TORONTO, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Geopolitical instability and the ongoing trade dispute with the United States have emerged as a major financial concern for Canadians and is having an impact on people’s retirement planning, according to the results of the 2025 Canadian Retirement Survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Abacus Data.

The survey shows more than two-in-three (67%) Canadians are very concerned about Canada-U.S. relations, along with the cost of living (67%) and general economic uncertainty (65%). Concern over the potential impact of Canada-U.S. trade is highest among seniors (79% very concerned). The issue was also one of the top economic worries (71%) for Canadians approaching retirement – people aged 55 to 64.

Uncertainty about the future implications of tariffs on the Canadian economy is adding complexity to an already difficult climate for people trying to manage their finances and retirement planning: 22 per cent said they are putting more money aside in savings as a result of the geopolitical instability, while 18 per cent said they’ve stopped contributing to their savings.

The survey of 2,000 Canadians asked about their willingness to contribute a certain percentage of their wages to join a defined benefit pension plan where their employer matched their contributions. A total of 88 per cent agreed they would contribute nine per cent of their salary to be part of a defined benefit pension, which offers guaranteed benefits for life.

"When Canadians are feeling even more uncertain about the future as they are now, pensions can offer more certainty about the future,” said David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data. “Policy makers and employers should be taking a closer look at this now, more than ever."

This is the seventh year that HOOPP and Abacus Data have conducted the Canadian Retirement Survey, a comprehensive research project that sheds light on the personal, societal and economic issues that are impacting Canadians’ retirement security.

The 2025 survey paints a grim picture of how many Canadians are unprepared for retirement:

• Two-thirds of unretired Canadians (66%) said they will need to continue working in their retirement to support themselves financially.
• Even though 47 per cent say saving for retirement is one of their top financial priorities, 15 per cent of retired people had no savings at all when they left the workforce.
• More than one-third of all Canadians have less than $5,000 in total savings.
  
  

Over half (55%) of Canadians are unable to save for retirement because they are living paycheque to paycheque. In addition, 50 per cent are concerned that any current or future savings won’t last long enough in their retirement.

“Despite the fact that many Canadians are living from paycheque to paycheque and unable to put aside any savings, these difficulties have not diminished Canadians’ desire to contribute to a defined benefit pension plan in order to receive a secure, lifetime income in retirement,” said Jennifer Rook, Vice President of Strategy, Global Intelligence and Advocacy at HOOPP.

This year’s survey gives insight into how homeownership is a key part of retirement planning for many Canadians: 44 per cent of homeowners said they were going to rely on the sale of their homes to set themselves up for retirement. A further one-third of homeowners said they would remortgage their homes and use the funds for retirement.

But the survey also suggests that relying on the sale of a house as part of retirement planning poses some risks. Sixty-five per cent of Canadians who are unretired homeowners are worried they won’t be able to pay off their mortgage in time to retire when they want to and 62 per cent who don’t yet own a home are worried that current interest rates will hinder their ability to ever become homeowners.

Other key findings of the 2025 Canadian Retirement Survey:

• 41 per cent of people who don’t have a defined benefit or defined contribution pension say it’s unlikely they will ever have a workplace pension plan.
• 73 per cent agree that, regardless of economic conditions, companies could afford to offer workers good pensions if they wanted to.
• 38 per cent of homeowners would downsize, and 14 per cent would use a reverse mortgage if they needed extra income in retirement.
• 46 per cent of Canadians believe their quality of life will decrease in retirement.
  
  

These findings are based on an online survey of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and older from April 11 to 16, 2025. A random sample of panelists was invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners typically use double opt-in survey panels, blended to reduce potential skews in the data from a single source. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.19%, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error will be larger for data that is based on sub-groups of the total sample. The data were weighted according to census data to ensure the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

About the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan

HOOPP serves Ontario’s hospital and community-based healthcare sector, with more than 700 participating employers. Its membership includes nurses, medical technicians, food services staff, housekeeping staff, physicians and many others who provide valued healthcare services. In total, HOOPP has more than 478,000 active, deferred and retired members.

HOOPP is fully funded and manages a highly diversified portfolio of more than $123 billion in assets that span multiple geographies and asset classes. HOOPP is also a major contributor to the Canadian economy, paying more than $3 billion in pension benefits to retired Ontario healthcare workers annually.

HOOPP operates as a private independent trust, and its Board of Trustees governs the Plan and Fund, focusing on HOOPP’s mission to deliver on our pension promise. The Board is made up of appointees from the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and four unions: the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). This governance model provides representation from both employers and members in support of the long-term interests of the Plan.

Contact:
Scott White, Senior Director, Media Relations and External Communications, swhite2@hoopp.com