40 with nothing saved for retirement? You've got about 25 earning years left and a pension floor that's already building. A 2025 HOOPP study found 39% of Canadians have never saved for retirement, so you're in good company.

Meet Jess. She's 40, rents a 1 bedroom in Halifax and earns $70,000. To retire renting there she needs about $41,700 a year after tax in today's dollars, including $6,000 for trips, dinners and gifts. Owning with no mortgage drops that to about $33,500. A renter needs about $35,600 in Saint John, $38,000 in Winnipeg and $45,000 in Toronto or Vancouver.

CPP and OAS give her about $23,000 a year before she saves a dollar, so her savings only cover the gap. At $500 a month her money lasts in 63 of 100 market runs. At $750 it's 80, and at $1,000 it's 90. $750 and working to 67 gets her to 92. Even in the bad runs, CPP, OAS and the top-up for low-income seniors keep about $27,000 a year coming.

TFSA or RRSP? At $750 a month both get her to about 80, as long as the RRSP refund gets invested. Spend the refund and it drops to 52. Closer to $45,000 of income the TFSA comes out a bit ahead, and at $100,000 the RRSP does.

4 things I'd do at 40 with nothing saved
1. Check your CPP estimate in My Service Canada Account, and your OAS.
2. Build your number from what you'd actually spend where you live, and save toward the gap.
3. Start with your employer match, then automate what you can, $50 or $300 a month, into 1 all-in-one fund. Raise it with every raise.
4. Working a couple of extra years and starting CPP later both add guaranteed income for life.

Growing your pay does a lot of the heavy lifting. A $6,000 course that takes her to $80,000 pays for itself in about a year or 2.

My free retirement calculators come with my monthly email at calmmoneycoach.com.

I'm Brian Orlando, CPA, in Halifax. Advice-only planning through Calm Money Coach. No products, no commissions.

Run through my retirement planner, October 2026, in today's dollars. Spending from Statistics Canada's Market Basket Measure and CMHC rents. HOOPP 2025. Education only.

#retirementplanning #retirement #tfsa #rrsp #personalfinancecanada