A new CPP Investments survey finds most Canadians are saving without a longevity plan, raising concern ahead of Financial Literacy Month
Most Canadians are putting money aside for retirement, but far fewer are planning for how long that retirement might actually last; a disconnect that a new national survey says is directly undermining financial confidence.
The 2026 CPP Investments Retirement Survey, released October 28, 2026, and conducted by Innovative Research Group among 5,141 Canadians outside Quebec, found that while 76 per cent of respondents recognize people are living longer, only 34 per cent have a retirement plan that accounts for longevity.
Three-quarters of respondents have saved money for retirement, yet just 42 per cent have any formal financial plan in place. Another 34 per cent are saving with no plan at all.
The results, published ahead of Financial Literacy Month in November, point to a significant advisory opportunity for financial planners and wealth managers working with clients approaching or already in decumulation.
The confidence gap
This year's survey introduced a new Retirement Longevity Index that tracks two linked scores: a Preparation Score, measuring the concrete steps Canadians have taken to ready themselves for a long retirement, and a Confidence Score, measuring how financially secure they feel about sustaining themselves through it.
The two scores track closely together. Canadians who have taken multiple preparation steps report an average Confidence Score of 58 out of 100, compared with just 35 among those who have taken few or no steps.
The finding reinforces what many advisors already observe in practice: that knowledge and planning translate directly into client peace of mind. Advisors working with clients who lack defined benefit pensions face particular pressure as longevity risk increasingly shifts from institutions to individuals.
"Living longer changes the way we need to think about retirement," said Michel Leduc, Senior Managing Director and Chief Public Affairs Officer at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) in Toronto. "Putting money aside is an important start. But planning also means thinking about how long retirement could last, the sources of income you may have, like the CPP, and how those pieces fit together. Doing this boosts confidence in planning for a potentially long retirement."
CPP literacy linked to lower stress
One of the survey's sharper findings concerns CPP literacy. Among Canadians who know that CPP payments are adjusted for inflation, 63 per cent say they are confident their money will last through retirement - and only 21 per cent report high stress about retirement planning, well below the national average.
Among those very familiar with the CPP overall, 77 per cent are confident their savings will last, compared with just 22 per cent among those who are unfamiliar with it or unsure.
Yet CPP knowledge remains patchy. Only 30 per cent of respondents knew CPP payments are linked to inflation, and 53 per cent knew that payment amounts reflect years of contributions and average earnings. These figures suggest a substantial portion of pre-retirees and retirees are not fully accounting for one of the most reliable income streams available to them.
The Canada Pension Plan provides inflation-adjusted, lifetime retirement income - a feature that functions as a form of public longevity insurance by pooling risk across the workforce. Advisors navigating the decumulation challenge for clients are increasingly incorporating CPP timing strategies - including deferral to age 70, which can increase monthly payments substantially - as a core element of retirement income planning.
Financial pressure rising
The survey also recorded rising day-to-day money stress. More than one-third of Canadians (34 per cent) report high financial stress in their daily lives, up from 31 per cent in 2025. Among households earning less than $50,000 annually, that figure climbs to 47 per cent.
This broader context matters for advisors whose clients span income levels. For lower-income Canadians, the CPP may represent a disproportionately important pillar of retirement security; for higher-income clients, CPP literacy still shapes decisions about when to start collecting and how to sequence withdrawals from registered and non-registered accounts.
CPP Investments manages the CPP Fund, which totalled C$863.6 billion as of June 30, 2026, including approximately $609.3 billion in cumulative net income generated from investment activity since 1999. The Office of the Chief Actuary of Canada has confirmed the CPP is projected to remain financially sustainable for at least the next 75 years.
For financial advisors, the survey's message is practical. The challenge of building retirement income strategies that account for longevity is not new, but the gap between saving and planning that this year's data reveals suggests the advisory conversation needs to go further - beyond contribution rates and asset allocation, toward explicit planning for how many years a client may need their money to last.
The survey was conducted from August 27 to September 8, 2026, with an unweighted sample of 5,141 Canadians 18 and older outside Quebec, weighted to a final sample of 4,000 to reflect the Canadian population based on Census data.
