Canada

January 22, 2007

Canadians are the most pessimistic out of those surveyed about whether their government pension plans are still going to be there when they retire, according to a new report.

The 2007 AXA Retirement Scope showed that half of Canadians aged 35 to 44 and 58 per cent of those aged 45 to 54 were unsure that there would be enough money left in their pension plans when they cashed out, since there would be more people retiring and less workers to contribute to government plans.

Workers in the United Kingdom also expressed a lot of unease about their pension plans – 46 per cent of those aged 35-44 and 51 per cent of those 45-54 – as did American workers, at 34 per cent of the 35-44 age range and 46 per cent of those 45-54.

By contrast, China has the most optimistic workers of those surveyed in the same age group, with 90 per cent of those aged 35-44 and 85 per cent of those aged 45-54 saying they were confident of the permanence of their government pension plans.

However, Canadian retirees are still among those with the most positive outlook on their retirement years, with a third saying they are in good health and nearly half saying they are "very happy." Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with their access to quality health care

Robert Landry, AXA 's executive vice-president of personal insurance and financial services, said the aging of the baby-boomer population and declining numbers of new workers raised some "legitimate concerns" among Canadians.

"Such unease about the permanence of our public pension plans also highlights the importance of tackling the financial aspect of one's retirement by preparing for it early in life and continuing for a longer period of time, since Canadians' life expectancy continues to increase," said Mr. Landry in a statement.

Fewer Canadians who are still working are worried about reduced income and standard of living at retirement than in 2006, partly because of the good performance of the Canadian economy.

However, the survey also noted that Canadian workers who are closer to retirement feel they have not invested sufficiently or long enough in their retirement savings plan, while fewer retirees said they have sufficient income and more of them said their quality of life has decreased since retirement.

The AXA Retirement Scope looked at the answers of 11,590 active workers and retirees in 16 countries.