Approximately 29% to 30% of Canadians planning to retire within two years expect to carry mortgage debt into retirement, marking a significant increase from 14% in 2016. Rising housing costs and later-life borrowing have made this trend, or "mortgage-free retirement" being out of reach, a new norm for nearly one in three soon-to-be retirees.
According to a 2024 Royal LePage survey, 30% of Canadians planning to retire in the next two years expect to carry mortgage debt into retirement, up from just 14% in 2016.
The share of non-owners who say they'll never buy a home has returned to 2022 levels. Sources: Bond Brand Loyalty/Mortgage Professionals Canada. Nearly 70% of Canadians own their home—25% own it outright, while 43% are still paying off a mortgage.
Retirees have more mortgage debt than ever before. According to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, the share of homeowners ages 65 to 79 with a mortgage on their primary home increased from 24% to 41% between 1989 and 2022.
Mortgages make up about 70% of household balances. Conventional wisdom has long recommended that homeowners pay off their mortgage before retiring. Yet over the past three decades, more older adults are carrying their mortgage into retirement, while the amount owed has increased dramatically.
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.
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.
74% of Canadians with RRSPs have $100,000 or more in retirement savings. Less than half of Canadians with a high-interest savings account have surpassed $100,000 in savings.
50-59-year-olds are the time when people tend to pay down their debt rapidly – and increase their retirement savings. 60-69-year-olds are or are close to being mortgage-free. However, it's becoming more common for retirees to carry a mortgage.
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.
And once you're retired, it might not make sense to pay off your mortgage faster if you have health issues that are costly, or if your retirement income is simply not enough.
According to Statistics Canada's 2024 Canadian Income Survey, the average after-tax retirement income for senior families in 2022 was $74,200, or $6,183 per month. For individual seniors, it was $33,600, or $2,800 per month.
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.
As of 2022, the median household retirement savings for Americans ages 65-74 is $200,000. In 2022, the average (median) retirement savings for American households was $87,000. The recommended retirement savings at age 40 is 3X annual income. As of 2024, 25% of American non-retirees have no retirement savings.