Most Canadians don't want to retire. Here's why
The reasons people continue to work are varied, from financial concerns to deeper issues of purpose
Although the idea of retirement is alluring to some, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada, most Canadians would prefer to continue working.
The report, issued Aug. 1, says more than half of people planning to retire would continue to work if they could do so part-time, or if their work were less stressful or demanding.
The reasons they continue to work are varied, from financial concerns to deeper issues of purpose.
Louis Primavera, a licensed psychologist and author of The Retirement Maze, says people who retire often start out very positive but can start to feel lost after a while.
"Work creates an identity for us," Primavera told Shelley Joyce, host of CBC's Daybreak Kamloops. "It creates a social system for us."
Although
retirement may seem idyllic, psychologist Louis Primavera says some
people never adjust to the lack of structure and social interaction that
sometimes comes with it. (Shutterstock / Monkey Business Images)
About 30 per cent of people never adjust to retirement, he said, adding that there is a lot more antidepressant use among seniors who have retired.
But there are some commonalities among those who retire well, Primavera said, including creating a schedule, finding a new sense of identity and retiring at the same time as a partner or spouse.
Retirement 'a very emotional experience': former radio host
Long-time CBC Radio Vancouver host Rick Cluff knows all about the changes that come after a busy career. For more than 20 years, Cluff woke up at 3 a.m. to host The Early Edition.
"It is a very emotional experience when you say goodbye to something you've done for so long," Cluff told Daybreak Kamloops. "I miss the excitement, the electricity of going into work every day."
After years of working at a job he loved, interviewing everyone from prime ministers to corner shop owners, Cluff said retirement wasn't easy.
Rick Cluff, longtime host of The Early Edition, minutes before signing off on his final broadcast in 2017. (Christer Waara/CBC)
Cluff retired in 2017, when he was 68. He said a big factor in his decision was getting bypass surgery for his heart.
"When you retire, it's the first stage of coming to grips with your own mortality," he said. "You start thinking about how many summers you've got left and what you want to do with them."
According to Statistics Canada, health is one of the top considerations for people deciding when to retire.
A quarter of men and women who were retired said health — theirs or their spouse's — was the main factor contributing to their decision to retire.
Statistics Canada says people retiring for health or disability are more likely to have stopped working at a younger age.
The money factor
Money, and enough of it, is a huge concern for many, of course. With day-to-day costs rising, some retirees are facing tough choices these days.
More than half of Canadians still in the workforce past the age of 60 are there by necessity, not choice, according to a Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada in 2022. It cited essential expenses and pension ineligibility as the primary reasons people continued working.
According to that same report, more than a third of men and a quarter of women said finances were the main factor in determining their retirement.
Rubina Ahmed-Haq, a personal finance columnist, told Daybreak Kamloops that having enough money to retire is a genuine concern for many people — but she warns against all-or-nothing thinking.8
Personal finance expert Rubina Ahmed-Haq says financial literacy isn't difficult, but people need to make time to learn. (Submitted)
As people live longer, healthier lives, Ahmed-Haq said, many are able to find other uses for their skills and continue to work in other capacities.
"Get out of the rigmarole of Monday to Friday, nine to five — that's what people want to leave, not necessarily work," she said.
'I've retired 3 times'
That was the case for Tony Dufficy, who worked for the Kamloops School District for 31 years before he retired in 2003.
"I was really ready to retire," Dufficy said at a coffee shop in Kamloops, sitting along other spandex-clad bike riders around his age. "But when I did retire, I knew I needed to do something."
Dufficy went on to work for an international development non-profit, travelling the world for 15 years. He also taught first aid for another 10 years.
"I've retired three times," Dufficy told Joyce.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Shelley Joyce
In 1854 Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden. In it he wrote “most men lead lives of quiet desperation”. Seems about right. I guess things haven’t changed much
David Amos.
Reply to Stan Smith
Speak for yourself I still rage against the dying of the light as the sun comes up on Sunday morning at it 7AM
Reply to Stan Smith
He also wrote "The virtues of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends."
My recommendation is to be the wind, or at the very least, be happy being grass.
Reply to David Amos
I’m going golfing today. Loud desperation is considered rude on the golf course
David Amos
Good Night Cruel World
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
terrence oliver
Reply to David Amos
If you retire at 55 you could live another 35 years
David Amos
Reply to terrence oliver
I retired when I was 35 and my Mother turned 100 this year
terrence oliver
Reply to David Amos
Who said pessimism isn't profitable
David Amos
Reply to terrence oliver
Not me
David Amos
Reply to terrence oliver
Who said whistleblowing isn't deadly
terrence oliver
Reply to David Amos
Depends who's it is
David Amos
Reply to terrence oliver
FBI, RCMP etc
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas
1914 – 1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Speaking of delayed retirements its long past Midnight on Sept 17th
and this comment section is still working overtime
Mark Kiemele
So far at 77, my 6 years off the job is working out just fine. One of the smartest thing I did (and I’m not that smart 🥴) was to hustle to pay off my mortgage 14 years ago. Now on CPP and OAS, I live below the ‘poverty’ line as far as income goes, but not having to pay for housing is a blessing.
Meanwhile, the garden is my fitness centre and as soon as I walk outside in the morning, there’s no shortage of tasks to keep busy. Decluttering and shopping for clothes at the thrift store rocks.
Not traveling or eating out much keeps costs down. So does eating meatless.
The only downside is that my quest to read every book offered by the library before I die seems to be frustratingly unachievable.
David Amos
Reply to Mark Kiemele
"Now on CPP and OAS, I live below the ‘poverty’ line as far as income goes, but not having to pay for housing is a blessing."
Ditto
Loretta Willings
Reply to Mark Kiemele
Depending what you grow, you can live off your garden in summer. You can grow tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, beans, peppers, kale, swiss chard, lettuce, basil, oregano, rosemary, chives, etc,,, and the list goes on and on, even pumpkins. Growing your own food is very healthy, organic, few pesticides is any and can save you lots of money.
you wrote that you have a fixed income, nothing being able to reduce your grocery bill,
Mark Kiemele
Reply to Loretta Willings
The freezer is nearly full 😋
Rob Osborne
Don't understand it. I love my retirement. It's the reason I worked all those years. Canada is a country where, with a little planning, you can live comfortably to 100 and not worry about money.
Why would people want to work instead of having the freedom to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it?
David Amos
Reply to Rob Osborne
I concur BTW My Mother is living comfortably at over 100 Although she never worked a day in her life she did a fine job raising 7 kids
Ric Smith
I think we should shift the retirement age to 70. We could use the 5 years with no one being added to CPP, OAS and GIS to balance the budget and pay down debt.
Reply to Ric Smith
How about we ask anyone who has a million dollars or more to give it
all to Canada to help a fellow Canuck out?! Jeez......Ric, just send
all -your- money to the Government of Canada and leave my CPP and OAS
alone, please.
David Amos
Reply to Craig MacDonald
I concur
Darryl Gregorash
Reply to Ric Smith
The CPP doesn't cost the government a dime. All the new money comes from premiums which are split between employee and employer. The fund itself is managed by a Crown corporation which, by law, must operate at arm's length from the government.
Blaire Bush
Reply to David Amos
You are also not a good person
David Amos
Reply to Blaire Bush
How so?
Darryl Gregorash
Reply to Blaire Bush
David was agreeing with what Craig wrote.
Blaire Bush
Reply to Darryl Gregorash
If i misread my sincere apologies
Jeff Pomerantz
Reply to Ric Smith
Where on god’s green earth did you get your economics degree from?
Sorry the school system failed you.
Blaire Bush
I didn't even read the article. The nerve of this rag. Who needs to
retire when you cant afford to. The nerve!!!!!!!!!!
David Amos
Reply to Blaire Bush
Who are you to speak of nerve after bragging that you didn't even
bother to read???
Blaire Bush
Reply to David Amos
Because they are trying to normalize working after retirement age. It
is see through drivel. Canadians deserve better
Randi ElIis
Reply to Blaire Bush
Are you trying to be funny? Criticizing an article you never even read?
Blaire Bush
Reply to Randi ElIis
Are you trying to be willfully stupid?
Elliott Stranger
Reply to Blaire Bush
Stop digging you’re getting deeper in do do.
Edward Bach
Reply to Blaire Bush
Maybe you should have read the article. lol
Blaire Bush
Reply to Blaire Bush
Maybe we can just have retirees work at gravesites so we can just plunk them in when they expire.
Randi ElIis
Reply to Blaire Bush
You literally started your post with "I didn't even read the article." Now, who were you asking was being willfully stupid?
Blaire Bush
Reply to Randi ElIis
Not me. I know retirees are being screwed by a cost of living crisis that was manufactured by incompetence and monetary and fiscal policies. But hey, retirees don;t want to stop working. Everything is fine. The new normal
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