Canadians scored 60 out of 100 overall, while care planning landed last at 40 in the Manulife index
Care planning scored 40 out of 100, the lowest of eight dimensions in the inaugural Longevity Preparedness Index for Canada.
Manulife and the MIT AgeLab, which built the index, put overall Canadian longevity preparedness at 60 out of 100.
Eleven percent of Canadians identify future care needs and caregiving as a top priority today, against 26 percent who believe it will be important to their wellbeing later in life.
Manulife and the MIT AgeLab said Canadians see a need to plan for care.
Many are putting off the conversation until the need is immediate, the findings show.
Home scored 53 and health 55, the next two lowest domains.
Each dimension is scored from 0 to 100, with the overall figure representing the average: community 75, social connection 69, finance 66, daily activities 60, life transitions 60, health 55, home 53, and care 40.
Asked which aspects of life matter most today, 67 percent of Canadians named health and 66 percent named finances.
Health carried a preparedness score of 55, while finance scored 66.
Joseph F. Coughlin, founder and director of the MIT AgeLab, said in the Manulife release that longevity is “still a relatively new phenomenon.”
Canadians are “not unprepared because they are unwilling to plan,” he said, but are learning to navigate a future previous generations never faced.
People working with a financial professional scored 63 on the index, against 57 among those who have never worked with one.
The advantage extended across all eight dimensions, including care, health, social connection, daily activities, and life transitions.
Preparedness reached 66 among people whose advisor discusses longevity-related topics, compared with 61 among those whose advisor does not.
Paul Lorentz, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, said Canadians who work with a financial professional “score higher across all eight domains of preparedness.”
Advisors can help clients link financial, health and personal considerations, he said.
Average scores were also higher among Canadians who were older, lived in urban areas, had higher levels of income and education, were retired, married or partnered, and had children.
Patrick Graham, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Canada in Toronto, said the findings point to longer lives requiring a broad approach.
He listed health, community, financial security and plans for care as factors in how people age.
