• Leading the pack of concerns are: inflation (82%), greater competition for hiring (82%), employee burnout (79%), labour shortage (79%) and high turnover (77%). 
• Many are also concerned about employee productivity (59%) impacting their business.
• While most are optimistic about their revenue (80%) and profits (80%), fewer are as optimistic about maintaining employee morale (67%).  One in five (20%) employers rate themselves poorly on their ability to find talent.

• Most employers are concerned about employees’ financial stress resulting from: inflation (87%), economic instability (81%) and increasing interest rates (78%).
• Among the 83% of employers concerned about employees’ mental health, 47% are taking action and 30% are developing a plan.
• Among the 61% of employers concerned about low productivity, 31% are taking action and 37% are developing a plan.
• Employers overwhelmingly agree it is important to offer benefits that will reduce financial stress for employees (88%).

• Among all employers (including those that don’t offer retirement benefits), they understand offering retirement benefits helps with retaining (66%) and recruiting (62%) talent. 
• A majority of employers also say retirement benefits are a cost-effective way to reduce financial stress for employees (85%) and more of an investment in human capital than a cost to business (78%).
• Those that do offer retirement benefits are doing so to respond to employee needs (it was rated as the first or second priority for 55%), long-term costs to the company (51%) and competing with other employers (47%).

• Most Canadian employers (84%) are concerned about an emerging retirement income crisis, which is even higher than the Canadian general public who agree with the same statement (75%*). 
• Implications of the crisis are commonly understood by employers: 
  • 80% say without good pensions in place, the economy will suffer.
  • 84% say if workers aren’t able to access good workplace pensions and contribute during their working lives, they will become a burden on the taxpayer.
• A majority of employers feel a responsibility to offer a pension plan workers can access in order to have adequate retirement income (75%).
• Employers believe that governments have a role to play:
  • 90% believe governments should encourage best practices for communicating the value of retirement benefits.
  • 87% say governments can save money by supporting pensions that are more efficient/affordable.

*Source: 2022 Canadian Retirement Survey 

• A majority of employers (67%) are currently favouring wage increases over improving benefits as the best way to mitigate the effects of inflation for employees, and as a means to attract new employees (71%).
• Cost is the biggest impediment for the 20% of employers that do not offer any retirement benefits. Of this group, 44% say the long-term costs are too high and 30% say set-up costs are too high.
• Only one in three employers say benefits are the best way to mitigate inflation pressures.

• Knowing that over half of employers are concerned about employee productivity (59%), those reporting significantly improved productivity are more likely to favour benefits over cash in fighting inflationary pressures and recruiting new talent, compared to those with worsening productivity (45% vs. 31%).
  • Furthermore, employers reporting improved productivity are twice as likely to be optimistic about maintaining employee morale (81% vs. 40%), retaining current talent (80% vs. 43%), and recruiting new talent (76% vs. 38%).
• Firms that offer defined benefit pensions are more likely to report improved productivity (49%) than firms that do not (36%).
• Seventeen per cent of Canadian employers introduced or enhanced their retirement benefit offerings last year, or plan to in the year ahead. 
  • Those who have introduced or enhanced their retirement benefits in the last year are more likely to report higher levels of employee productivity compared to those who have not made any retirement benefit improvements (56% vs. 39%), and less likely to be negatively impacted by greater competition for hiring (57% vs. 77%), high turnover (64% vs. 71%), and labour shortages (62% vs. 76%).