Retirement is getting harder for Canadians: BMO Survey

“With uncertainty around the cost of living and what retirement will look like in the future, it’s natural for Canadians to feel anxious about whether they’re saving enough,” said Paul Lalonde, head of wealth planning at BMO Private Wealth Canada, in a statement.

Canadians feel the retirement math has changed

The sense that retirement has become more difficult spans across generations, though it is most pronounced among younger Canadians.

According to the survey, millennials were the most likely to say retirement planning is tougher now than it was for their parents, followed by Gen X, Gen Z and boomers.

That shared belief reflects just how the structure of retirement has shifted over time. Fewer workers have access to guaranteed pensions, housing costs absorb a larger share of income, and savings are more much more exposed to market volatility and inflation. For many households, retirement depends less on a single asset or benefit and more on sustained financial resilience.

And these concerns are not just limited to personal outcomes. More than three-quarters of Canadians say they worry about whether the next generation will be able to retire at all — a sign that retirement anxiety has become a shared, long-term concern across society.

Supporting adult children is becoming part of the plan

Nearly half of Canadians surveyed say they plan to help their adult children financially. For most, this isn’t a temporary bridge, but an ongoing expectation.

Among those who expect to provide support, 83% acknowledge it will negatively affect their own retirement plans. Younger generations are especially likely to anticipate this trade-off. Gen Z and millennials are far more likely than boomers to say they plan to support their children financially, even as they face greater uncertainty around their own retirement timelines.

“We are seeing more families think beyond their own retirement and plan for how wealth will flow across generations,” said Lydia Potocnik, vice-president and regional director, Estate and Trust Services at BMO Private Wealth. She noted that estate planning and intergenerational strategies are increasingly central to retirement discussions.

Advice helps, but trade-offs remain

Despite the pressures, most Canadians who work with a financial advisor say the relationship is valuable. According to the BMO survey, nearly nine in ten investors surveyed said their advisor helps them meet financial goals.

Still, the data highlights a reality that many households are confronting: even the best plan can’t eliminate some trade-offs. Supporting family, managing rising expenses and saving for retirement are often competing priorities, and choices made today can narrow options later.

For many Canadians, retirement planning is no longer about just replacing income. It’s about balancing resources across generations, adjusting expectations and accepting that the path forward may look very different from the one our parents followed.