#GoodReads – Average Savings

What is the average savings by age in Canada?

via Canadian Real Estate Wealth.

“Everyone wants to feel the peace of mind that comes from being financially stable and one of the keys to financial success is building your savings. Saving can be challenging, even at the best of times, and it can take a long time to even build your savings to the point that feels comfortable in the first place.

When young people start out, they tend to earn less which makes it incredibly hard to save quickly. Gradually, as people age and earn more, they find themselves able to save more in proportion. However, many people still feel that they haven’t saved as much as they should have, or haven’t saved as much as their peers. Wouldn’t we all like to save more or to have started saving sooner? Because of this, it might be helpful to know how your savings compare to others who are similar to yourself. This can help you see if you are on the right track or find out if you need to reevaluate your saving strategies.

This can be useful to help you set your own goals, but it’s also important not to compare yourself to others. Everyone saves at their own rate and has their own goals and needs. You may feel behind compared to others, but there are always ways you can work to save more. Let’s take a look at what the average savings amount is for Canadians but again, remember not to compare yourself to others or be harsh on yourself.

What does the average Canadian save in a year?

According to a Statistics Canada report, in 2018, the average household saved just $852. That may seem surprisingly low, but this is due to the effects of taking such a broad average.

Across the range of Canadian residents, there are many different earning levels. For example, those who did not save but instead went into debt are included in the average.

Statistics Canada indicates that among the lowest income quintile (bottom 20% of earners), the average household had a net dissavings of almost $28,000, meaning they spent more than they earned. Among the top 20%, the average savings were much higher at over $40,000 In a similar report from 2021, Statistics Canada found an increase in average net savings across all but the highest earners in Canada during the pandemic. This results from a few factors such as increased income, slowed spending, and low-interest rates, making debts more serviceable…

35 and under

For Canadians under 35 who are part of an economic family, the average person had $77,836 in financial assets (bank accounts, investments, etc.) and $115,399 in pension assets (registered retirement savings plan and similar accounts, employer-sponsored pension plans, etc.). For those who are single or not part of an economic family, they had $27,425 in financial assets and $25,263 in pension assets. As you look at statistics for higher age groups, there is a trend of increasing savings and greater average net worth as you get older, until you get to the retirement ages, at which point the average savings start to go down, likely as people retire and begin to dip into their retirement savings account and other assets.

Ages 35 to 44

For ages 35 to 44, the average amount of retirement savings was $360,089 for those who are part of an economic family and $39,682 for those who are not. For financial assets, the averages were $107,274 and $23,743 for the two groups respectively.

Ages 45 to 54

From 45 to 54 years of age, the average economic family had a total retirement savings of $742,008 and an average financial asset value of $250,175. For people not in an economic family, the corresponding savings were $130,685 and $39,831.

Ages 55 to 64

From 55 to 64 years old, Canadians had the highest amount of assets saved. Economic families of this age had $1,087,587 in pension savings and $310,438 in financial assets. For those not in an economic family, the average amount of savings was $260,662 for retirement savings and $70,049 in financial assets.

Ages 65 and up

Beyond the age of 65, Canadians who are part of an economic family see a decrease in savings, while those who are single continue to see their savings increase. The data does not offer a clear interpretation of this discrepancy, but it could be due to single older people with lower savings choosing to continue to work or as a result of selling non-financial assets such as real estate to fund retirement.