and 18% of men globally.

Security in retirement still far away

“Women have largely closed the gap with men in terms of workforce participation, which is roughly equal today, but when it comes to finances and planning for retirement, there is still work to do to ensure equal comfort and security in retirement,” said Cindy Wong, Head of Retail Banking & Wealth Management Marketing at HSBC Bank Canada.

Although working age women have concerns about managing finances during retirement, they are generally more positive about other aspects of life after work than men.

More than three quarters (77%) of Canadian working age women surveyed look forward to pursuing old or new hobbies and interests in retirement compared to 70% of men. A further 58% of Canadian working age women surveyed anticipate retirement as a time to rediscover themselves compared to 52% of Canadian working age men.