In your quest for a successful retirement, beware of retirement’s outmoded image, which can generate challenges of its own. Retirement used to mean starting a chapter in life in which retirees become non-productive, non-contributing members of society, heading into their final sunset. Many retirees still have this pessimistic view and end up mentally “hanging up their skates.” They don’t expect much from retirement, and, unfortunately, that’s just what they get.
The good news is a quiet revolution has been taking place.
Today’s successful retirees are energized and are actively pursuing new life goals. By adopting a zest for life, no matter their circumstances, they are enthusiastic about the future and they shape their destiny as much as possible. It’s worth noting that the concept of living comfortably after retirement is a fairly new one. U.S. Social Security
is only about eighty years old, and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a little over fifty years young. Before the introduction of these systems, retirement was a luxury of the
wealthy. Other people—most people—kept working until they couldn’t any longer and often suffered after that point.
After World War II, as the middle class grew, so did the notion of retiring—of living comfortably after one stopped working. This in turn generated the concept of retirement planning. In the beginning, the general focus of retirement planning was centred on money questions such as “How much will I need to retire comfortably?” “Will the money I’ve saved last long enough?” and “How much will I be able to pass on to my heirs?” As time went on, many realized that retirement is about much more than money and that planning for our non-monetary needs is also important.
We need to plan what we’ll do with our time. We also need to consider things such as maintaining or improving our health, and how we’ll develop new social circles outside of work. The importance of these things and more—a holistic approach—has become as vital as the financial issues for one simple reason: We’re living longer!
Life Expectancy in Canada
Male age 65: 50% chance of living to 84
25% chance of living to 89
Female age 65: 50% chance of living to 88
25% chance of living to 92
Couple age 65: 50% chance one will live to 90
25% chance one will live to 94
Source: Canada at a Glance 2015, Statistics Canada
Most of us retiring today will live another fifteen, twenty, thirty, or more years. Retirement could be the second longest period of our life. Considering this fact, I have a question for you: Will you create the best retirement you can, or will you let your retirement years just happen to you?