Few working Canadians have factored the need to pay for certain aspects of their health care into their retirement savings, according to a recent survey by Sun Life Financial.

Survey results reveal that only 9% of working Canadians have accounted for health care expenses in their retirement savings, and 80% of Canadians expect that their provincial health care program will provide them with health benefits in retirement.

Canadians appear to know that they need to put aside money for health care spending in retirement, but have not taken the steps to address the reality. Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they expect to spend some of their retirement income on health care, however the percentage of Canadians who have actually saved for this expense in retirement is far less at only 37%.

“Paying for health care in retirement is something that is definitely on the minds of Canadians, employers and the government,” says Brigitte Parent, senior vp, group benefits, Sun Life Financial Canada. “What we’ve seen is that Canadians are looking for ways to get ready to pay for health care costs in retirement and this survey reinforces that, but also highlights the fact that they are not acting on these concerns just yet.”

Conducted by Omnitel, a division of Maritz Research, the survey shows that 36% of Canadians are looking to their employer to provide health care benefits in retirement, with males more likely than females to say that they are expecting their employer to provide them with retiree health care benefits (39% vs. 32%).

While 42% of Canadians said that they worry about paying for health care expenses in retirement, a majority have not planned for it. When asked about the amount of money needed for health care spending in retirement, 43% of respondents said they did not know what they expect to spend annually on this cost. Amounts ranged from more than $13,000 to less than $500 a year.

“As a provider of group benefits, we’re seeing that while some employers are shifting away from full-employer paid benefits, a great number of them are also looking for ways to provide their employees with access to coverage in retirement,” adds Parent.