Data · Canada · 2026
Canadian retirement savings by age: are you on track?
How much do Canadians really have saved for retirement? There is no single "retirement savings survey" number — the real picture comes from three official sources: RRSP balances from the Statistics Canada Survey of Financial Security, TFSA balances from the CRA, and CPP payments from Service Canada. Here they are side by side, so you can benchmark each of your own accounts.
RRSP, RRIF & LIRA balances by age
Statistics Canada — Survey of Financial Security, 2023 reference period (Table 11-10-0016-01). CAD. Median and average are for family units that hold the asset, so the final column matters: it is the share of the age band that holds one at all.
| Age of major income earner | Median | Mean | % holding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $15,000 | $57,500 | 54.7% |
| 35–44 | $33,000 | $88,600 | 64.6% |
| 45–54 | $72,600 | $173,500 | 69.6% |
| 55–64 | $120,000 | $266,000 | 70.0% |
| 65+ | $102,200 | $248,700 | 64.7% |
Full detail: Average RRSP balance by age.
TFSA balances by age
Canada Revenue Agency — Tax-Free Savings Account Statistics, 2023 tax year (average fair market value across all holders). CAD.
| Age band | Average TFSA balance |
|---|---|
| 25–29 | $13,149 |
| 30–34 | $16,760 |
| 35–39 | $18,842 |
| 40–44 | $20,670 |
| 45–49 | $24,150 |
| 50–54 | $30,190 |
| 55–59 | $33,242 |
| 60–64 | $45,109 |
| 65–69 | $51,244 |
| 70–74 | $56,106 |
| 75+ | $66,061 |
Full detail: Average TFSA balance by age.
CPP retirement pension
Service Canada — Canada Pension Plan payment amounts (2026). Monthly, at age 65.
Average new beneficiary at 65 (Apr–Jun 2026)
$877.01/mo
Maximum at 65 (Jan 2026)
$1,507.65/mo
Fewer than 5% of recipients get the maximum (it needs ~39 years of maximum contributions). Full detail + your own estimate: Average CPP payment by age.
How to use these benchmarks
Check each account against its own row: compare your RRSP to the RRSP median for your age, your TFSA to the TFSA average, and your expected CPP to the $877.01 average. If you are above the median on RRSP and TFSA, you are ahead of at least half of Canadians your age — but "the median" is not the same as "enough." Most retirement plans target several times your income by retirement, funded from all sources combined: registered savings plus CPP, OAS, any employer pension, and home equity. To see your own full position projected forward, use the Canadian retirement planning tool — it does not invent a number, it works from the figures you enter.
Frequently asked questions
- How much should I have saved for retirement by age in Canada?
- There is no single official target, but the published benchmarks give a reference point. Median RRSP/RRIF/LIRA balances among Canadians who hold one (Statistics Canada SFS, 2023): $15,000 under 35, $33,000 at 35–44, $72,600 at 45–54, and $120,000 at 55–64. Average TFSA balances (CRA, 2023) climb from about $16,760 at 30–34 to $45,109 at 60–64. A common planning rule of thumb suggests roughly 4–6× your income by 50 and 8–10× by retirement — the published medians sit well below those targets for most households, which is why CPP, OAS, employer pensions and home equity matter.
- What percentage of Canadians are on track for retirement?
- The honest answer is that the official surveys report balances, not a single "on track" percentage — and the wide gap between the median and the mean shows most people are below the average. In every RRSP age band the average is roughly 2–4× the median (e.g. at 55–64 the median is $120,000 but the average is $266,000), because a small number of large balances pull the average up. Benchmark yourself against the median, not the mean — half of Canadians in your age band hold less than the median.
- TFSA vs RRSP — which matters more for retirement savings?
- Both. Use an RRSP when your current tax bracket is higher than your expected retirement bracket (the deduction is worth more than the eventual withdrawal tax), and a TFSA for flexibility, for the years before retirement, and for income you want kept out of the OAS clawback calculation (TFSA withdrawals do not count as income; RRSP/RRIF withdrawals do). Most Canadians benefit from contributing to both. The tables above are separate because they come from separate official sources — do not add them together as one total.
- How does Richify calculate my retirement readiness?
- Richify does not invent a number. It tracks your actual RRSP, TFSA, CPP estimate, employer pension, home equity and other assets in one place and projects them forward on the figures you enter, so you can compare your own position to the official benchmarks on this page. It is an educational projection, not financial advice — verify major decisions with a licensed advisor.
Sources: Statistics Canada — Survey of Financial Security (RRSP/RRIF/LIRA by age); Canada Revenue Agency — TFSA Statistics (2023 tax year); Service Canada — CPP payment amounts (2026). Figures come from three separate official sources and are not additive. Educational data only — not financial advice.
