How to plan for retirement when you have no pension

By Michael McCullough on September 9, 2024
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Practical advice on how to build your retirement savings for employees at mid-career, the self-employed, single parents and more.

That’s no longer the case. Just 38% of paid workers in Canada were covered by a registered pension plan in 2021, the most recent year surveyed by Statistics Canada. The retreat of pension coverage is particularly marked in the private sector.

The news isn’t all bad. Pension coverage has stabilized over the past two decades after falling significantly between 1980 and 2005. The number of Canadians covered by workplace pensions actually increased 1.8% in 2021, to 6.7 million, with the fastest growth coming from defined-benefit plans, the gold standard of pension coverage. Still, that failed to keep pace with the rate of employment growth.

That leaves a majority of Canadians needing to cobble together their own retirement plan based on government programs, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and non-registered investments.

featured

GIC rate

Earn a guaranteed 4% in your RRSP when you lock in for 1 year.

go to site

featured

Online brokerage

Open an RRSP investment account and trade ETFs and stocks with $0 commission on all online stock transactions. No minimum deposit needed.

go to site

Best TFSAs

Aside from an RRSP, another powerful tax-advantage account is a TFSA. Check out the best TFSAs in Canada.

read now

Why trust us

MoneySense is an award-winning magazine, helping Canadians navigate money matters since 1999. Our editorial team of trained journalists works closely with leading personal finance experts in Canada. To help you find the best financial products, we compare the offerings from over 12 major institutions, including banks, credit unions and card issuers. Learn more about our advertising and trusted partners.

And every person’s situation is different. Single people, couples, employees, self-employed workers, those born in Canada and newcomers each have different needs and challenges. Does this sound like you? Below are links to MoneySense articles offering practical advice to people in particular situations with no pension:

It pays to know! Get FREE MoneySense financial tips, news & advice in your inbox. Subscribe now

About Michael McCullough

Michael is a financial writer and editor in Duncan, B.C. He’s a former managing editor of Canadian Business and editorial director of Canada Wide Media. He also writes for The Globe and Mail and BCBusiness.

Linkedin Twitter