When will you know you are ready for retirement?

I retired at 60, I should not have, it took me another 7 years to realize that I did not want to work any more. When I was working, I loved every minute of the 40 years I worked so it was hard to retire. 

When I retired for the first time I realized I had made a mistake, and because there was a shortage of specialists in my field I was hired back to work within a few days of leaving. Not everyone is as fortunate.

So for the next few years I played at being retired, quit work  a couple of times and again was asked to come back, which I did, but last year I finally made the decision to retire at the age of 67. 

So should your retire at age 60 or age 65 or later or earlier?  The answer depends on where you find yourself financially, emotionally, and heath-wise come age 65 or so.

When we're young, we traded time for money and hoped to stash away enough money to later have the ability to reverse the process and trade money for time. Ideally, we'd each have a few decades of independence before the grim reaper—or assisted living facility—comes knocking.

Statistics published on the Social Security website note that: "A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84. A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 86."

Should you retire at age 65? What's so magic about age 65 anyway? Nothing! It was the retirement age the government used when setting up Social Security in the 1930's. Since then Social Security's full retirement age has moved to 68 in the US and 67 in Canada  to compensate  for increasing life expectancies. Should Washington or Ottawa get serious about fixing Social Security, the age is likely to be pushed back further.

Keep age in perspective. It's only one barometer; there other factors much more important for deciding if and when to retire. Poor health may make the decision for you. But if you're healthy, the most important factor is whether you have enough acorns stashed away to support yourself and your spouse for the rest of your lives. When you run the numbers—there are countless financial calculators available for doing just that—be optimistic and assume you'll live long past age 84 or 86.

If you do have enough to make it and you enjoy your job, consider working a few extra years. That extra money is icing on the cake. Think of it this way: if you're lucky enough to be healthy and vital at age 95, you don't want to find yourself wishing for a bout of pneumonia because you've run out of money.

Once you've jumped over the financial hurdle, it doesn't mean you have to or even ought to retire. Quite the contrary! Now you're ready to do work or projects that fit your terms. If you love your job, are having fun, and see nothing else you'd rather do, just keep on enjoying it.

When I discuss retirement with friends who are working some of them makes it clear that boredom is the biggest enemy of retirees. They loves the challenge of working and feels it keeps them going.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Is there anything else I would rather be doing?
• Do I enjoy the environment I'm working in?
• Am I accomplishing something other than just earning a paycheck?
• Do I enjoy the people I work with, or am I just putting up with them?
• Do I feel I am missing something?
• Is my spouse on board, or does he/she feel my working is prohibiting us from doing too many other things?
• Do I have other hobbies I enjoy that I could turn into a part-time business I would enjoy?
• Do we currently live where we want to live?
• Am I just tired of the rat race and want a change?

When I was in my late 50's, I asked a friend how you know when you're ready to retire. He grinned and simply said, "You'll know." He was right.

Job creation in Canada is a joke!

Following a year of weak job creation, the Canadian economy started 2015 by adding a strong 35,400 jobs in January. However, while that is impressive, a closer look at the numbers paints a less positive picture. Unlike last year when full-time positions accounted for the gains, all of the job gains in January came in part-time work. As well, the gains were in the self-employed category, which typically is not a great indicator of long-term job stability. Still, the gains were strong enough to push the unemployment rate down a tenth of a point to 6.6 per cent.

The federal government routinely boasts that it has created more than a million jobs over the last seven years. But the job creation numbers the government cites also include temporary foreign workers -- non-Canadians or residents brought to the country to work at jobs that employers here say they can't fill.

However, as the chart below shows, the Federal Government since Harper came to power has not done well in creating jobs or keeping unemployment down. In 2008 the Recession hit and within two years according to the government we were out of the recession. Look at the Unemployment rate from 2010 to today and while it is going down, it is still not as low as it was in 2006

A comparison of Unemployment rates between 1996 and 2006 show how this government is not a good manager of the economy. In 1996 our Unemployment Rate was close to 10%. Since the 1960’s the Canadian unemployment rate has averaged close to 7.1%, with a high of 13% and a low of 2%.  As is clear the rate of unemployment in 2006 was 6.5%. Today it is 6.8 but this number may be optimistic.

The government includes  temporary workers in the country's job creation numbers, and the government runs the risk of providing misleading information about the true state of the labour market, said a labour expert.

Kendra Strauss, an assistant professor of labour studies at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, said lumping foreign workers in with figures for all new jobs could provide a false picture of the labour market.

There were more people working in retail and wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, educational services, and natural resources in March. At the same time, there were fewer people working in construction, public administration, as well as agriculture.

The number of public sector workers increased in March. 

There was little change in the number of private sector employees and the self-employed.

In March, employment rose among women aged 55 and older, while there was little change among the other demographic groups. 

Over the first quarter, employment gains totaled 63,000 (+0.4 percent), the result of more part-time work.

In the 12 months to March, employment increased by 138,000 (+0.8 percent), with most of the growth in full-time work. Over the same period, the total number of hours worked was little changed (+0.1 percent).

Full Time Employment in Canada decreased by 28.20 thousand in March of 2015. Full Time Employment in Canada averaged 12.83 Thousand from 1976 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 148.40 Thousand in May of 2006 and a record low of -145.10 Thousand in July of 2010

Charts from www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate

Letter to My Dog

Dear Dog: 

Since you seem to have so much trouble processing the  English language no matter how loudly it is spoken to you,  I thought perhaps I could communicate with you more effectively  if I wrote down my thoughts. 

First, please allow me to assure you that you are not starving. In fact, if the newspapers bothered to publish a canine version of those irritating "body-mass indices" that my daughter so delights in reading aloud to me, I'm sure we would discover that you've got far more waddle in your walk than is strictly necessary. 

The way you visually track every bite of food I take, with a trembling expression of frantic pleading, is most annoying. Speaking of walks: We've been taking the same route around the 
same block for nine years. For you to sob, whine, and tremble  every time I get out your leash is just crazy. 

And would you please stop rolling in road kill? Dead animals smell like...well, like dead fish. There is a reason I give you a bath every single time you roll in something--it is NOT a coincidence. 

Here's a news flash: Our next-door neighbors LIVE THERE. They have a right to be in their own yard! Stop barking at them through our windows! Your crazed fury is especially irritating in view of the fact that when you actually encounter them in person you flop on your back and let them rub your tummy. 

As a guard dog, you're about as intimidating as a gerbil. The following are not digestible: Balloons. Crayons. Socks. I can show you evidence out in the yard. Stop eating them; they are not food! 

I do not mind rolling down the window for you when we are in the car. I don't even mind that the air rushing up your nostrils makes you  sneeze. What I do mind is that you always pull your head into the car to share your sneeze with the back of my neck. Keep your head in or out, that's all I ask. 

Our front door is three inches of solid wood; you cannot tunnel through it. Stop clawing! Don't we always let you out when you need to go? 

The bushes in the back yard cost a lot of money, but there is nothing of value hidden under them. Stop digging for buried treasure! 

The stuff in the trash can is not your food. Oh, and your expression of shocked innocence when we accuse you of dining at the garbage buffet is not nearly as persuasive as the forensic evidence left strewn around the kitchen. 

Stop blaming the cat; she doesn't eat anything that costs less than a dollar an ounce. Oh, and speaking of the cat, just because she gets to sleep on the bed doesn't mean that you do too. Did you think we wouldn't notice all the dog fur on our bedspread when we got home? 

And another thing: I do not wake up at the same time every day! On days we don't work, we're allowed to sleep past our normal waking time. Stop licking my face because your internal clock says it is time for breakfast.

Don't dogs DO weekends? Look, you do make me crazy sometimes. But I suppose I have to admit that even though you're lazy (you probably won't even bother to read this letter!) and don't seem very bright, you do have your positive attributes. 

You're the only one in the family who will get up and pace with me in front of the window when it's past curfew and my teenage daughter is parked in the driveway with her date. You're the only one who likes my cooking, and you share my opinion that we don't need a cat. 

After nine years of living with you, I suppose life just wouldn't be the same without you. Wanna go for a walk?

Where are you from?

An oldie but a goodie.

A man lies sprawled across three seats in a theater. When the usher comes by and sees the man, he whispers to him, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat."

The man groans but doesn't budge.The usher becomes impatient. "Sir," he says, "if you don't get up from there, I'm going to have to call the manager."

Again, the man just groans, which infuriates the usher. He turns and marches briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager.

In a few moments, both the usher and the manager return and stand over the man. Together the two of them try repeatedly to get him off the seats, but with no success. 

Finally, they call the police.The policeman looks the man over, then says, "All right  buddy, what's your name?"
"Joe," the man moans.


"Where ya from, Joe?" the cop asks.

"The balcony."

Job Hunting as a Senior

I wrote this in the 90's at the height of one of our many recessions. I wrote it for all those who were having a difficult time getting work. As a senior who is retired but who still works according to my own schedule, I appreciate that other Boomers may want to continue to work after retiring so I will be posting my thoughts on job hunting over the next few weeks

The UNIVERSAL HIRING RULE is:

Any Employer will hire any applicant. The applicant must convince the employer that the applicant will bring more value than they cost.

As a job applicant, you must convince the employer that you can, bring more value than you will be paid. Sounds simple, but ... how do you do it? 

ANSWER: Get an interview with someone who has the authority to hire you, and convince them!

Interviews, however, are not easy to get  for ageism is with us and the over 50's stigma will haunt you. What I have done, therefore, is to put together material that I think will aid you in this task.

The process of getting an interview starts in one of the following three ways:

1.            Writing a letter of application.

2.            Phoning for an interview.

3.            Going in person and asking for an interview.

You have had a successful work life, and you are now making a decision about what you are going to do part time when you retire. Deciding can often be a difficult task, especially when a person is not familiar with the decision-making process. Its probably been a long time since you have had to make a career decision.  Individuals who are faced with a career decision may feel uncertain, confused and bewildered.

One way to start is to organize your information when considering your alternatives. When searching for the most satisfying alternative, I have used the following process:

1.                  Identify the decision to be made.

2.                  Gather the important information you will need on which to base your decision.

3.                  Identify the alternatives from which you can choose.

4.                  Analyze the evidence and choose among the alternatives.

5.                  Take appropriate action.

6.                  Review the decision to discover if it is satisfying to you or not.

If you still cannot decide after using this process, take the time to analyse your commitment to making that decision. You might have to do more in-depth research on which to base your decision. The following internal obstacles can prevent a person from making deciding:

-                                 Fear of making the wrong decision

-                                 Fear of taking a risk

-                                 Fear of failure

-                                 Fear of change

-                                 Lack of self-confidence

-                                 Ambivalence (having conflicting feelings about the decision)

-                                 Procrastination (putting off a decision)

-                                 Stereotyping about yourself and others about age, race, and sex.

The following external obstacles can also hinder the decision making process.

·        Family expectations and responsibilities (pay the bills, cook the meals, "Don't move," etc.)

·        Societal stereotyping about age, race, sex

·        Other societal expectations (pressure to conform, to make increasingly more money, to be successful, to be a good parent, etc.)

Remember, to make any kind of a decision requires a commitment on your part. The burden of the responsibility is yours to assume, and you need to develop confidence in your ability to make decide. There is a certain amount of risk involved when making any choice. You can reduce that uncertainty by taking the time to gather needed information

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