Fonds de solidarité FTQ highlights challenges for women
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ hosted a regional meeting in Orford on Monday to spotlight a critical financial issue: the persistent gap between men and women’s retirement savings in Quebec.
According to data shared during the event, women currently retire with an average of 28 per cent less savings than men. The Fonds, which has 800,000 shareholders across Quebec, aims to raise awareness of this disparity through its Economic Training Centre and its network of local representatives, known as RLs, who promote retirement planning across the province.
Patrick McQuilken, spokesperson for the Fonds, explained in an interview that regional meetings are held annually to provide training and encourage exchanges among these representatives. “This year we’re really concentrating on the gap between men and women in retirement savings,” he said, noting the urgency of addressing the almost 28 per cent difference.
Rima Chaaban, Director of the Economic Training Centre at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, emphasized that the causes of this gap are largely systemic. During a Tuesday interview, she pointed to wage disparities, career interruptions, and caregiving responsibilities as key factors. “There is a salary disparity, which is a systemic problem, not a problem of individual savings,” she said. “Women often have less linear professional paths, including maternity leaves, which not only affect salary directly but also limit their contributions to retirement savings.”
Chaaban added that women tend to retire earlier than men, with an average retirement age of 62 compared to 64.6 for men. This shorter career span, combined with lower average salaries and higher likelihoods of unpaid caregiving roles, compounds the financial shortfall. “Women also live longer, which makes the situation even more challenging,” she said.
Although systemic reforms are beyond the Fonds’ direct mandate, Chaaban stressed the importance of individual financial education as a way to mitigate the effects. “We focus on the factors women can control,” she said. “Preparing a budget, understanding family expenses, and prioritizing automatic payroll deductions for retirement savings are crucial steps.”
She explained that even small contributions matter. “Even $10 or $20 a week can have a significant cumulative impact,” Chaaban said. The Fonds encourages women to set up automatic deductions from their paycheques to build their savings gradually over time.
The Fonds’ education efforts also include encouraging better financial communication within families. “There’s a need for more awareness within couples to ensure that women don’t bear the financial cost of decisions that benefit the whole family,” Chaaban noted.
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ’s broader mission is to promote retirement savings and support economic development through worker investments. Its Economic Training Centre plays a key role in this by providing workshops, developing training materials, and preparing representatives to engage the public on savings strategies.
Chaaban praised initiatives like media coverage for raising public consciousness about these issues. “Talking about it more, observing the gap, raising awareness—that’s how we can start to close it,” she said.
More information about the Fonds de solidarité FTQ’s activities and findings can be found through their official website and linked resources.