{"id":308692,"date":"2026-02-20T21:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/308692\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T21:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:53:13","slug":"more-canadians-have-workplace-pensions-but-many-are-making-a-big-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/308692\/","title":{"rendered":"More Canadians have workplace pensions, but many are making a big mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Illustration by Sam Island<\/p>\n

Oh hi, again. Happy (belated!) Pension Awareness Day. Yes, it was technically yesterday, but when it comes to pensions, it\u2019s never too late to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

Do you pay attention to your pension? <\/p>\n

Pension Awareness Day was launched in Ontario in 2023 by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to help people better understand the value of a workplace pension, and how it fits into their retirement plans.<\/p>\n

This week, the agency shared some fresh 2025 numbers with me: About 200,000 people joined Ontario pension plans in 2025. For comparison, about 187,000 people joined in 2024. In other words, more workers are getting access to them.<\/p>\n

The trend lines up with data from Statistics Canada<\/a>. Membership in registered pension plans climbed to 7.2 million Canadians in 2023 \u2014 a 4.2-per-cent increase from the year before. Of those, 4.9 million were in defined-benefit plans, also up 4.2 per cent.<\/p>\n

Part of that growth is tied to the public sector, where defined-benefit pensions are common and employment has climbed until recently. Large plans like the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan (CAAT) and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) have also expanded to more employers in recent years.<\/p>\n

So yes, more people have pensions. That\u2019s the good news. The not-so-good news? Many aren\u2019t paying attention to them.<\/p>\n

FSRA research shows that half of pension members don\u2019t read their annual pension statement. <\/p>\n

Having a workplace pension is a huge asset. But it\u2019s not magic. It\u2019s not the only thing funding your retirement. You still need to understand how benefits are earned, when they\u2019re paid, and how your pension works alongside your own savings and government programs.<\/p>\n

Without checking your annual pension statement, you may miss small errors, such as incorrect years of service or outdated salary data, that can impact your growth. You also won\u2019t know what you\u2019re on track to get by retirement, which can have you planning for the future in the dark.<\/p>\n

So, here\u2019s your gentle nudge: if you have a workplace pension, don\u2019t let it run entirely on autopilot. Take 10 minutes and open your annual pension statement. Plus, if you haven\u2019t enrolled in your workplace pension yet, the FSRA has a handy list of questions<\/a> you can ask your employer, including if you can access funds before retirement or if the employer matches contributions.<\/p>\n

Future you will be glad you did.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the Retire Rich newsletter<\/p>\n

Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Retire Rich here<\/a>.The Calculator <\/p>\n

Golfers live longer.<\/a> That\u2019s the finding of a 2008 Swedish study, and no, it\u2019s not just because they\u2019re wealthier. Researchers adjusted for socioeconomic differences and still found golfers had lower mortality rates.<\/p>\n

Why? It could be the obvious things: Hours spent walking outdoors, fresh air, regular movement, and social connection. But it could also be a correlation. People who regularly golf may already be healthier than average.<\/p>\n

My take: As someone who doesn\u2019t love golf, this feels like mildly bad news. But the bigger lesson isn\u2019t about golf specifically \u2014 it\u2019s about being active outside. If golf is linked to longevity, other outdoor sports might be too. Harder in a Canadian winter, yes. But when the weather\u2019s good, getting outside and moving your body is a smart bet.<\/p>\n

The Retirement Receipt Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

When a pet is the inheritance<\/a><\/p>\n

The situation: Donna, a 55-year-old Toronto woman, was estranged from her father when he reached out near the end of his life with one request: Take his cat. When he died, his estate went to his new family. Donna got Buttercup.<\/p>\n

What she did: Though she\u2019s a self-described dog person, Donna drove four hours to pick up the middle-aged cat. Buttercup came with pet insurance but still racked up roughly $30,000 in vet bills over eight years. Donna handled the appointments, the care, and, eventually, the attachment. \u201cIf this was the only thing I was ever going to have from my dad, gosh darn it, I was going to cherish that cat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Yes, but: In Canada, pets are legally property and can\u2019t directly inherit money. Without a clear plan, such as a pet trust or designated funds, the financial responsibility of inheriting an animal can fall unexpectedly on family members.<\/p>\n

Best of the Rest <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb0 Most Canadians feel anxious about retirement planning, yet many are still contributing to their RRSPs anyway.<\/a> A new survey from Edward Jones Canada finds 70 per cent associate RRSPs with confusion or worry, even as contributions tick higher for 2025. Advisers say that instinct to save is a strong start, but without understanding tax rules, withdrawal consequences or whether an RRSP is the right account in the first place, good intentions can become costly mistakes.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude97 Auto insurance is becoming a budget breaker for many Canadians.<\/a> With premiums rising sharply, especially for new and young drivers, families are rethinking second cars, holding onto older vehicles and shopping aggressively for better rates. Experts say higher repair costs, theft and legal claims are driving the increases.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddfe The 2026 tax season is a big test for the CRA.<\/a> With fewer last-minute tax changes and a 100-day service fix from Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne, the agency has a chance to reset. Call wait times have improved and more tools are online, but past audits found agents gave wrong answers nearly 30 per cent of the time.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 Locked out of the housing market, Gen Z is investing its money.<\/a> The share of people aged 25 to 39 making annual transfers to investment accounts more than tripled between 2013 to 2023 to 14.4 per cent, according to data from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. (Paywalled)<\/p>\n

Try This <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Stock splits might feel exciting, but they don\u2019t make you richer.<\/a> Don\u2019t buy a stock just because it\u2019s splitting, or avoid one because it isn\u2019t, writes Globe reporter David Berman. Focus on the company\u2019s fundamentals and whether it fits your long-term plan. A split changes the sticker price, not the underlying value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Illustration by Sam Island Oh hi, again. Happy (belated!) Pension Awareness Day. Yes,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,61,60,174,175,33057],"class_list":["post-308692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirementnewsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}