What's Your Retirement Worth to You? A Friendly Chat About Pensions

Let me ask you something that I ask my son and my daughter from time to time. If your employer offered you a choice between a slightly bigger paycheck today or a pension that would pay you a steady income for the rest of your life when you retire, which would you choose?

If you're like most Canadians, you'd probably take the pension. And here's the thing, you'd be willing to give up a surprising amount of your paycheck to get it.

Back in the early 2000s,when I retired things were different, the average private-sector worker was willing to sacrifice about 3.3% of their earnings to land a job with a pension. Fast forward to today, and that number has tripled to just over 10%. Let's put that in perspective. My son and my daughters are willing to take a pay cut to work for an employer who has a pension. This means that for someone earning $60,000 a year, that's like saying, "I'd willingly take home $6,000 less every year if it meant I'd have a secure retirement."

That's not a small decision. That's a loud, clear message from Canadian workers: we are worried about retirement, and we're willing to pay real money to feel less worried.

The really fascinating part? Over the same period, private-sector pension offerings have been heading in the opposite direction. Fewer employers are offering pensions, and the ones that do are increasingly moving away from the old-fashioned "defined benefit" plans, the ones that guarantee you a set monthly income for life.

If you're in your 40s or 50s, like my children, you're right in the middle of this shift. You're close enough to retirement to be thinking seriously about it, but you still have time to do something about it.

Here's what the research tells us:

1. Pensions help you stay put. Workers with a traditional defined benefit pension are roughly 40% less likely to change jobs each year than workers without one. That's good for employers who want to keep experienced staff, but it also means you need to think carefully about what you're trading when you switch jobs.

2. Not all pensions are created equal. A defined benefit plan, the kind that promises you a specific monthly amount in retirement, is the gold standard. I was lucky that was the pension plan I had. Defined contribution plans, where you and your employer contribute to an account that you then manage yourself, are more common now but put more responsibility on your shoulders.

3. Saving on your own is hard. Without an employer pension, you have to figure it all out yourself. How much to save. Where to invest. How to make it last. Some people can manage that, but it's not easy. It requires a level of financial literacy that many of us simply don't have.

Here's the good news: you're not powerless. There are practical steps you can take, starting today.

Talk to your employer. If your company offers a pension plan, find out what kind it is and how it works. If they don't offer one, ask why. Many employers are open to discussing benefits if they know their employees care about them.

If you're self-employed or your employer doesn't offer a plan, start your own. RRSPs and TFSAs are powerful tools. You don't need to be a financial genius to use them, you just need to start.

Don't go it alone. A financial advisor can help you figure out what you need and how to get there. The cost of advice is almost always worth it.

Yes, there are government programs like the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. They're important, and they'll help. But they're designed to provide a basic income floor, not to replace your entire working income. For most people, they won't be enough on their own.

If you're in a low-income job, these programs become even more important. They're there to help ensure that no one falls through the cracks. But for everyone else, the responsibility for a comfortable retirement falls largely on you, and on what your employer is willing to offer.

Here's the bottom line. Canadian workers have been sending a clear message for two decades: we value retirement security enough to sacrifice today's income for tomorrow's peace of mind. That message matters. It should matter to employers, and it should matter to policymakers.

But most of all, it should matter to you.

If you're in your 40s or 50s, you still have time. You still have options. You still have the power to shape your retirement future. But you need to start now. Have the conversation. Do the math. Make the plan.

Because the best time to start planning for retirement was twenty years ago. The second-best time is today.

Key Takeaways

1.  Workers are willing to give up 10% of their pay for a pension, What You Can Do:  Ask your employer what pension options are available

2.  Traditional pensions are becoming rarer What You Can Do: If your employer doesn't offer a plan, start your own RRSP or TFSA

3.  Saving without a plan is hard What You Can Do: Talk to a financial advisor

4.  Government programs help but aren't enough on their own What You Can Do: Don't rely solely on CPP and OAS, supplement them with your own savings

The message to employers and government is clear: workers want retirement security What You Can Do: Advocate for better pension options in your workplace

Your Brain Loves Music More Than You Think

 We often think of music as entertainment.

Something to fill the silence while driving.

Background noise while cleaning the house.

A companion on a walk.

But what if music is doing far more than simply keeping us company?

Every time we hear a familiar song, our brain lights up in extraordinary ways. Areas responsible for memory, emotion, movement, attention, and even pain all become active. Few activities engage so many parts of the brain at the same time.

That's one reason music has become an important tool in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and memory care programs around the world.

Think about people living with dementia. Someone who struggles to remember what they had for breakfast may suddenly remember every word of a favourite song from fifty years ago. We know the value of music and that is why we run the Musical Café for Dementia patients and their caregivers. Once a month we see families and caregivers who are amazed when a loved one who has become quiet suddenly begins singing with confidence.

Music reaches places that ordinary conversation sometimes cannot.

It works because memories connected with music are stored differently than many everyday facts. Songs become woven together with emotions, relationships, and important life events. When we hear them again, the brain retrieves far more than a melody, it retrieves pieces of our lives.

For those of us who are aging but remain healthy, that's wonderful news.

Listening to music can lower stress, improve mood, encourage movement, reduce feelings of isolation, and even make physical discomfort seem less overwhelming. No wonder so many fitness classes, walking groups, and rehabilitation programs include music as part of the experience.

Have you ever noticed that walking feels easier when your favourite upbeat song comes on?

Or that household chores seem to finish themselves when you're singing along?

That's because rhythm helps organize movement. Before you know it, you've walked farther, cleaned longer, or exercised more than you intended.

Even emotional pain often softens under the influence of music.

After the loss of someone we love, there are songs that make us cry, and strangely enough, those same songs often help us heal. Music gives us permission to feel our emotions without being overwhelmed by them.

It's almost like having a trusted friend sitting beside us without saying a word.

One of my favourite descriptions of music's effect is this: "Your nervous system is having a meltdown and your playlist says, 'Let's not make this a whole thing.'"

That's funny because it's true.

Music reminds the brain that not every signal deserves an emergency response. It creates space between discomfort and distress. That space may only last three or four minutes, the length of a favourite son, but sometimes that's enough to change the direction of an entire day.

As we grow older, we spend a great deal of time looking after our physical health. We schedule appointments, take medications, stretch aching muscles, and try to eat better.

Perhaps we should pay just as much attention to feeding our minds.

A favourite playlist costs nothing. Singing in the car doesn't require a prescription. Dancing around the living room may not win any competitions, but it might lift your spirits in ways that surprise you.

Music won't stop us from growing older.

But it can make the journey lighter.

It can remind us ,who we've been, reconnect us with people we've loved, and help us face today's challenges with a little more joy than yesterday.

That sounds like a pretty good investment for something that begins with pressing one simple button.

So today, don't just listen to music. Let it become part of your wellness routine. Your body may appreciate it—but your brain will thank you even more.

Here's a challenge: What would happen if you replaced just thirty minutes of television or social media each day with music that lifts your spirits? Try it for a week and see whether your mood, your energy, or even your aches feel a little different.

More Than a Soundtrack: How Music Can Help Ease Pain

Have you ever noticed that when your favourite song comes on, something changes?

Your shoulders relax. Your breathing slows. Your foot starts tapping before you even realize it. For a few moments, whatever was bothering you doesn't seem quite so overwhelming.

That isn't just your imagination. Science has been telling us for years that music has a remarkable ability to reduce our perception of physical pain.

Notice the wording: our perception of pain.

Music doesn't magically heal a sore knee, repair an arthritic shoulder, or erase the stiffness that often greets us every morning. The injury or condition is still there. But music changes how the brain interprets the signals coming from the body. Instead of focusing every ounce of attention on discomfort, the brain shares its attention with rhythm, melody, lyrics, and memories.

It's a little like having an annoying passenger on a long road trip. They don't get out of the car, but someone starts telling a fascinating story, and suddenly the annoying passenger isn't the centre of your attention anymore.

Our brains are wonderfully complicated.

Pain isn't simply something that happens in a sore joint or aching muscle. Pain is an experience created by the brain after it receives information from nerves throughout the body. Mood, stress, anxiety, fatigue, and even loneliness all influence how intense that experience becomes.

Music can interrupt that cycle.

Researchers have found that listening to music can stimulate the release of dopamine, our "feel-good" neurotransmitter. It can also reduce stress hormones like cortisol and encourage relaxation. When we're calmer, our muscles often relax, our breathing becomes deeper, and the nervous system stops sounding quite so many alarms.

As one humorous saying puts it, "Your nervous system is having a meltdown and your playlist is there saying, 'Let's not make this a whole thing.'"

There is more truth in that sentence than you might think.

Many older adults already use music without realizing its therapeutic value. They hum while gardening, sing in the shower, play old records while cooking, or turn on familiar tunes during a walk around the neighbourhood. Those aren't just pleasant habits. They're simple forms of self-care.

Think about someone living with arthritis. Mornings can be particularly difficult. Before reaching immediately for the television or scrolling through the news, imagine beginning the day with thirty minutes of favourite songs from the 1960s or 1970s. The body may still be stiff, but the mind begins the day somewhere much brighter.

Or consider someone recovering from surgery or physiotherapy. Gentle music during stretching exercises often makes the activity feel more manageable. The exercises haven't changed, but the experience has.

I've also noticed that music has an amazing ability to transport us. One song can take us back to a first dance, a family camping trip, a high school graduation, or a summer afternoon that seemed to last forever. Those memories bring emotions that are every bit as healing as the melodies themselves.

Perhaps that's why music has accompanied humanity through every stage of life. We celebrate with it, mourn with it, exercise with it, worship with it, and relax with it.

Maybe we've known all along that music heals, not always the body, but often the person living inside it.

The next time your body reminds you that you're no longer twenty-five, don't underestimate the power of pressing "Play." It won't solve everything, but it might make the journey a little easier and a lot more enjoyable.

So, here's something to try this week: create a playlist of ten songs that have made you smile at different stages of your life. Listen to it when discomfort starts creeping in and notice what changes—not just in your body, but in your mood. You might discover that some of the best medicine has been sitting in your music collection all along.

I wonder: If someone asked you to choose the ten songs that tell the story of your life, which one would you play first, and why?

The Privilege of Becoming Elderly

I received a version of this from one of my board members who is more than a decade older than I am. In six years, she will celebrate her 100^th birthday. She has a wonderful outlook on life. Here is my interpretation of what she sent me.

We are often called the elderly. Some people say the word quietly, almost as if it should be softened or avoided. Yet perhaps it is time to reclaim it. Growing old is inevitable. Becoming elderly is a privilege earned by those fortunate enough to live long enough to wear the title.

To become elderly is not a misfortune. It is an achievement.

Not everyone is given the privilege of living long enough to earn that title. Behind the word elderly are decades of laughter and tears, victories and disappointments, hard work, family, friendships, mistakes, and second chances. Every wrinkle tells a story. Every gray hair represents another season lived.

If you look closely, you might notice slower steps or hands that no longer move as quickly as they once did. But if you truly listen, you will discover something remarkable. We are not simply older people. We are living witnesses to history.

We are the generation that experienced one of the greatest periods of change humanity has ever known. We grew up in an analog world and learned to thrive in a digital one. We watched communities rebuild after war, celebrated humanity's first steps on the Moon, adapted to computers, embraced the internet, learned to use smartphones, and now witness the arrival of artificial intelligence.

Few generations can say they have lived through such extraordinary change.

Our childhoods were built outdoors, where friendships were formed on sidewalks, in schoolyards, and around kitchen tables. We learned patience by waiting for letters to arrive, resilience by solving problems without Google, and gratitude by making the most of what we had. Entertainment came from imagination as much as technology.

As adults, we built careers, raised families, cared for aging parents, welcomed grandchildren, and adapted to every new invention the world placed before us. We did not resist change—we learned, adjusted, and kept moving forward.

Along the way we witnessed medical breakthroughs that conquered diseases once feared by every family. We saw transportation evolve, communication become instantaneous, and information become available to almost anyone with the touch of a screen.

Yet through every revolution, some things never changed.

We still know the value of keeping our word. We understand the importance of showing up for family and neighbours. We remember conversations without interruptions, handwritten thank-you notes, gardens that supplied the dinner table, and communities where people looked after one another.

These are not old-fashioned ideas. They are timeless ones.

Being elderly does not mean living in the past. It means carrying the past into the future. It means offering perspective when the world feels rushed, reminding younger generations that wisdom often comes from experience, not speed.

We have celebrated births, mourned loved ones, overcome setbacks, adapted to change, and continued to find reasons to laugh. We have learned that life is rarely perfect, but it is always worth living.

So, when someone calls us elderly, perhaps we should simply smile.

Because elderly means we have endured. It means we have adapted. It means we have contributed. It means we have lived long enough to accumulate something no technology can create and no amount of money can buy, wisdom born from experience.

The word is not about weakness.

It is about strength proven over time.

It is about resilience earned one year at a time.

It is about becoming the keepers of memories, the storytellers of families, the mentors of younger generations, and the living connection between yesterday and tomorrow.

We are not relics of another era.

We are living history.

We are bridges between generations.

And perhaps the greatest compliment anyone can receive is not to be called young, but to be called elderly, because it means we have lived a life rich enough, long enough, and meaningful enough to earn the title.

That is something to celebrate.