Tag Archives: Baby Boomer

Is Your Retirement Plan In The Red

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.. and if not now, will your retirement plan be going into the red.  According to Jonathan Chevreau, Most Boomers’ retirement plans ‘going nowhere’. 

He is featuring the concepts that financial planner Jim Otar lays out in his forthcoming book, Unveiling the Retirement Myth.   In his opinion, most Baby Boomers have not saved enough to retire comfortably and should plan to remain in the workforce longer.

Otar describes three “zones” of retirement preparedness.

  • Green: good to go
  • Orange: (or as Otar calls it the grey zone) where extreme caution is appropriate
  • Red: where retirement plans are completely inadequate

His views might be described as depressing but reflects the dual reality that investments have not been performing well and that people are living longer.  His advice is that you should plan for the worst because unfortunately that may be what happens.

He has particular concern for those who are in the grey zone who may or  may not make it, depending on how lucky they are and the timing of their retirement.  For him, when you are within five years of retirement you are in the dreaded Retirement Risk Zone.  This is a dangerous period when investment returns may determine success or failure of one’s plans. Retiring into a vicious bear market may torpedo a retirement, while retiring into a bull market is more fortuitous.

Otar’s website has much more to offer on retirement planning.  His 500-page book will be available in the fall, but an unprintable “green” version is available for $3.99.  It probably should be required reading, particularly for those who are in that Retirement Risk Zone.

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Freedom 55 No Longer Just Financial

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It is some time since Darren Barefoot, that well-known Vancouver writer, suggested You’d Be Wise to Avoid Freedom 55 Financial.  He was somewhat irate about his dealings with Freedom 55 Financial, which is a division of London Life Insurance Company.


The Vancouver Sun today is on the same theme as it suggests Companies are shifting to an older workforce.

Freedom 55 is a thing of the past, and many Canadians aren’t banking on Freedom 65, either.  This means a shift to an older workforce, and while it is creating challenges for everyone involved, the trend is also benefiting employers by staving off an anticipated shortage of skilled workers as boomers age.

Barbara Jaworski, CEO of Toronto’s Workplace Institute, which provides consultation and training on mature worker issues explains, “The challenge for employers is to accommodate new sorts of issues that perhaps they’ve never had to deal with in the past.”

She has even coined the term KAA-Boomer!, which she explains as follows:

KAA-Boom is for 45+ Baby Boomers who are interested in their health, lifestyle, people, learning and experiencing their second adulthood.  Businesses should be paying attention to demographics, why workforce strategies need to be rethought and why action should be taken now!  See how the Best Employers for 50 Plus Canadians do it!

As she notes the oldest baby boomers showed little interest in leaving the workforce even before the economic crisis gutted their investments and pension plans.  Deferred retirement is more about baby boomers wanting to stay engaged. Financial necessity has made the option to stop working even less attractive.

Freedom 55 is perhaps linked to what used to be the traditional work life pattern where you started working at say 15 and at three score years and ten (70) you would be lucky to be alive. With many living beyond 90 now and being in good physical shape, life is completely changed.  Now it is time for postponing retirement and thinking instead about a second career.  Freedom 55 may still be the brand for some but many more will be seeking Second Life 55 or Engagement 55.  It’s an inviting prospect.

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Seniors Can Be Key To Economic Recovery

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Seniors like everyone else are rattled by the severe recession and may instinctively hang on more carefully to their financial resources.  However as John Lindsay of the group,  Friendly to Seniors, pointed out in Sudbury, Seniors are the key to stimulating the economy.

Friendly to Seniors has just published a report, entitled Greater Sudbury Challenges of Aging: Report and Recommendations.  The report outlined why the city needs to take the concerns of seniors seriously.  However seniors represent an untapped source of potential spending for any city.

Those over 55 years old control 75 per cent of the wealth in Greater Sudbury.  If you are older, you have a choice what to do with your money. You can pass it onto your children, save it for your declining years, or spend some of it now.  Older folks have more disposable spending.

The Greater Sudbury community can benefit because:

  • seniors tend to pay cash for big ticket items like cars or big screen televisions, sometimes even homes which benefits retailers and sellers
  • those 65 and up have more savings than the much touted baby boomers just now reaching the age of 60
  • only 5 per cent of seniors use transit-if they got free transit during off peak hours and the city received grants to support that, the city could benefit financially by keeping those buses running full
  • making it easier for seniors to get around the city increases the potential they will spend money in retail outlets or attend cultural events such as the Sudbury Theatre Centre or art shows

John Lindsay is asking city council to respect what seniors have to offer to the community and make it easier for them to reside in the city and contribute to the economy.

That same message applies to all communities across Canada.  It’s called Grey Power.  There are lots of ways Grey Power can contribute to healthy communities and helping to boost the economy is only one of them.

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The Aging Population In Canada

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One news headline today is hardly news. An aging population is changing Canada.

Where was the federal government 25 years ago when it was crystal clear that starting about now Canada would become a nation of seniors?  It was around 1984 that reports like the one recently released by Infrastructure Canada needed to be drawn up. Governments and business routinely think in terms of decades, and even centuries. Why this one seemed to get away from our leading elite is a bit of a mystery.  The report finds that no part of infrastructure will be left untouched by the needs of the increasing number of retiring and aging baby boomers.

The report mentioned is titled Population Aging and Public Infrastructure: a Literature Review of Impacts in Developed Countries.

The report is available in PDF format and deals with the following issues:

Canada faces significant demographic shifts in its population as the proportion of seniors increases at a higher rate than any other age cohort for the first time in its history. This demographic shift will have significant consequences on a wide range of issues that affect all Canadians. The effects of aging demographics will impact demand for health services, labour markets, public finances, and the provision of public infrastructure.

Another useful website to explore on these aging population issues is the About Canada website on Aging.  It highlights some of the questions we all should be asking.

A Canadian born in 1960, for example, can expect to live 20 years longer than a Canadian who was born in 1900. Meanwhile birth rates have declined, so that a growing proportion of the population is over 65. By the year 2031, approximately 20% of Canada’s population – one in five – will be seniors. This fact has important consequences for Canadian society. Who are these older Canadians? What are their roles in society? What are their needs? How will they be taken care of?

It is surprising that there is not enough discussion about these matters given the increasing number of aging baby boomers.  Although British Columbia is the province most affected, this aging population issue must be addressed in all provinces of Canada.

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Looking After Seniors

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Helping mom with retirement from Money CNN suggests that if a parent isn’t on the ball with their own retirement planning, it may be time for you to step in.

The issue of what adult children can and should do to help assure that their parents are financially prepared for retirement is one that’s getting more attention as life spans increase and we become increasingly reliant on our personal savings to fund our post-career lives.

Typically, this question comes from baby boomers who, already squeezed by simultaneously saving for retirement and paying school and other child-rearing costs, now face the prospect of also having to provide financial assistance to retired parents. A global study  by The Hartford found that more than a quarter of Americans 45 and older say they are currently caring for both children and parents or older relatives. Given how badly the retirement savings of many retirees have been hit by the market meltdown, that number has probably already increased or will over the next few years.

Statistics Canada has an article, Looking after seniors: Who does what for whom?  It discusses who provides care to our aging population, and how can we best support them? It examines caregivers aged 45 to 64 and those 65 and over, and the particular issues that affect each group.  In all probability it is an issue that we all may be faced with.

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