World without retirement, coming sooner than you think

Are we heading towards a world without retirement? We know that Boomers are changing what retirement means.  From a personal perspective, we can redefine what work means to us. It is interesting that Boomers are not alone in looking at the reshaping of retirement. Generation X (born between 1960-1980) and Millennials (born between 1981 and early 2000) are disconnecting from the traditional idea of retirement. 

Some of the reasons may be that changes to government retirement policy tend to confuse most of us. The idea of a state pension can give a false impression that it will provide enough for a comfortable retirement when the reality is that it only delivers a basic income. Because of this wrong impression, many switch off when the subject of pension provision is discussed.

People are concerned and many know or think they will have to work at least parttime when they retire. Not because they want to but because they have to work. In their report Gig Economy Workers and the Future of Retirement,(pdf file) investment firm Betterment found that 16% of Americans plan to take a gig job in their retirement. Similar numbers are likely in the UK. Another option for retirement might be a combination of flexible working, it could be finally turning a hobby into self-employment, it could be a combination of part-time work, mentoring, volunteering and retirement. There are no set rules any longer.

However, retirement can still mean stopping work altogether, but for a growing number, retirement is being redefined as something that is just one stage in your life – a stage that could enable you to take a different path to increased levels of wellbeing and financial security. 

Whether it’s developing a ‘side hustle’ or opting for semi-retirement, a key takeaway is that it’s crucial for workers to nurture different options for their autumn years

According to research from pension firm Aegon, more than one in four people (27%) think they will be working either full- or part-time at age 70.


Money,  or lack thereof, is a key component to this trend. Last year a survey from the Financial Conduct Authority found that one in three people in the UK has no pension savings, and will have to rely entirely on a state pension in their retirement.

Another option is to work parttime in the gig economy and become semi-retired. Semi-retirement is becoming increasingly attractive. According to research from HSBC,(pdf file) more than half (54%) of working age people who plan to retire want to stay in the same job or career but work fewer hours.

If it’s handled well, developing a flexible career now could mean retirement becomes an evolution of the work you are already doing. This could be a good thing, not only from a financial standpoint but also in terms of wellbeing.


What “retirement” actually means today is clearly changing, and this is affecting the workforce as well as individuals. According to Aegon, since 2000 the balance of the workforce has changed. People increasingly delay retirement, or work in a different capacity beyond typical or state pension ages, resulting in a higher number of older workers.

Business is becoming acutely aware of the value their older employees bring to their enterprises. Often, employers don’t want to lose the expertise, skills and experience older workers have so they are willing to allow workers to "semi-retire". 

Cleaning House

I had walked down to pick up the mail, and upon my return, my neighbour asked if I felt good about the clean-up. I had to think about that for a few minutes but my quick reply was not really. For the last two weeks, we have been cleaning out our house. I understand that Spring Cleaning usually takes place in the Spring, but being retired means you can do the work anytime. We brought in a large 20-foot-long container to make the job easier and it was.

Two years ago, my mother-in-law died and after her death, my wife and I were faced with a problem of what to do with her stuff. When my mom died it took my brothers and me about two years to sort through her stuff and make decisions. So I was not going to pressure my wife on what to do with her mom's stuff. While much of my mother-in-law's big stuff, furniture, and some small stuff were taken by nieces and nephews, there was a large amount of stuff that was left, so it ended up in our garage for safekeeping.

I am a collector and over the years the garage was filled with things that I might use one day, or that I thought I might need or might want to fix-up. Adding my mother-in-law’s stuff just made the garage look more like a hoarder’s dream than a garage.

After much discussion, we decided to make the move and clean out our stuff. I had come to the realization as had my wife that our children and nieces and nephews, and young cousins do not want our stuff. They have a different attitude toward what they consider valuable. It was time to act, so the bin was moved to the front of our house and we began to clean-up. I started. It was very simple, too good to throw out, to charity. Not good enough for charity throw it out. Two weeks later we have finished the job, and thus my neighbour's question and my response.

The easy answer was yes, I felt good about the fact I no longer had a hoarder’s garage, but I felt sad about losing the tangible items that when looked at invoked memories of earlier times. My wife said to me if we have to sell to move into an assisted living situation in the next ten years it will be a lot easier to make the move, I agreed but have no desire to move into that situation for at least 20 years.

We are not finished because we tend to accumulate over the years. So, while we still have boxes of “stuff” to go through, but we know the “stuff” in the boxes is either to keep or to give to charity, not to throw out. This cleaning up is a first step in letting go and moving on and starting to make an ending. This involves more than just throwing out your stuff. The cleaning house we just completed is a good ending as it required me to let go not only of what I used to have and do. I still have the memories so it is time to look forward to life’s next adventure.

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

A frog walked into...

Many thanks to my cousin Lorraine for this one:

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patty Whack.

"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral." She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"

(You're gonna love this.)

The bank manager looks back at her and says, "It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

(You sang it, didn't you? Yeah, I know you did.)

Never take life too seriously.

★♫.•Pass it on!! Give someone else a reason to smile.

The 10th fraud used against seniors

The 10^th fraud used against seniors is the Income Tax Scams

Scammers, who pose as Canada Revenue Agency agents, will use emails, phone calls and regular mail and even text messages to get money and personal information. Often the phone calls seem urgent and the scammers will use aggressive language or threats to scare people into making payments. 

To protect yourself from this type of fraud, do not respond; report the call to the police. My simple rule is that if the phone rings, and I do not know the number, I don’t answer the phone. If you receive an email from Revenue Canada, delete it. Remember that Revenue Canada will only contact you by letter. 

If you receive, either by telephone, mail, text message or email, a communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number, it is a fraud.

These communications may insist that this personal information is needed so that you can receive a refund or a benefit payment. The communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying a fictitious debt to the CRA. Other communications may urge you to visit a fake CRA website where you are asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. These are scams and you should never respond to these communications or click on any of the links provided.

To identify communications, not from the CRA, be aware of these guidelines (taken from Revenue Canada Website).

If you receive a call saying you owe money to the CRA, you can call us or check My Account to be sure.

If you have signed up for online mail (available through My Account, My Business Account, and Represent a Client), the CRA will do the following:

• send a registration confirmation email to the address you provided for online mail service for an individual or a business; and
• send an email to the address you provided to notify you when new online mail is available to view in the CRA's secure online services portal.

The CRA will not do the following:

• send email with a link and ask you to divulge personal or financial information
• ask for personal information of any kind by email or text message.
• request payments by prepaid credit cards.
• give taxpayer information to another person, unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
• leave personal information on an answering machine.

Exception:

If you call the CRA to request a form or a link for specific information, a CRA agent will forward the information you are requesting to your email during the telephone call. This is the only circumstance in which the CRA will send an email containing links.

When in doubt, ask yourself the following:

• Did I sign up to receive online mail through My Account, My Business Account, or Represent a Client?
• Did I provide my email address on my income tax and benefit return to receive mail online?
• Am I expecting more money from the CRA?
• Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not provide in my tax return?
• Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?