Canadians are struggling to save for retirement, with many planning to push back the next phase of their life amid inflation and higher interest rates, according to a new survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.
Inflation has been slowly cooling in recent months, but at 4.4 per cent in April year over year it’s still more than double the central bank’s target rate of two per cent. The Bank of Canada last week raised its overnight rate to 4.75 per cent after several straight months of holding it steady, citing the risk of sticky inflation.
More than half of those surveyed aged 55 to 64 said if inflation keeps rising, they will have to push back their intended retirement date. Also, despite rising costs, almost 70 per cent of people surveyed said they would take lower pay in exchange for a better pension. Meanwhile, 78 per cent said they believe all employers should be required to contribute in some way towards pensions for workers.
I’m curious to know if they realize that inflation consistently fell for nearly a year. The last reporting period was the first time we have seen an increase since June 2022, and even then it was an only a 0.1pp increase. There is little to suggest that one outlier datapoint is a reversal in the trend. Further, with nearly a year of decline, there would have to be a seismic shift in the inflation rate just to return to June 2022 levels, let alone go higher.
I wonder if many meant: If prices keep rising…?