Gen Z retirement savings threatened by existential dread, Canada Life research finds
Focus group participants reported finding such messaging manipulative rather than motivating. What resonated instead were messages framed around resilience, agency, and small, concrete steps, not distant retirement projections.
“Asking young employees to plan decades ahead can be difficult when the next 10 years feel uncertain,” said Kate Nazar, Senior Vice-President, Workplace Retirement and Savings at Canada Life. “Our research shows that when presented with options that feel relevant to their reality, Gen Z workers can and do want to save.”
Julia McGillis, Executive Vice-President, Workplace Benefits and Retirement at Canada Life, framed the challenge in broader industry terms: “We are seizing the opportunity to create retirement and savings solutions that are more relevant, more accessible, and offer more choice.”
For financial planners, the practical implication is a shift in positioning. Rather than anchoring retirement planning conversations in a fixed endpoint (retirement at 65, a target nest egg) the research suggests Gen Z responds better to framing savings as a source of flexibility and control in an unpredictable world.
A tax-free savings account (TFSA), for example, may land better with a 24-year-old as a resilience tool than as a retirement vehicle. As advisors weigh the RRSP vs. TFSA question for younger clients, understanding that Gen Z often prioritises accessible, flexible savings over long-term lock-in is essential context.
