
Mortgage-free retirement? Not so for 29% of soon-to-be retirees
Global News
For nearly a third of soon-to-be-retired Canadians, living a mortgage-free retirement may not be on the cards for at least a few years, a new report says.
A third of Canadians approaching retirement in the next two years expect to keep paying their mortgages after they have stopped working, a new report by Royal LePage shows.
A survey of 1,626 Canadians conducted by real estate firm Royal LePage in May found that two per cent of Canadians expect to retire in 2025 and three per cent in 2026. Of these, around one-third (29 per cent) say they will continue to pay down their mortgage into their retirement years.
Less than half (45 per cent) of people retiring soon have already paid their mortgages off and only six per cent said they will be able to pay off their mortgages before retirement.
Another 18 per cent said they do not own their primary residence, and the rest said they either don’t know if they’ll pay off their mortgage before retirement or don’t know.
“This generation is far more likely to have carried mortgage balances that would have been unimaginable to their parents or grandparents,” said Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage.
Soper said while the “bank of mom and dad” has helped younger Canadians, it is taking a toll on some getting closer to retirement.
“Our research confirms they are also much more likely to have provided financial assistance to their children to assist in their home ownership dreams,” he said.
However, this will not be as much of a strain on some Canadians, Soper said.













