Just looked into how much the average Canadian retirement savings by age actually breaks down, and honestly it's pretty eye-opening. Most people don't realize how much the numbers shift as you get older. Like, if you're under 35, you're probably sitting around $49k on average, but by the time you hit 45-54 it jumps to over $313k. By your 60s you're looking at half a million plus, which sounds great until you realize how much you actually need to live on.

The thing that got me is how the government benefits really don't cut it. CPP maxes out at like $1,253 a month and OAS adds another $642, so combined you're getting maybe $22k a year if you're lucky. That's why people stress so much about building their own nest egg. According to recent surveys, about a third of Canadians saving for retirement don't think they'll have enough set aside. The average retiree ends up with around $319k total, which includes RRSP and TFSA accounts, but that varies wildly depending on how disciplined you were earlier on.

What's interesting is looking at the average Canadian retirement savings by age groups - there's this huge gap between what the median person has versus the average. Like the median for someone 55-64 is only $185k even though the average is over $537k. That tells you some people are way ahead while others are way behind. If you're not maxing out your RRSP and TFSA limits every year, or if your employer doesn't have a pension, you're basically playing catch-up later. The people who started early and automated their contributions are the ones who actually feel comfortable about it.

Makes you think about whether your own retirement savings by age is on track or if you need to shift gears. Most financial advisors say you should have at least 5-10x your annual income saved by retirement age, which for average Canadian retirement savings goals means you can't really slack off.