The younger you are, the more optimistic you tend to be about your retirement. A poll conducted for CIBC revealed that Canadians aged 18-24 were ten times more likely to be optimistic that they will live better in retirement than people aged 55-64.

Of those aged 18-24, 30% said that they expect to live better in retirement than they do today, but that number falls to 17% for 25-34 year olds. Expectations continue to drop with age, with only 3% of those aged 55-64 believing they will be able to live better in retirement than they do now.

Despite this optimism, young Canadians are less likely to have anything saved. 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 23 percent of 25-34 year olds say they have not set aside any money for retirement. Overall, only 16% of Canadians say they have nothing saved.

"Time is on the side of younger Canadians who have many years to retirement, but that's only an advantage if you take action and use those years to start accumulating savings," comments Christina Kramer, Executive Vice President of Retail and Business Banking at CIBC.