Unlike many baby boomers who choose to continue working for social reasons or personal fulfilment, younger Canadians appear to be motivated more by financial pressure and uncertainty about their long-term security. \u00b7 Morsa Images via Getty Images <\/p>\n
For many younger Canadians, retirement doesn\u2019t mean stopping work \u2014 just slowing down.<\/p>\n
New findings from FP Canada\u2019s Money and Milestones survey suggest a generational shift in how Canadians picture life after work. While half of Canadians are saving for retirement, more than a quarter (26 per cent) are saving for a version of retirement where they \u201cwork less,\u201d compared to over a third (35 per cent) who are saving for retirement where they don\u2019t work at all.<\/p>\n
Among those aged 18 to 34, the share saving for semi-retirement and full retirement is nearly identical (21 per cent versus 20 per cent), a sign that younger Canadians are preparing for a more flexible, non-traditional version of retirement.<\/p>\n
Unlike many baby boomers who choose to continue working for social reasons or personal fulfilment, younger Canadians appear to be motivated more by financial pressure and uncertainty about their long-term security.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome do it because they realize that it\u2019s probably unrealistic to have a full retirement due to their current financial situation,\u201d said Kelly Ho, certified financial planner at DLD Financial Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re feeling pessimistic about their own trajectory,” she added, noting that housing and the labour environment are markedly different from the ones their parents experienced in young adulthood.<\/p>\n
Longer life expectancy is also a factor, Ho says. Retirement could stretch from age 60 or 65 to as late as 90 or 95 \u2014 a whole other working lifetime. The thought of having enough money to fund that is scary, she notes. Canadians can feel particularly triggered when they hit their 40s, realizing that their working journey could be 20 years or less away.<\/p>\n
Canadians should track where their money is going and how much they can reasonably set aside. They should also check whether they\u2019re taking advantage of any retirement savings plans offered through an employer.<\/p>\n
Saving can create an \u201cillusion of choice,\u201d Ho says. It appears optional because no one is making you do it. Here\u2019s where seeking the advice of a financial planner or adopting an automated savings system can help.<\/p>\n
Younger Canadians may also aim for semi-retirement, but health issues can disrupt even the best-laid plans. \u201cIf your health doesn\u2019t allow you to do so, then it\u2019s not an option,\u201d Ho said.<\/p>\n
Still, those who have a very intentional retirement, where they have a long-term routine and a sense of purpose, go on to live healthier lives than those who go into retirement shock, Ho says. As a result, semi-retirement can create a longer, more prosperous life, regardless of whether it\u2019s done out of financial necessity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlike many baby boomers who choose to continue working for social reasons or personal fulfilment, younger Canadians appear…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,49,48,4191,133,112130,131,132,1705,12985],"class_list":{"0":"post-237429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-canadians","12":"tag-finance","13":"tag-financial-pressure","14":"tag-personal-finance","15":"tag-personalfinance","16":"tag-retirement","17":"tag-retirement-savings"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}