Regional meeting in Québec City: Gap in revenue between Québec women and men in retirement on the agenda

Québec, April 30, 2025

Solutions to reduce the gap between women and men in retirement planning will be on the agenda of the regional meeting of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ to be held today in Québec City. Some 50 local representatives (LRs) from the Fonds' network will attend the event as will the team from the Centre de formation économique (CFE).

"Reducing economic and financial inequalities between women and men is an ongoing battle. Although we've come a long way in recent years when it comes to pay equity, the statistics show that there is still a significant gap in retirement income," said Isabelle Renaud, the Fonds' Executive Vice-President of Savings Development. 

According to Statistics Canada's most recent data on Québec, the average annual income of women aged 65 and over in 2022 was $36,200, compared with $50,800 for men in the same age category, a gap of $14,600 or 28.7%.^[1]

A Léger survey conducted for the Chambre de la sécurité financière and ÉducÉpargne revealed that 30 % of women in Québec have not started planning for retirement, 10 % more than men. It also revealed that women seem less confident in their ability to manage their money than men and are less likely to report having good financial skills.

"The Fonds' local representatives play a key role in making as many women as possible aware of the importance of starting to save for retirement without delay. The regional meeting give them an opportunity to discuss the topic with our team and to provide them with the tools they need to help women build a retirement nest egg," said Rima Chaaban, Director of the Fonds' CFE. 

Several other issues will be discussed during the regional meeting, including the importance of a long-term plan for retirement savings. In the current economic context, this reminder is more important than ever.

The Fonds has more than 90,000 shareholders in the Capitale-Nationale region. This is the equivalent or 1 out of 5 workers in the region^[2], many of whom started saving for retirement thanks to the LRs in their workplace. Local representatives are supported by the Fonds' Centre de formation économique, which organizes in-company workshops on retirement planning geared to middle-class workers.

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ 

The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a source of pride in Québec, fulfilling its mission through a unique business model created more than 40 years ago. Since then, the Fonds has rallied Québec into action thanks to the retirement savings of 795,374 shareholders.

With net assets of $21.7 billion as at November 30, 2024, the Fonds supports nearly 4,000 companies through direct and indirect venture and development capital investments based on the belief that impact is created as much by financial as societal returns. For more information, visit fondsftq.com or our company page on LinkedIn.

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