The average Canadian has approximately $30,000 to $40,000 in personal savings, but this figure varies widely based on age, income, and location. While high-income households and older individuals often have substantial savings, many Canadians struggle to save, with many reporting living paycheque-to-paycheque.
Here's what Canadians typically have in savings, not counting pensions or homes: Under 35: $27,425. 35 to 44: $23,743. 45 to 54: $39,831.
If you've got $10,000 saved, you're ahead of most Canadians. 👉 About 26% can't cover a $500 emergency, and only 15% have saved more than $10K. Savings = peace of mind. How's your emergency fund looking?
Based on this data, approximately less than 10% of Canadians aged 55 to 64 have $1,000,000 or more saved up to carry them into retirement. However, there are ways to improve your odds of getting to $1-million-plus in retirement savings, but it will take work.
If the TLDR chart is true, then the only about 7-8% of the Canadian population has 500K or more.
In late 2024, for example, during a parliamentary squabble over increasing Old Age Security (OAS) benefits for those aged 65 to 75, it was revealed that the median net worth of Canadians over 65 had risen to almost $550,000.
According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's analysis of Federal Reserve data, just 1.8% of U.S. households have at least $2 million in retirement savings.
In order to be considered wealthy in Canada, you should have a net worth of at least $1 million. That being said, a lot of Canadians who are considered wealthy live a relatively normal life. Most of their net worth is in their primary residence, investments, retirement packages, or even a mix of the three.
Using figures from the U.S. Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances (updated to 2022 but released in 2025), only about 2.5% of all Americans actually have $1 million or more saved in their retirement accounts—a figure that might shock anyone used to seeing financial media and their depictions of average Americans ...
How many Americans have $500,000 in retirement savings? Of the 54.3% of U.S. households that have any money in retirement accounts, only about 9.3% have $500,000 or more in retirement savings.
According to Equifax, the average non-mortgage debt per consumer in Canada was $22,147 in the second quarter of 2025. Those between 26 and 65 carry the heaviest debt loads — between $27,000 and $34,000 on average — while younger adults (18–25) carry about $8,000, and seniors over 65 carry roughly $14,000.
The "27.39 rule" (often rounded to $27.40) is a simple financial strategy to save $10,000 in one year by consistently setting aside $27.40 every single day, making it an achievable micro-saving habit to build wealth or an emergency fund. It turns the daunting goal of saving $10,000 into a manageable daily action, emphasizing consistency over large lump sums.
Can you retire on $500,000 in Canada? Based on some of these rules, let's calculate what the retirement income would be. The average retirement age in Canada is 65. Estimating that the $500,000 is to last you 25 years, your yearly retirement income would be $20,000.
9 Signs of Wealth to Look Out For
One in five Americans over the age of 50 have no retirement savings, according to a survey by the AARP. And even if you have something tucked away, it may not be enough — though that is something you can change even late in the game.
For a 70-year-old, average retirement savings vary significantly by source, but generally fall between $250,000 and over $600,000 (mean/average), while the median (half have less) is much lower, around $100,000 to $200,000, highlighting a wide gap due to high earners skewing averages. Key figures show the mean for ages 65-74 around $609,000, but the median for that group is closer to $200,000.