CAAT Pension Plan on the Nine Realities of Canadian Retirement
TORONTO, June 18, 2026 – Most Canadians expect that they can fund retirement themselves. Retirees tell a different story.
A new study uncovers a striking disconnect between what Canadians expect their retirement to look like and what’s actually happening on the ground:
- One in four working Canadians expect personal savings to be a primary source of retirement income, but only 15% of retirees actually report using it as a primary source of retirement income
- Retirees are far more likely to rely on public programs and workplace pensions (with 58% primarily relying on CPP/OAS)
- Defined benefit pension income accounts for 48% of retirement income (for those with a pension)
These findings are part of a new CAAT insight brief, Nine Realities of Canadian Retirementopens in a new tab, which explores how Canadians think about retirement, where expectations diverge from reality, and why retirement planning increasingly feels difficult to navigate. CAAT surveyed both working Canadians and those already retired, a differentiated approach in pension research as it allowed for real time comparisons on what working Canadians expect with what retirees experience in practice.
Among the findings:
- 49% of Canadians worry about outliving their savings in retirement
- 60% fear inflation will erode their retirement income
- Canadians expect personal savings to fund retirement, yet retirees rely far more heavily on pensions, even more so on defined benefit pensions, and government programs in practice
- 82% say they are more likely to take a job that offers a pension
- 58% say lacking access to a workplace pension limits their ability to save
- Most Canadians say it is unrealistic to expect government to provide enough retirement income on its own. But there is overwhelming support for policies that make retirement saving easier and more accessible
The research also suggests retirement challenges are not simply about personal discipline or motivation.
"Canadians are trying to do the right things financially, but many still feel uncertain about retirement," said Kevin Fahey, Acting CEO and Plan Manager and CIO, CAAT Pension Plan. “Our research suggests the retirement system increasingly places the burden of navigating complex financial decisions and long-term risk on individuals themselves. Even people who are actively saving and planning can find that difficult to manage with confidence over time.”
The CAAT Pension Plan research highlights several recurring themes:
- Canadians often overestimate how much retirement income will come from personal savings alone
- Many people adapt to financial pressure by delaying retirement expectations rather than changing saving behaviour early
- Workplace pensions help turn good intentions into consistent action by reducing complexity and automating saving
- Canadians are open to retirement solutions that provide more security, simplicity, and structure
The report also points to the growing workforce implications of retirement security. More than eight in ten Canadians surveyed said they would be more likely to join an employer offering a pension.
“Retirement security is about much more than savings alone,” added Fahey. “Our findings suggest Canadians are looking for more predictability, more clarity, and retirement solutions that are easier to navigate with confidence.”
The CAAT insight brief is intended to contribute to broader conversations around retirement readiness, workplace benefits, and the future design of retirement systems in Canada.
About The Research
The research was conducted by Spark* through an online survey of 3,317 adult residents of Canada aged 18+. The sample was nationally representative, and the survey was fielded from November 30 to December 5, 2025. The approximate margin of error is ±1.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About CAAT Pension Plan
Established in 1967, the CAAT Pension Plan is an independent, jointly governed plan that offers highly desirable modern defined benefit pensions. Originally created to support the Ontario college system, the CAAT Plan now proudly serves more than 850 participating employers in 20 industries, including the for-profit, non-profit, and broader public sectors. It currently has more than 125,000 members. The CAAT Plan is respected for its pension and investment management expertise and focus on stability and benefit security. On January 1, 2026, the Plan was 124% funded on a going-concern basis.
Learn more at: www.caatpension.ca.
You can read the report, 9 Realities of Canadian Retirement, by downloading it here.
I thank CAAT's Stephen Hewitt for bringing it to my attention.
The report is short and easy to read, but let me go over some items here.
First, the first three slides:
No surprise, 58% of retirees primarily rely on CPP/ OAS.
So, what's wrong with that? Well, to be blunt, it's not enough to enjoy a really comfortable retirement (OAS topped out at $740 a month in 2025) and subject to clawbacks.
It's a pay-as-you-go program, so it can potentially be cut back by future governments (although I doubt it, read Understanding Old Age Security in Canada).
In fact, slide 2 states this: "Retirees with pensions enjoy approximately $2,750 more in average monthly household income than retirees without pensions ($85,735 vs. $52,570 annually)."
That's a staggering difference, one that retirees with a pension paid for during all their working years, but it gives you an idea of the difference between a comfortable retirement and one where retireees are squeezed."
Keep in mind, defined-benefit pensions pool investment and longevity risk, so retirees never fret about outliving their savings, and the top DB plans offer full inflation protection, so inflation doesn't erode their purchasing power.
Slide 3 states: "Canadians don’t close the retirement gap over time. Instead, they shift expectations. Rather than materially increase savings or change planning behaviour early, Canadians tend to delay key decisions and push retirement further out. They assume there will be more time to save."
Again, no surprise, if you can't afford to retire, you will delay it (if you can).
But the critical point there is this: Canadians don't have a retirement plan, for many homeowners, their house is their de factor retirement plan. Many are able to save in TFSAs and RRSPs but for most, it's not enough (and they don't know how to invest wisely).
Interestingly, the report states: "pension plan members are nearly 4x more likely than non-pension plan participants to use a full suite of retirement savings tools(such as TFSAs, RRSPs, and non-registered accounts)."
My thinking is that pension plan members are more engaged, they are more aware of their retirement needs, and they are well-informed and well-prepared for retirement.
The real problem is structural; unless you work in the public sector, access to workplace pensions is almost non-existent in Canada:
But more and more employers across the public and private sector are realizing that retirement security is a real issue for talent acquisition and retention:
Simply put, more employees want a workplace pension and that's why organizations that seek talent are offering these workplace pensions (that's where CAAT Pension Plan, OPTtrust, IMCO, UPP and others come in).
Anyway, skim through the report here, it's well worth it.
In other news, Uday Ranad of Global News reports that Canadian household net worth just jumped. This may be the reason why:
Canadian households are worth much more this year, data from Statistics Canada shows, with real estate among the factors driving up that increase.
The net worth of Canadian households, which is calculated as the value of all assets minus all liabilities, rose 1.3 per cent in the first three months of 2026 to reach just over $18.6 trillion, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
On a per capita basis, the net worth of a Canadian household went from $442,896 to $448,433 in the first quarter of 2026, the agency said.
Both financial and non-financial assets saw an increase. Non-financial assets went up 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, coming after two consecutive quarters of decline in value. This was led largely by the value of residential real estate going up.
This is a sign that Canada’s housing market is recovering after more than a year of weakness, RBC economist Rachel Battaglia said in a note.
“Real estate stabilization provided a welcome reversal after three consecutive quarters of decline,” Battaglia said.
“This reversal provides a welcome respite from the persistent drag on household wealth, though momentum remains fragile,” she added.
Financial assets, which include things like cash, bank accounts, bonds and stocks, went up 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada said.
Canadian households added $148 billion in financial assets during this period, driven largely by mutual funds and the rising value of domestic stocks and investment funds. Domestic stocks went up 3.3 per cent, with gains concentrated in energy and mining stocks.
But it wasn’t just assets, debts went up, too. Both mortgage and non-mortgage debt went up 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada said.
Consumer insolvencies — a measure that indicates how many Canadians filed for relief under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act — reached record highs in the first three months of 2026, according to recent data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
In January, February and March, 37,121 Canadians filed for insolvency, amounting to 17 Canadians filing for insolvency every hour this year, according to the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP).
This is the highest volume of Canadians filing for insolvency since the first quarter of 2009, CAIRP said, when the Canadian economy was reeling from the aftershocks of the Great Recession of 2008.
My thoughts? Rich Canadians who invest in the stock market are getting a lot richer, but many Canadians are struggling and many are falling through the cracks.
To be honest, I take these reports with a pinch of salt, nice to know, but unless you're part of the top 1%, you will not feel richer.
Below, Parallel Wealth breaks down the major retirement income sources available to Canadians, including government benefits like CPP, OAS, and GIS, personal savings such as RRSPs and TFSAs, workplace pensions, and more. Take the time to watch this, it's excellent.
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