Canadians are choosing to retire later

Over the past 25 years, the average age at which Canadians begin their retirement has trended upwards. In 2025, the average age of Canadians exiting the workforce and starting their retirement reached 64.5 years, the same as the previous year, and up from 61.6 years in 2000. On average, men are retiring later than women. In 2025, the average age of women who retired was 64.5, compared with 66.2 for males. The trend of Canadians retiring later is driven by many factors, including the rising cost of living, improvements in life expectancy, and changing attitudes towards working later in life. Many Canadians rely on fixed-income sources such as the Canadian Pension Plan and Old Age Security to fund their retirement. As the cost of living increases, these income streams may not be sufficient to cover day-to-day expenses, leading many to opt to work longer to build up their retirement nest eggs.

Data for this Chart of the Week comes from Statistics Canada’s Table 14-10-0060-01  Retirement age by class of worker, annual