Statistics Canada’s newly released data from the Survey of Financial Security shows that those nearing retirement age who have both a principal residence and an employer-sponsored pension plan have a median net worth about $1.4-million more than those who have neither.

“Families who owned their principal residence but who did not have an employer-sponsored plan had a median net worth of $914,000 in 2023. At the same time, those who had an employer pension plan, but who did not own their principal residence, had a median net worth of $359,000,” Statistic Canada’s researchers write in the report, Survey of Financial Security, 2023.

Young homeowners 

“Families where the highest income earner was under 35 years of age experienced the largest percent increase in their real median net worth from 2019 to 2023, up 179 per cent during this period to $159,100. The biggest gainers were young homeowners.” 

The report goes on to say, however, that an increasing share of young families are creating wealth without owning their principal residence: “Among young families who rented their principal residence and who had no employer pension plan, 15 per cent had net worth greater than $150,000 in 2023, compared to five per cent in 2019. Members of this group commonly held assets in real estate that was not their principal residence, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), or tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs). According to the data, real estate holdings among this group were worth a median $350,000, median RRSP amounts were worth $35,000 and median TFSA balances were $20,000.” 

Rising interest rates 

The report also notes rising interest rates. “During periods of rising interest rates, the risk of becoming financially vulnerable increases for families who have a mortgage. The risk is immediate for families with variable rate mortgages,” they state. In 2023, one-fifth of families that reported holding a mortgage on their principal residence had a variable rate mortgage with a median interest rate of 5.7 per cent, while the median interest rate on fixed-rate mortgages was three per cent in 2023. During the study period, however, close to one-third of those with fixed-rate mortgages, 31 per cent said they were facing a mortgage renewal by the end of 2024.