Document sans titre
Not long ago, the future
offered the baby-boom generation an exciting array of choices. Many dreamed
about retiring on
their own terms, creating a sustainable and meaningful time of life, and the
decision to work longer often had more to do with self-fulfillment than financial
preservation.
Now, amidst severe market
turbulence, the landscape has changed. Boomers, especially those five years
before, or even five years into retirement, are finding themselves having to
revisit their options. Working longer may become a necessity for some pre-retirees
– even some retired Canadians are seriously considering returning to work.
In addition to protecting their nest eggs from volatile market conditions, many
worry about not having sufficient income from their RRSPs, CPP/QPP and OAS to
afford daily living expenses.
Added to the list of concerns
are rising healthcare costs, outstanding debt, and the risk of outliving one’s
savings.
Introduction
When the first cohort of
Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) recently reached retirement age, they wasted
no time altering
perceptions about this much-anticipated stage of life.
According to the 2006 BMO
Retirement Trends Study, Canadian Boomers planned to work in some capacity after
traditional retirement citing “staying mentally active” as the main
reason, wanting to “keep in touch with people” was next and to “earn
money” was ranked third.
Today the top three reasons
have been reversed, according to the January 2009BMO Working Longer Omnibus
survey, 89% of pre-retirees and 84% of retirees who participated cited the main
reason they would consider returning to work within the next year would be “to
earn money”, with “staying mentally active” and “keeping
in touch with people” identified as their second and third choices, a
distinct shift from just three years ago.
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Read the report
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