Canadians’ personal finances have improved considerably in the past year, with fewer people living paycheque to paycheque and more managing to put savings aside, according to a recent survey by the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA).

The survey of 3,500 employees across Canada, which marks National Payroll Week, reveals that 47% of Canadians would be in financial difficulty if their pay was delayed by even a week. That’s a significant improvement over the 57% last year who were just making ends meet.

Furthermore, 66% said they’ve been able to save more, up from 40% last year.

Quebec residents appear to be having the most success with their finances, with only 33% of respondents in that province living paycheque to paycheque, and 71% having successfully increased their savings this year.

Residents of Ontario, Manitoba and the Maritimes are struggling the most, with 52%, 53% and 54% of residents in those provinces, respectively, living paychque to paycheque.

Despite Canadians’ efforts to save more, however, the CPA notes that the rate of savings remains low. Almost half of respondents said they’re putting aside 5% or less of their paycheques.

As a result, Canadians are struggling to accumulate retirement savings. When asked how close they are to their retirement goal, 73% of employees said they have saved less than a quarter of what they wish to accumulate.

Of particular concern is the finding that even among employees closer to retirement (50 and older), 45% report that they are less than a quarter of the way to their retirement savings goal.

Only 13% of respondents said they’re halfway to their target.

“Many are people who will be leaving the workforce in a few short years, yet most of them remain far below their retirement targets,” said Patrick Culhane, president and CEO of the CPA.

And at the same time, Canadians’ retirement savings goals are on the rise. Only 34% of Canadians feel that savings of $500,000 to $1 million will be sufficient to live comfortably in retirement, down from 42% last year. A larger proportion, 38%, believe a nest-egg of between $1 million and $3 million will be needed, up from 27% last year.

As a result, many plan to stay in the workforce longer: 41% said they’ll now have to work five more years on average than they planned in 2007.