New Beginnings - OpenRoad Driver

Trade InThe changing faceof retirementby Al Nagy, CFPMyvery first car was a real fixer-upper.I spent countless hours as a teenager fine-tuningmy ten-year-old 1967 Chevrolet Biscayne. It was anon-going project, but I had the spare time, the passion, and with apart-time job I could afford the repair costs.Fast forward thirty years when I noticed a similar rusty oldBiscayne parked one day in a neighbourhood driveway. Gosh, iteven had the same old black fake vinyl roof! Shocked to see thatcar still in one piece, I stopped to talk with the owner, a man inhis late fifties/early sixties who was underneath the vehicle crankinga ratchet. Although he didn’t let my curiosity interrupt hiswork, he did poke his head out occasionally, asking me to handhim a wrench from his toolbox. We ended up having quite a conversation.Not so much about cars, but about retirement.It turns out he is a retired school teacher, who in his thirdyear of the so-called good life turned his passion for fixing oldcars into a lucrative hobby. While starting a new career at thislife stage may seem daunting, he’s not unlike many baby-boomerCanadians, who over the next dozen or so years will be faced withone of life’s most significant events - the “new retirement.” Whilethe adjustment wasn’t problematic for him, it can be a majortraumatic event for others. With so many boomers entering intolong and more active retirements than any previous generation, itis even more important and complex to prepare for those years.Most people would agree that retirement should be all abouthaving choices - being free of financial worries, free from workingresponsibility and choosing what to do with your extra timeand where to do it. While Canadians are doing increasingly wellat the dollars and cents of retirement, planning a successfuland happy retirement reaches well beyond financial matters.Apparently, many of us haven’t factored that emotional equationinto our financial plans. A recent national survey showed that74 per cent of Canadians who are five years from retirementare well prepared for the financial aspects of retirement, whilejust four per cent are well prepared for the transition to aretirement lifestyle.OpenRoad driver |44