OTTAWA – A new study from the Bank of Montreal suggests baby boomers fall well short of having the resources they need to retire comfortably.

The survey found 46 per cent of boomers, defined as born between 1945 and 1964, weren’t confident they had sufficient savings to retire.

That’s way up from 20 per cent who felt that way in 2006, before the economy went into a deep recession and interest rates fell to historic lows.

On average, boomers anticipate they will need a nest egg of about $658,000 to feel financially secure, but so far have only put away about $228,000 — a $430,000 shortfall.

But even their calculations of financial security may fall short.

The average senior couple spent about $54,100 in 2009, which based on historical returns would require savings of about $1.35 million.

Chris Buttigieg of BMO Financial Group says the message is written large for younger Canadians — prepare early for retirement.

For boomers, the options are more limited. According to the survey, many boomers say they will likely need to delay retirement, and seven in 10 say they expect to take on a part-time job to earn extra income after they retire.

About one third expect to sell their home, while another 19 per cent say they plan to rent out part of their home.

The results are based on an online survey of 291 pre-retirement boomers conducted in the first week of August.