Two separate reports reveal that Canadians could miss their retirement goals if they don't change course.
A Manulife report on evolving trends between 2020 and 2025 surveyed a sample of participants from Angus Reid's research group. In this report, titled The 40-year retirement: balancing dreams and dollars, Manulife surveyed 1,680 adult employees and 514 retirees between May 1 and 16, 2025.
It reveals that only 15% of retirees were able to retire because they had saved enough. In comparison, 46% did so for health reasons, including 33% due to a health issue and 13% to care for a loved one. Furthermore, 43% of Canadian workers were concerned about healthcare costs in retirement in 2025, compared to 39% in 2022 and 31% in 2000.
In 2025, 42% of retirees surveyed by Manulife had delayed their retirement to save more. Furthermore, 41% of participants perceive their financial situation as fair or poor, compared to only 33% who expressed this sentiment in 2020.
"The inflationary pressures of recent years, rising interest rates, and their impact on renewals and mortgage payments have left their mark," explains Marc-Antoine Morin, Head of Member Engagement, Retirement, at Manulife Canada, in an interview with the Insurance Portal. According to him, the burden of these years continues to weigh on the population.
The debt burden of Generation X…
The Manulife survey covers several generations. Among the improvements observed, debt has become less of a concern for Canadians. It was a problem for 59% of people in the workforce surveyed by the insurer in 2020. Between 2022 and 2025, this concern dropped from 56% to 51%.
Morin attributes this improvement to Generation X. According to Statistics Canada, this generation represents people born between 1965 and 1980. Over the course of the surveys, he has noticed that this generation is consistently the one for whom "debt is the biggest problem." Why? "Generation X is the sandwich generation. This comes through strongly in the survey, both qualitatively and quantitatively," says Morin. He specifies that the 2025 survey allowed participants to comment. "Generation X is the most likely to have to support people financially, whether it be their children or their parents," he reports.
…And their longevity
In 2025, Manulife took a closer look at the impact of longevity. “Generation X is probably the first to be doubly hit by the challenges of longevity: Gen Xers will live much longer than two generations ago,” explains Marc-Antoine Morin. He points out that parents supported by Gen Xers will also live longer.
“A third blow for Gen Xers: they have children for whom the economic situation is good, but for whom access to homeownership remains a challenge,” adds Morin. He believes that faced with these challenges, Gen Xers will realize they need more assets and more retirement planning.
Overestimating accumulated savings
A recent Sun Life survey reveals that participants in its group retirement plans overestimate their retirement savings. For example, working participants have an average of $23,000 less than they think. Men overestimate the amount of their retirement savings more than women. The gap between their actual and perceived savings is 16%, compared to 12% for women.
The study also mentions that the average savings accumulated per working participant is $136,000. The average group plan balance at retirement for women is $164,000, compared to $224,000 for men.
Sun Life has approximately 7,000 clients and 1.3 million participants in its defined contribution group plans. In this type of plan, the savings accumulated by each participant depend on their contributions and those of their employer, if applicable, as well as their investment choices from among the options offered by the plan and the resulting returns.
In its study entitled Member mindsets, motivations and metrics, Sun Life states that its survey was conducted with 1,981 participants. The average age of those surveyed by Sun Life in collaboration with Ipsos is 49. They were contacted between July 21 and August 11, 2025. Of these, 62% are men and 37% are women. The study notes that the remaining 1% of participants did not specify their gender. The average household income of the survey participants is $143,300.
Are women too cautious?
According to the Sun Life report, men are more likely to be very confident investors, while women tend to be more cautious.
Furthermore, women contribute 21% less money than men to group retirement plans, despite generally having to fund longer retirements with less savings and experiencing more health problems, the report states.
"Women tend to be more cautious in their approach to retirement investing," observes Yashar Zarrabian, Regional Vice President, Quebec region, Group Retirement Services, at Sun Life, in an interview with the Insurance Portal. "When you're a little more cautious, you may be less inclined to seek financial advice. You rely more on advice from friends and those around you," Zarrabian suggests.
He says that greater financial literacy fosters greater confidence. Financial literacy refers to the knowledge and skills that provide confidence in one's ability to manage money effectively, whether it's budgeting, saving, or investing, for example.
"Confidence and financial literacy go hand in hand. Our report reveals that more confident people tend to have more savings." Often, the difference between simply having the knowledge is confidence. It's about understanding the big picture, being comfortable with the different aspects, but without getting too bogged down in the details,” summarizes Zarrabian.
The Sun Life report states that survey participants with high levels of confidence accumulate 64% more savings relative to their income than those with low levels of confidence. “In contrast, high financial literacy provides an advantage of only 12% compared to low literacy,” the report adds. Sun Life says it is relying on its digital coach, Ella, to encourage plan members to take action.
In 2024, Ella interacted with plan members a total of 161 million times, revealed Sun Life spokesperson Ariane Richard who was present during the interview. This meant that 4.2 million unique clients (members) were targeted with at least one reminder. Among clients who received reminders, four out of five found at least one reminder helpful.
Yashar Zarrabian explains that these reminders can, for example, encourage a participant to maximize their contribution by matching their employer's contribution, or to increase it when they receive a salary increase. "We can also create more targeted communications for women, taking their realities into account," he underlined.
The gender gap is narrowing. Regarding women saving 21% less than men in their plans, Yashar Zarrabian says the trend is improving. "In 2010, the difference between men and women was roughly 33%," he points out.
Zarrabian cites two factors that can partly explain the gap that disadvantages women, and "that the figures don't show." First, some plan clients work in sectors where salaries are much higher than average and where women are underrepresented. He cites the energy (oil and gas) and mining sectors as examples.
The second factor Zarrabian mentions is maternity leave. “When you have to take a break, the time factor plays a very important role in how your money grows,” he notes. “A break at 25 or 30 will have a negative impact on your savings.”
He observes that more and more employers want to change their approach, something he says he strongly encourages. “During maternity leave, the employer continues to contribute to the employee’s plan,” Zarrabian summarizes regarding this approach.
