Second World War veterans attend official ceremonies to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War in Mons, Belgium, on Nov. 11, 2008. (Michel Spingler/Associated Press)

The majority of people included in a survey overestimated how long the average veteran serves in the Armed Forces and how many of them retire with pensions, according to a Nanos Research survey released Thursday by Commissionaires.

While in reality, only 30 per cent of veterans have earned pensions when they retire from military service, a strong majority of those surveyed in the September poll believe that at least half of veterans retire with pensions.

The random telephone survey also revealed more than 28 per cent believe that all veterans receive pensions.

The survey exposed other misconceptions.

Thirty-five per cent of respondents believe that the average veteran retires after 20 years of service.

As well, only 14 per cent of the respondents knew that the average length of service is 11.5 years, meaning that most veterans pursue new employment opportunities once they retire from military service.

"Clearly, most Canadians think that members of the Canadian Forces stay for the better part of their working lives. But we see the real story every day," said Paul Guindon, chairman of Commissionaires, which hires many former Canadian Forces personnel.

"Most vets retire long before they're even eligible for a pension, so they have to pursue second and even third careers."

Transition is difficult

Many of the veterans hired by Commissionaires have no pensions and insufficient savings to finance retirement, the organization reported.

"Making the transition from service in the Canadian Forces, back to civilian life, is often very difficult," said Doug Briscoe, Commissionaires' executive director.

"The results of this survey reinforce our collective responsibility to help veterans find jobs when they retire after serving their country."

The survey, which polled 1,002 Canadians proportionally distributed across the country, also revealed that for the second year in a row, 89 per cent of respondents believe that Canadians have an obligation to ensure that veterans find meaningful employment after they have left the Canadian Forces.

The margin of accuracy for the sample is plus or minus 3.1 per cent 19 times out of 20.