OTTAWA — A new survey suggests almost half of Canadians near retirement feel they are not financially prepared to live comfortably after they leave the workforce.

A poll of people over age 45 done for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries found that 42 per cent of respondents indicated they were unprepared for retirement.

The Ipsos Reid survey also found that almost an equal number had not sought any financial advice.

That included consulting their banks, financial advisers, a relative or even a book on retirement.

The findings come as Canada's finance ministers meet today at a beach resort in Prince Edward Island to discuss pension reform.

Federal minister Jim Flaherty has proposed modest increases in Canada Pension Plan payroll premiums that would be phased in over time, while others have suggested a more aggressive increase in premiums.