Highly confident savers save 64% more than less confident people, according to a Sun Life survey of group retirement plan members it serves. Similarly, those with strong financial literacy saved 12% more than those with less literacy.
When combined, those who are confident about their finances and have strong financial literacy on average saved 86% more those with low confidence and literacy.
“Financial literacy boils down to this: do you know the facts? Do you have the information?” said Dave Jones, senior vice-president of group retirement services. “And [then], are you confident enough in your knowledge to take action?”
The report also noted that confident and knowledgeable people are more likely to work with financial advisors while cautious and less knowledgeable investors, who may benefit from professional advice, are more likely to turn to family and friends instead.
Cautious investors are avoiding advisors because they’re uncertain whether they’ll receive advice they can trust or understand, the report said.
More financially literate and confident investors also tended to have more investible assets and higher income, while those with less savings lacked the confidence to approach a financial advisor, Jones said. “It came across as, ‘I don’t know that I really have enough to work with a financial advisor.’”
About three in 10 Sun Life group retirement plan members reached out to speak with an advisor. Jones said he wants to get that up to 60–70% of members.
Jones believes that improving the Sun Life online portal’s user experience and encouraging employers to auto-enrol could help reach those numbers. When enrolment is the default, the advisor conversation turns to reviewing existing contributions rather than trying to figure out where to start.
Some practices host annual lunch and learns for a group retirement plan sponsor’s employees and have done so for decades, Jones said. “They’re actually watching some of their earlier savers retire.”
On average, Sun Life group retirement plan members have $139,000 in their workplace plan, representing 36% of their investible assets. Nine in 10 contributed enough to capture their full employer match and a higher employer contribution was the top-ranked incentive, according to the report.
The Ipsos survey of 1,981 Sun Life group retirement plan members aged 25–75 was conducted between Jul. 21 and Aug. 11, 2025.