Canadians around age 45 have roughly two decades left before retirement. So, it is natural for these investors to assess their financial progress and compare it with that of their peers.
Given that the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) forms the backbone of retirement savings in Canada, one question mid-career workers ask is simple.
How much does everyone else have saved?
Statistics Canada data in the 45 to 54 age group shows two very different pictures depending on which number you look at. The average RRSP balance is $150,300, while the median is around $70,000.
That gap of roughly $80,000 exists because averages are driven up by a smaller group of high-income Canadians who have maxed out their contribution room for years. Comparatively, the median tells a more honest story for future retirees.
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Should RRSP investors be worried?
Age 45 usually falls in the middle of peak earning years and peak expense years. Expenses tied to mortgages, childcare, and travel could significantly reduce disposable income for most households.
Moreover, many people leave their RRSPs sitting in cash or low-yield instruments such as guaranteed income certificates (GICs), which allow inflation to erode their value over time.
At 45, you still have close to 20 years of compounding ahead of you, and the 2026 RRSP contribution limit sits at $33,810, capped at 18% of earned income.
A steady $600 a month added to a portfolio of quality growth stocks, compounding at a historical 7%, can turn a $70,000 balance into almost $600,000 over two decades.
A top Canadian tech stock for the RRSP
One quality tech stock that should be on your 2026 watchlist is CGI (TSX: GIB.A). The company reported fiscal Q2 2026 revenue of $4.2 billion, up 3.3% year over year, while the adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin stood at 16.6%.
Bookings for the quarter stood at $4.3 billion, indicating a book-to-bill ratio of 104%. On a trailing 12-month basis, bookings hit a record $18 billion. The Canadian tech giant ended Q2 with a contracted backlog of $31.5 billion, or 1.9 times annual revenue.
Management described an AI strategy built around four areas: helping clients run more efficiently, modernizing outdated technology, launching new AI-powered services, and providing consulting along the way. The company’s DigiOps platform alone spans nearly 200 agents and 400 workflows already in use across client operations.
CGI also expanded partnerships with Amazon Web Services, OpenAI, and Google Cloud during the quarter, and its pipeline of opportunities tied to those alliances grew more than 180%.
First-half adjusted EPS climbed 7.4% to $4.38, and management reiterated its aspiration for double-digit EPS growth over time, supported by margin improvement, acquisitions, and share buybacks.
CGI bought back $397 million of stock in the quarter alone and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share.
CGI pairs steady, outcome-based contracts with genuine AI-driven growth, a combination that should reward long-term RRSP investors. Investors who eventually close the RRSP gap are the ones who chose durable, growing businesses and let compounding do the rest.
