{"id":356324,"date":"2026-02-25T23:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/356324\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T23:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:41:15","slug":"canadian-couples-say-they-need-1-7m-to-retire-are-you-on-track-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/356324\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian couples say they need $1.7M to retire. Are you on track? – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be a while before young Canadians stop working, but retirement<\/a> still feels like a mountain to climb for most, according to new surveys released this week.<\/p>\n

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On average, Canadian couples say they need $1.7 million in savings to be able to retire comfortably, BMO\u2019s Annual Retirement Survey says. This figure is up from $1.54 million in last year\u2019s survey.<\/p>\n

This figure represents the total retirement savings for a household, BMO senior portfolio manager Terri Szego told Global News.<\/p>\n

This means each person in a couple would have to have around $850,000 to reach that goal.<\/p>\n

A similar RBC survey puts that figure around $814,000.<\/p>\n

However, the RBC survey says millennials feel they will need nearly a million ($999,000) in individual savings to have a shot at a comfortable retirement, because inflation will have raised the cost of living significantly by the time they hang up their boots.<\/p>\n

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This figure only represents an average of what respondents said and the actual goal may be different depending on the kind of life you want to live in retirement, Szego said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery individual and couple are different in terms of what they spend now, what they\u2019re saving, and then what they think they\u2019ll spend in retirement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might not even need $750,000 if you are fairly modest in what you spend (in retirement). It really comes down to lifestyle,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Despite these lofty goals, however, young Canadians feel like they are falling behind.<\/p>\n

The average amount a millennial has saved so far is $126,000, the RBC survey showed, with 64 per cent of millennials saying they are anxious about what the future holds for their finances and 59 per cent saying they don\u2019t feel financially secure.<\/p>\n

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Based on three separate retirement calculators, the average millennial may be well into their 70s by the time they achieve that target savings goal of $850,000.<\/p>\n

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On average, Canadians start planning their retirement at age 30, with plans to retire at 61, a recent CIBC survey<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n

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If a person with no savings and $50,000 in annual earnings starts putting $425 every month towards their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and investing it, they will be 73 by the time they save up $880,000, the retirement calculator from investment platform Wealthsimple shows.<\/p>\n

According to RBC\u2019s investment calculator, they would have $861,235.85 in savings by the time they\u2019re 75, while the TD calculator says you would have $855,203 in savings by that age if you put $425 a month.<\/p>\n

The calculations from the banks assume that your investments would increase by around five per cent every year, while the Wealthsimple calculations assumes a 5.75 per cent growth rate.<\/p>\n

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While many financial advisers recommend putting around 10 per cent of their paycheque towards retirement every month, Jodi Wright, head of RBC Financial Planning, said that can be hard for young Canadians struggling with day-to-day expenses.<\/p>\n

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How they would like retirement to look is \u201ca very ambiguous question to ask someone who\u2019s young,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t even think about how they\u2019re necessarily going to pay the bill next month,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

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