If you feel a knot in your stomach when you think about retirement, you’re not being “dramatic.” You’re reacting to a genuinely complex problem with real-life stakes.

Here’s what Canadians reported in 2025:

• 76% worry they won’t have enough money in retirement because of rising prices.
• 88% say retirement planning is more complex than it was 20 years ago, and pre-retirees (45+) estimate they’ll need $1,020,000 to retire comfortably.
• 59% fear they’ll outlive their savings, and 55% of non-retirees say they don’t have a retirement plan.
• Meanwhile, 77% are worried about inflation’s impact on day-to-day affordability, and 60% say they have no disposable income.

So, if retirement planning feels stressful, it’s often because the “unknowns” are still unknown.

The good news: planning reduces worry

Two 2025 findings are especially hopeful:

• 52% of non-retirees said having a financial plan gave them confidence they won’t run out of money in retirement.
• 90% of Canadians with a written financial plan feel financially prepared for retirement, versus 55% without one.

In other words: you don’t need perfect certainty. You need a clear next step and a place to capture your numbers. Need a clear place to start? Start with Retirement Starts Here, Planyva’s free foundation course.

A simple way to lower retirement stress: the “Calm Plan” (20 minutes)

Step 1) Name the worry (1 minute)

Pick the one that’s loudest right now:

• “I won’t have enough.”
• “Inflation will wreck my plan.”
• “I’m afraid of outliving my savings.”
• “I don’t even know where to start.”

When you name it, you can target it.

Step 2) Build your “retirement budget first draft” (10 minutes)

Not sure which parts of your retirement picture need attention first? Start with Retirement Starts Here - Free.

Forget perfection. Start with:

• essentials (housing, food, utilities, transportation)
• lifestyle (travel, hobbies, helping family)
• healthcare/insurance
• a buffer

This is why a retirement plan feels hard: without a budget, every number is a guess.

Step 3) Write your income baseline (5 minutes)

List the income sources you expect may be available in retirement:

• CPP or QPP and OAS (and any workplace pension)
• other reliable income sources

You’re not forecasting your whole retirement here—just building a baseline.

Step 4) Choose one lever for the next 90 days (4 minutes)

You don’t need 12 resolutions. Pick one lever:

• increase contributions (even slightly, automatically)
• reduce a high-interest debt
• build a “shock absorber” emergency fund
• push retirement back by 6–12 months (as a scenario, not a sentence)

Then write three small actions you can take over the next 90 days.

Retirement worry often grows when too many questions are still unanswered. One practical way to make it more manageable is to replace some of those unknowns with a few concrete estimates, such as retirement spending, expected income and one next action.

Ready to turn a few estimates into a clearer first draft?

Design Your Retirement helps you estimate what you may need, understand what public income could cover, and make more informed decisions about where your next dollar goes. 

• Explore Design Your Retirement