Retirement

is looking increasingly more expensive to Canadians as they say they need $1.7 million on average to “retire comfortably,” up from $1.54 million in 2024, according to a new survey by

Bank of Montreal

.

“The findings indicate growing uncertainty about the future as rising costs and economic concerns challenge long-term financial planning goals,” BMO said about the study of 1,500 adults conducted late last year and released on Tuesday.

Canadians’ latest retirement

savings

goal is 26 per cent higher than the $1.35 million in 2019, which is when BMO started asking how much people thought they would need to get them through their non-working years.

Some people had an even higher retirement savings hill to climb. For example, British Columbians estimated they need $2.2 million, while Ontarians came in just behind at $1.9 million. Albertans had the next highest goal at almost $1.7 million, followed by those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba at $1.28 million, Quebec at

$1.24 million

and the Atlantic provinces at $928,000.

But Canadians’ belief in their ability to reach their goal is falling, with 36 per cent admitting they don’t expect to attain their target, up from 29 per cent in 2024.

Many people also failed to put aside 10 per cent of their income for retirement, which is considered the benchmark, BMO said. Nearly three in 10 said they saved less than five per cent, while nearly four in 10 saved five per cent to 10 per cent. Just 21 per cent managed to set aside more than 10 per cent.

But retirement isn’t for everyone, as 14 per cent of respondents indicated they planned to keep working.

On a generational basis, 27 per cent of

boomers

who weren’t already retired said they planned to stay in the workforce, compared with 20 per cent of

gen-Xers

, 18 per cent of

millennials

and 15 per cent of

gen-Zers

.

Another study echoed BMO’s findings that Canadians are skeptical they can set aside enough for retirement.

Nearly half of Canadians saving for retirement are plowing as much as they can afford into their workplace

pension plans

, but just 41 per cent think they will save enough to comfortably retire, said a survey by T. Rowe Price Group Inc.

The asset manager released its survey about the retirement planning and intentions of more than 7,000 people in five countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and Australia.

T. Rowe also said a majority of Canadians reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress when it came to saving for retirement.

Similar to BMO’s survey, some Canadians said they planned to continue working, rather than retire, with 30 per cent of those 50 and older expecting to continue punching the clock at least part time compared to 18 per cent of those aged 35-49 and 12 per cent of those aged 18-34.

Financial necessity wasn’t the only reason older respondents said they planned to continue working, T. Rowe said. Some said work would allow them to maintain a sense of purpose and provide a social outlet.

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Crush your taxes: A live Q&A with Jamie Golombek from the Financial Post

Tax season is in full swing and we know you have questions. That’s why we’re giving Financial Post readers a chance to put them to our expert tax columnist, CIBC’s Jamie Golombek, who will answer as many as he can live on March 5 at noon ET. Send in your questions to

wealth@postmedia.com

and register

here

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Canada’s residential housing market has experienced the largest decline in housing prices among similar advanced economies, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

House prices in Canada, adjusted for inflation, fell five per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, said a new report from BIS, which is the bank for 63 global central banks.

Looking past the most-recent quarterly data, home prices in Canada plummeted 18 per cent in nominal or actual money terms from the first quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2025, outpacing a 17.8 per cent decline in China during the same period, BIS data showed. South Korea had the third-largest decline at 6.8 per cent, followed by a 6.2 per cent decline in Germany and a six per cent decline in Sweden.  — Gigi Suhanic, Financial Post

Read the full story here.

  • Today’s Data: CFIB Business Barometer, Canada payroll employment change, Canada current account balance
  • Earnings: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Enerflex Ltd., Cascades Inc., Stella Jones Corp., Atco Ltd., Canadian Utilities Ltd., Extendicare Inc., Pembina Pipeline Corp., Chartwell Retirement Residence, Jamieson Wellness Inc.


  • National Bank beats estimates as Canadian Western boosts major business lines
  • BMO posts record revenue across its business segments, beating expectations
  • Quebec’s Caisse posts 9.3% return in 2025 despite uncertainty


This B.C. retiree, on her own since her husband died seven years ago, has a current income that is just enough to cover expenses with “little left.” But she wants to undertake a major renovation of her home and make sure her portfolio is able to generate at least $80,000 after tax for the next 27 years. Find out here if she has enough resources to make that happen.

Interested in energy? The subscriber-only FP West: Energy Insider newsletter brings you exclusive reporting and in-depth analysis on  one of the country’s most important sectors.

Sign up here.

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@postmedia.com with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we’ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we’ll keep your name out of it, of course).

McLister on mortgages

Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s

Financial Post column

can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Plus check his

mortgage rate page

for Canada’s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily.

Financial Post on YouTube

Visit the Financial Post’s

YouTube channel

for interviews with Canada’s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more.

Today’s Posthaste was written by Gigi Suhanic with additional reporting from Financial Post staff and Bloomberg.

Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at 

posthaste@postmedia.com

.

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