According to a new survey published by industry research group LIMRA, almost one third of Canadians aged 55 to 70 say they do not know when they will be able to retire.

The LIMRA survey shows that the oldest members of this age group, namely those between 65 to 70, are the most uncertain about when they will retire, and that about one in ten indicate that they have no plans to retire at all.

“Many in Canada are scaling back their expectations about retirement, and are either undecided about when they’ll retire or don’t ever plan on retiring,” comments Sally Bryck, associate research director at the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. “These findings point to a strategic, education and savings shortfall.”

As for what sort of products Canadians want in retirement, more than a fifth of those surveyed indicated that guaranteed income for life was the most important feature when selecting products to create income in retirement. In fact, most pre-retirees said they will need more guaranteed lifetime income in retirement than they expect to receive through their government pension plans.

“This gap creates an abundance of opportunities for the financial services industry to help pre-retirees chart a course to a solvent retirement,” says Bryck.