Apr 21: BEST FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

April 21, 2025

Is 70 the new 65? Canadians are retiring later: Global News

Regina’s Diane Clark tells Global News that retirement is not working out the way she planned it.

“We don’t travel anymore, we don’t buy as good of food as we used to buy, basically, and we stick at home a lot,” the 75-year-old tells Global News. Her pension investments took a big hit in the 2008 credit crisis, the broadcaster reports, and that plus post-COVID inflation has cramped her retirement income and lifestyle.

Asked what she would advise others to do, her answer was simple – “save, save, save,” Global reports.

Recent research from CIBC shows that more Canadians – perhaps mindful of the fact that a dollar doesn’t goes as far as it once did – are planning to exit the workforce later than planned, Global notes.

“About 66 per cent of Canadians are changing their plans for when they retire,” the Global article notes. “As a result, some retirees are looking to save more, while those already retired told CIBC they’re cutting back on planned travel or leisure activities, reassessing investments and adjusting their budget.”

So what can soon-to-be-retirees learn from this?

Global talked to CIBC’s Jamie Golombek, who suggested people should develop “an actual budget, and part of that budget should include retirement savings and making sure we’re taking advantage of all the different registered plans.”

If savings don’t generate enough income, work becomes less likely to become a thing of the past, the article continues.

The CIBC research found that “70 per cent say they anticipate having to work during their retirement either through a phased or semi-retired approach, with some working well past the retirement age of 65,” Global reports.

Other options, Golombek tells Global, include part-time or “gig economy” jobs.

Many older Canadians worry about having to depend on their adult kids in their later years.

“They’re absolutely terrified about outliving their savings and becoming a burden on their family,” Rudy Buttingol, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), tells Global News.

CARP, the article says, wants to see the current registered retirement savings plan/registered retirement income fund rules become more flexible. The current rules, the article explains, “force some seniors who are still working to receive income that would better benefit them later in life.”

Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald of the National Institute on Ageing is quoted in the article as noting that those who wait until 70 to collect their Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits will get a higher monthly amount.

“If you wait from age 60 to age 70, you’ll more than double this pension, which is guaranteed for life, it’s inflation indexed and it’s … a great deal when you do the math. It’s almost like an arbitrage opportunity because the incentives are so good,” she tells Global.

Members of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan have an option of interest to those who don’t want to draw down their retirement savings until later in life. With the Variable Benefit, you get “control over how much retirement income you wish to withdraw throughout the year,” with the rest of your funds continuing to be invested in either SPP’s Balanced Fund or Diversified Income Fund.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

Global news

---

---