The Adequacy of Retirement Savings: Subjective Survey Reports by Retired Canadians

Abstract

We examine retired Canadians’ subjective survey reports of satisfaction with finances, and with life, relative to the period before retirement. Many more retired Canadians report enjoying life more than before retirement than the converse, and in 2002 three-quarters of retired Canadians reported being either as satisfied or more satisfied with their finances than they were in the year prior to retirement. The most significant correlate of financial dissatisfaction that our analysis uncovers is involuntary retirement and, in particular, involuntary retirement associated with poor health.