Some DB pensioners want to work in retiremen

A survey by OMERS (One of Canada's largest pension plans) pensioners found that Twenty-eight percent of retiree's continue to work at least on a part-time basis after retirement, according to a survey by MunicipalRetirees Organization Ontario (MROO).

“Most of those who are working have part-time jobs—23.7% of respondents overall, a figure that jumps to 30% for those under age 65,” says MROO president William Harford.

Most survey respondents who are working part-time aren't in it for the money. Only 16.4% indicate they are continuing to work out of financial necessity or to add to their savings.

Employed respondents had various reasons for continuing to work after retirement—and often multiple incentives.

The biggest motivator was simply to get out of the house (54.7%), followed by a desire to keep using knowledge accumulated over a career and/or to keep skills up to date (51.5%) and the need for money for special expenses such as travel, a new car, home repairs or grandchildren’s education (43.4%).

A study released in January by Statistics Canada, Employment transitions among older workers leaving long-term jobs, revealed that more than half of Canadians who retired from a long-term job (12 or more years’ duration) between ages 55 and 64 returned to work within a decade—most within a year or two of retirement. The analysis also determined that older workers with employer-sponsored pension plans—particularly those in the public sector—were less likely to seek post-retirement employment.

“MROO’s survey results are in line with the Statistics Canada findings,” states Harford. “However, even though a lower percentage of MROO members are employed post-retirement than in the general retiree population, we were surprised to find that so many have sought second careers.”