The Canadian workforce is changing as hordes of baby boomers prepare for retirement and masses of underemployed Gen Xers and Millennials vie to take their place. If you’re one of the lucky few who are looking forward to the so-called “Golden Years” of travelling, golfing, sailing, or simply enjoying the freedom of not being chained to a desk, we’re here to help you out with a few things you may not have considered before you retire:
Boomer Confidential: 5 Things No One Knows About Retirement
Keeping busy is harder than you’d expect
Once your days are freed up from the grind of the nine-to-five, it can be more difficult than you imagine to find fulfilling -- and more importantly, affordable -- activities to keep you active and motivated. Your challenge is to find a balance between activity and downtime; you don’t want to take on so much that you don’t enjoy your freedom, but you want to take on enough that you’re not bored. And you’ll have to do it frugally; recreational activities and new hobbies can come with an expensive price tag that could quickly drain your hard-earned savings.
You have to expect the unexpected
You’ve been an adult long enough to realize that the only constant in life is change, and this will prove true in retirement more than ever. For instance, the Globe and Mailpoints out that even empty nesters can be faced with the reality of an adult child returning home or an elderly parent becoming a dependant. What’s more, divorce rates among retiree-aged Canadians is on the rise, so your happy ending could be much different than you imagined it during your working years. It’s important to have a financial cushion for these kinds of changes so you’re able to roll with the punches and still enjoy your retirement.
You’re doing better than you thought
Sure, you’re not the spitting image of the guy on the sailboat in the Freedom 55 commercial, but chances are you’re probably just as well off as the your neighbour -- or you might be doing even better. According to Money Sense, the average retirement age isn’t mid-50s like the media would like us to think it is: in Canada, the average age is 62 for men and 61 for women. What’s more, despite pension reforms being a hot topic in the media, they’re quick to point out that the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) is actually pretty stable and will provide retirees with a consistent annual sum of money in your golden years. Even without government funds, Canadian Business points out that most retired couples can live comfortably on 50 to 60 per cent of what they earned when working -- less than the 70 per cent that’s often thought to be the golden number.
You have more time than you think
Although retirement is sometimes seen as the dwindling twilight period of life, in fact it’s really just another stage of life that will last longer than you anticipate. With the life expectancy steadily climbing each year -- 65-year-old men can expect to live until 83 and women until 86, according to Money Sense -- it’s likely that you’ll have close to a couple of decades to enjoy this phase of your life. Of course, that means you should be saving more than you think you’ll need and you should bear in mind that with increased age comes an increase in health problems but an end to employer-paid medical benefits.
You have options
The cessation of a regular paycheque can be a very scary thing, but don’t panic. If you feel like you’re not financially ready for retirement, there are plenty of options. The job landscape for retirees is constantly changing, and the “hard stop” mentality of retirement is shifting. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for a retiree to find a whole new career after retirement, or to negotiate different employment options such as doing part-time contract work for their former employer. If staying in the workforce doesn’t appeal to you, there are other ways to pad your retirement fund, including downsizing your home.