With financial priorities and retirement challenges becoming more complex, it’s no wonder many Canadians are struggling to engage with their workplace savings plans.

Recent survey results demonstrate this reality. Benefits Canada’s 2026 Employee Savings Survey found a majority (61 per cent) of plan members said the cost of living has impacted their personal financial situation somewhat or very negatively. More than half (53 per cent) of all respondents said they wish someone else would make their investment decisions for them, while three-quarters (77 per cent) said they want to make an investment decision and then be able to forget about it and not worry.

Read: 2026 Employee Savings Survey: A demographic deep dive into the state of workplace savings

Looking more broadly at retirement readiness, a 2024 survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan found half of working Canadians hadn’t set aside any money for retirement in the previous year. And a 2026 survey by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario found 50 per cent of respondents couldn’t recall the last time they spoke to someone about saving for retirement, while the same percentage said they don’t read their annual pension statement.

Alongside these clear challenges, plan sponsors are increasingly grappling with how to balance members’ short-term financial priorities, long-term retirement readiness and growing decumulation needs within a single program. Indeed, plan members at different life stages are facing varied financial realities, engage with their retirement savings differently (or not at all) and require different forms of support. As a result, a savings program built around a single plan and a one-size-fits-all communications strategy is no longer enough.

That’s why plan sponsors — and their consultant partners — are stepping up with support that offers thoughtful plan design, simplified investment strategies, stronger governance and options for the decumulation phase.

Prioritizing flexibility

More employers are working with consultants to build programs that support retirement savings alongside shorter-term financial goals, such as managing debt, purchasing a home or navigating career transitions.

“Plan designs were created decades ago and they don’t fit the economic climate Canadians are living in now,” says Dianne Tamburro, a principal at Eckler Ltd.

Read: Fewer plan members describing financial situation as better, worse than last year: survey

For employers willing to make the shift, the practical barriers are lower than many expect, she adds, noting record-keepers can support multiple plan types within the same structure. In practice, that can mean allowing employees to direct personal contributions towards a group registered retirement savings plan, a group tax-free savings account or a first home savings account while employer contributions continue flowing into a defined contribution pension plan.

“The days of a one-size-fits-all retirement program are behind us,” says Sergio De Rango, vice-president of institutional business development at CIBC Global Asset Management Inc.

Plan sponsors that provide members with the ability to direct their savings where they need them most are likely to see better engagement across the board, he adds, noting plan design has to keep pace as plan member needs evolve.

The evidence for auto features

• 84% — Workplace pension participation in the U.K. in 2024, up from 55% before the introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012.

• 90% — The average participation rate in U.S. plans with auto-enrolment, compared to 28% in traditional opt-in plans.

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