Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) is rolling out a new national advertising campaign aimed at encouraging the thousands of Canadians, aged 50-59, who are without adequate retirement savings, to feel more comfortable about getting a late start to planning.

Launched Monday, the campaign showcases the stories of Canadians who through seeking and following financial planning advice, were able to make a significant impact on their retirement savings.

“This is a different kind of retirement solutions campaign,” explains Nicole Boivin, Manulife Financial’s chief branding and communications officer.

“You won’t see vineyards, or Tuscany, or travelling the world on a yacht in this campaign. It’s about real people because we thought that the best way to find out what retirement really looks like was to talk to a range of Canadians coming to it from different perspectives.”

In a recent Manulife Bank survey (released May 22), 82 per cent of Canadians indicated that having sufficient retirement income was very important to them. It ranked third only to “having good health” (94%) and being “debt-free” (85%). The survey also found that just one in five (21%) seek out professional financial advice in managing their debt and day-to-day cash flow. Among those who do so, seven in 10 report that their advisor has helped them to create a plan for becoming debt-free.

“We’ve used the real stories of Canadians to demonstrate that it’s never too late to begin planning and saving. We hope that these stories, will reduce some of the reluctance Canadians in this situation may feel about getting a late start to retirement planning and that it will encourage and inspire them to take that important first step,” adds Boivin.

The print and television campaign, which will run from May 27 through August 26, features Canadian couples and singles from British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario who, due to various life factors, were only able to focus on their retirement planning and savings efforts in their 50s.

To compliment the national advertising campaign, Manulife has also launched a new online Retirement Solutions Centre on manulife.ca.

The interactive retirement hub includes an advice centre, videos and other tools and calculators to help Canadians begin to plan for their retirement.