Picture this hypothetical situation: At 64, Robin is retired with a healthy $700,000 nest egg. On paper, she should feel secure. Yet instead of enjoying her days, she finds herself opening her retirement account app five times a day, watching the balance tick up and down with the market. Each dip sparks anxiety: What if I run out? What if this isn’t enough?
She isn’t the only one worrying. A 2024 survey from CPP Investments (1) found that 61% of her fellow Canadians are also worried about running out of money during retirement.
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This could possible be due to many retirees trying to survive on what they perceive as too little. While the average Canadian believes they need at least $1.54 million to retire comfortably (2), the average retirement savings balance across all accounts at age 65 is $738,900 (3). The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) 2025 Canadian Retirement Survey (4) found that 20% of respondents have no savings at all.
Even with a robust $700,000 nest egg, you may still find yourself with money worries in retirement. But there are ways to stop worrying and enjoy retirement. Here’s how to get to a healthier place and avoid the constant stress.
Work with a financial advisor to establish a safe withdrawal plan
One of the most effective ways to quiet the worry is to work with a professional to oversee those accounts. A financial advisor can help calculate a sustainable withdrawal rate based on your savings, investment mix and lifestyle needs.
Robin’s retirement accounts are invested, which means that the value can change from one day to the next. Watching those shifts in real time can make even the most diligent saver feel like they’re gambling with their future.
An advisor can test different scenarios and show you how long your money is likely to last.
For Robin, seeing those numbers on paper and knowing a professional is guiding her decisions could alleviate her anxieties that lead her to check her balances five times a day. Once she’s able to stop fixating on those numbers so frequently, she won’t have to worry about every little bump in the road.
Read more: Here are 5 expenses that Canadians (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you?
Invest in a way that matches your comfort level
Working with an advisor also helps ensure that your money is allocated in a way that doesn’t keep you up at night.
When you’re younger, growth is the goal — a heavy stock allocation makes sense. But once you’re in retirement, the stakes are different. A market downturn can be harder to recover from when you’re drawing down your accounts.
For someone like Robin, peace of mind may come from dialing back risk. That might mean holding fewer stocks, focusing on dividend-paying companies or switching her investments to lower-risk options, including guaranteed investment certificates (GICs).
The key isn’t following a one-size-fits-all rule: It’s creating a mix that feels secure. If Robin knows her money is being invested in a way that won’t lead to big swings — and that those allocations align with her comfort level — she’ll be less tempted to log in each day for reassurance.
Rely on guaranteed income to ease the pressure
The less reliant you are on your nest egg, the less worried about running out of money you might be. Relying more on guaranteed income streams, like Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), is key here.
Robin can choose to claim CPP as early as 60, but doing so locks her into permanently reduced payments. Waiting until age 65 means a higher benefit, while delaying until 70 boosts her monthly income even further. Understanding these trade-offs — and choosing the right age to claim — can make a big difference in how secure she feels.
Some retirees also consider annuities or other products that provide steady lifetime income. The point is to build a foundation of predictable money each month, so the entire burden doesn’t rest on the investment accounts. For Robin, knowing her essential bills will always be covered by her pension, OAS/CPP and perhaps other guaranteed sources can make the ups and downs of her portfolio seem less frightening.
Robin’s story is a reminder that worry in retirement isn’t always about the numbers. Even with $700,000 in savings, the lack of a paycheque can create an uneasy feeling of vulnerability.
The path forward isn’t to watch account balances obsessively, but to create a system that replaces that daily reassurance: a withdrawal plan guided by an advisor, an investment strategy that aligns with her comfort level and guaranteed income streams that cover her needs.
With those safeguards in place, Robin, and retirees like her, can stop treating retirement like a gamble and start enjoying the years they’ve worked so hard for.
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Article sources
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CPP Investments: Canadians fear running out of money in retirement, but there are ways to ease that anxiety ([1]https://www.cppinvestments.com/newsroom/canadians-fear-running-out-of-money-in-retirement-but-there-are-ways-to-ease-that-anxiety)); BMO: BMO Retirement Survey: Over Three Quarters of Canadians Worry They Will Not Have Enough Retirement Savings Amid Inflation (2); Fidelity: How much do Canadians need to save per year for retirement? (3); HOOPP: 2025 Canadian Retirement Survey (4)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.