Half of Canadians who’ve been financially impacted by Covid-19 have reduced the amount of money they save to invest, according to a survey from Toronto-based Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.
Fidelity’s latest retirement survey found that 40% of respondents had their salary or earnings reduced as a result of the pandemic, with data indicating Covid-19 has had a more damaging impact on Canadians in or near retirement than the financial crisis.
Close to 50% of respondents in British Columbia had taken a financial hit as a result of the virus, and more than 40% of respondents in the Prairies and Ontario saw their income plummet. Atlantic Canadians were relatively insulated from the financial impact of Covid-19; just over 30% reported a drop in income.
Thirty-nine per cent of all respondents surveyed — including those who weren’t financially impacted by the pandemic — said they were spending less than they did the previous year, up significantly from 25% in 2019.
Forty per cent of respondents who’d been financially impacted by Covid-19 said they would make only “very safe investments for a long time” as a result of recent market volatility. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents who hadn’t suffered financially as a result of the pandemic said the same.
Fidelity polled 1,929 respondents between May 20 and May 30, 2020. Respondents’ median age was 57. The results of the survey are considered accurate to +/- 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.