"The Retirement Guy's" Renewal Blog

Barbara's Video Links

As a former schoolteacher, Barbara knew that playing hooky could have unexpected consequences. In June of 1987, while attending a conference in Vancouver, she decided to play hooky and take a day-trip to Victoria.  But not until October 2002, when she retired, did she realize her dream and now enjoys a new life in beautiful Victoria. The biggest impediment to her decision to move to Vancouver Island from central Ontario was her family, especially her granddaughter, Emily, the light of her life. To soothe her conscience for deserting her family, she promised to visit them twice a year. To ensure that Emily would remember her between visits, in the spring of 2003, she rented a video camera and taped herself reading two children’s stories.  She sent the tape to Emily and her parents played the tape before her next visit. In August, when she arrived at Pearson airport, there was her family waiting outside the doors of the baggage area. Emily was in her father’s arms and waving at her!  She was welcomed with a big hug from her nineteen-month old granddaughter who had not seen her since January. There were tears in all the adult's eyes.

What does all this have to do with her finding something meaningful to do after her retirement from education? How could she use her experience as a teacher-librarian, elementary school principal and public librarian?  She has always had a strong belief in the value of reading as the basis for learning and in a love of literature as the basis for developing strong reading skills. In addition, she has always been interested in family history and the recording of it. Her father, for example, was a great natural storyteller. The year before he died, she taped four hours of his memories about his family and his life.  She values those audiotapes highly and they have been useful to her extended family.

Combining all those interests and experiences together, plus her new role as a grandmother, the first idea came to her to videotape other grandparents reading children’s literature and then sending the books and video to their grandchildren as a special gift. It would be a way for grandparents to participate in their grandchildren’s learning experience.  She was determined to make a professional-looking video with theme music and credits, so that it would look like a television program that families would enjoy watching and would save as a permanent family keepsake. Gradually, the second idea evolved of videotaping people telling their life stories, or family histories — an invaluable memento for families to have. She realized that many people have wonderful photographs of family members who are unknown to newer members. 

Since she knew little about business, she enrolled in a small business program at Business Victoria and since 2004 has run her own business named Family Video Links.  She has continued with her education and has taken courses in video editing, a skill which she primarily uses to appreciate the work of hired editors. So far, she's been successful  in interesting over 20 grandparents to be videotaped reading quality Canadian children’s books, telling family stories on DVD, taping messages to send for a special event, or having their home videotaped to share with family or friends.  She's also begun to film legacy statements by recently deceased people explaining their wills or leaving end-of-life statements to family members.

Barbara is well on her way to another career adventure and is thoroughly enjoying her experience as a senior entrepreneur. One of the bonuses of her business is meeting some interesting people, for those clients who want to participate in one of her video projects are kind and caring people. As an added bonus, a portion of her profit goes to support agencies that promote her strong interest in children's literacy, namely, the Raise-a-Reader Campaign and CODE, an international children’s literacy organization that supports initiatives in Africa and the Carribean.

For more information about Family Video Links,

go to www.familyvideolinks.com

Replacing the 5 Benefits of Work

The New Retirement includes a new definition of success. Work gives us a sense of ego-security, knowing that we are somebody and are successful at some level. Now, facing retirement, we find ourselves looking for new forms of success. One of the greatest challenges of retirement is finding a replacement for the five benefits that work provided in our lives: a successful retirement includes finding self-chosen and ideal alternatives to: 1. Money: Many people look only to replacing their income as the single focus for their replacement efforts as they prepare for retirement. 2. Time management: Work gives our life structure; it manages our time. Work keeps our life orderly and somehow “in-sync” with the beat of the culture; it keeps us “in the loop,” in the mainstream of life. 3. Purpose: Having a purpose injects a feeling of meaning into our life. Our life is given meaning when we assist others in some way, by serving their needs 4. Status: Having a social role is necessary for everyone because it provides status. Status is that combined sense of personal worth and identity that we derive from knowing who and what we are. 5. Socialization: At work we interact with people, with some we become connected, and with others we form relationships of sharing. Work is often where our friends are. When we leave work, we often leave them behind, or we’re afraid that that’s what will happen. Being disconnected from these five benefits can have serious psychological, emotional, even spiritual consequences. How many times have we encountered or heard of someone who “crashed” emotionally sometime after they retired? It’s usually not because of some sudden catastrophe, but the slow wearing away of the individual: those unseen losses that gradually push us out of balance and bring us to the brink of personal fragmentation. This despair may be caused by the loss of any number of these five benefits of work. One of my goals as a retirement lifestyle coach is to help people meet this challenge and find fulfillment in retirement.

Tips for finding work in retirement

According to most researchers, a majority of baby boomers will look for work or a second career in their retirement. Working in retirement is quickly becoming more the norm than the exception.  In the U.S., employment among workers over 65 is growing at a rate of 10.5 percent a year, greater by far than the 1.1% growth rate in the labor force overall. And people in retirement go back to work for a variety of reasons, the most important ones being to keep involved in the life of their community and to earn extra income to supplement their retirement finances. As people live longer and remain healthier, the desire to stay involved and earn a supplemental income becomes increasingly important.

If you’ve considered the possibility yourself of working in your retirement, here are some useful guidelines based on others’ experience to think about.  Remember that what you are looking for in a retirement job is quite different from what you expected or experienced in your career. Look for work that is different from your career, and if not, then consider becoming a consultant. Look for work that offers a flexible schedule, stability, autonomy and a sense of purpose or where you are helping other people. Consider a position that offers you the opportunity to socialize with other people and which offers some degree of intellectual stimulation. Your choice of salary will depend on your need and the benefits that come with the job may or may not be important to you – both are individual choices.

When you started your career, your pay was a priority, now it is time, because any retirement job will need to be in sync with your lifestyle needs – whether travel or leisure and recreational pursuits. When looking for a job that is not related to your career, consider exploring situations that approximate a lifelong passion or hobby. Consider the fact that your retirement job will give you a place to go every day and something to do, so make sure it’s interesting.

Many of the jobs that provide flexibility and autonomy are part-time or involve self-employment. Such jobs are usually found in the service sector and include everything from health care and retailing to consulting and teaching. This would include jobs in restaurants and fast-food outlets, libraries, schools and colleges, financial services, medical offices and health-care facilities, and most retail outlets. While the pay may be low, such jobs can offer plenty of opportunity for socialization and intellectual stimulation. Some of the jobs available in these areas include administrators, marketers and financial types, and quite often the organization is interested in attracting older workers with flexible work options and benefits.

Major retailers like Home Depot are making a special effort to attract older workers because of their knowledge. Some financial service companies have training programs and other incentives to attract the mature worker, whom they value for their experience and personal connections. Teaching is another area where knowledge and experience are valued by the employer, especially community colleges and private training institutions. One of the most successful routes for retirees is consulting – think of it as an opportunity to leverage the knowledge you’ve obtained in a career. Not only will it keep you involved in your field of expertise, but it can offer you the independence and flexibility you are looking for. Another route is to follow a passion that you subsumed for the sake of your career – now is the time when you can revisit it and devote all of your time to it, especially if it’s in the creative arts.

The best advice of all when looking for a retirement job is to list your priorities – decide what is most important to you. Be realistic about the pay and be aware of stereotyping and age bias in the workplace. When you do apply for a job, have a good up-to-date resume in hand and in an interview stress how you can contribute to the company’s success instead of your long years of experience.

Baby Boomers on Vacation

Now that it's near the end of summer and you're probably back from your vacation, you might like to know where the baby boomers spent their vacation and what they did on it. According to a recently published AARP survey of 1,594 baby boomers aged 41–59 who went on vacation in 2005, leisure travel increased by 25% since 2003. As more and more baby boomers, reach their peak earning power and begin to head towards retirement, leisure travel becomes more significant. In 2004, the survey year, the average baby boomer spent $1,155.00 on leisure travel, while 26% of them spent between $3,000.00 -- $10,000.00, racking up a total of $157 billion dollars. As we know, leisure activities that engage and refresh are one of the key factors for a successful retirement, and if it is any indication from the current survey, baby boomers love to travel and to be physically active when they get to their destination. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed had taken at least one leisure trip within the U.S. in the past twelve months. In fact, boomers consider themselves far more adventurous while on holiday than their parents.

When it comes to activities, boomers like to be engaged in two areas: adventures and experiences. While so engaged, they typically chose destinations that were beautiful and scenic, where the weather and climate were good and the pace relaxing and without schedules to meet. Other factors included an environment that was clean and unspoiled, but also easy to get to. Travelers were also eager to do and see new things, meet new people, have new experiences, and get to know the history and culture of the local people. Such travelers were high on having outdoor adventures were only slightly more adventurous than those they engage in back home. These included: hiking, backpacking, rock climbing and camping. They also enjoyed escorted or guided tours, horseback riding, cycling, and whitewater rafting. Other water activities included snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, and kayaking.

On the less strenuous side, experiential activities expose people to new experiences, cultures, and environments, such as wine tasting, cooking or fine dining. Other activities included visiting historic sites, museums, theatres, casinos, zoos, and gardens, in addition to attending festivals, nightclub stage-shows, and major sporting events.

When it came to adventure and experiential travel within the U.S., the most popular destinations were: Las Vegas, Florida, New York, Hawaii and Colorado. While at these destinations, they typically spent at least a week (52%), while another one-quarter of them spent two weeks or longer (23%). The majority of boomers on adventure travel were accompanied by their spouses or partners (57%), others were accompanied by friends (36%), and 29% took their children or grandchildren. Only 9% went alone.

As for destinations outside the United States for adventure travel, the most popular locations were: Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Canada, validating the data that baby boomers like their adventure travel readily accessible and familiar. When it came to planning a dream trip with money being no object, Mexico and Canada were dropped in favour of more exotic locales like Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.

What this survey reveals is that boomers have certainly traveled to exciting locations and engaged in adventurous activities while there, and will likely continue to do so as their earning power increases and they enter retirement. When they make their travel choices and plans, they will do so by using the Internet -- four in ten of them do so already. The survey confirms the findings of other such surveys, which find that when it comes to travel and vacations boomers want it all and on their own terms.

Retirement Strategy And Succession Planning in Business

How real is the situation depicted in the Investors Group advertisements where two-man are discussing over lunch the effects of their retirement on their businesses? One man who is obviously well-financed replies, that all he has to worry about now is which kid to leave the business to. The other responds dejectedly to this comment by saying, "Will you adopt me?"

What this scenario depicts is a situation more common to business owners than many would expect -- succession planning! According to a survey sponsored by Grant Thornton LLP in 2001, retirement and succession planning were listed as number nine in rank order of importance for Canadian business owner-managers as the top priorities and challenges they face in running a business. This ranking follows "strategic planning" at #8 and precedes "finding expansion capital" at #10.

What the findings of the survey reveal is that having a retirement strategy is not just a concern for employees, but for 55% of owner-managers having a personal retirement and succession plan in place is an important business strategy as well. While ensuring that they had enough money to retire on was the most important issue for 88% of owner-managers, especially those in the 36-45 year-old and 55-plus categories, there were other concerns as well. Here is the breakdown:

• Ensuring a smooth transition 78%
• Identifying a suitable successor 72%
• Developing an exit strategy 67%
• Finding time to develop a succession plan 59%
• Securng a legacy 43%
• Giving up control 43%

In order to place the importance of retirement and succession planning issues in context within the top 10 priorities and challenges for Canadian owner-managers of small to medium-sized businesses, here are the other top priorities in their respective ranking:

1. Strengthening customer relations 97% of respondents wanted to develop and get closer to customers and improve customer loyalty. Developing a marketing plan and identifying new markets were considered challenges and priorities.
2. Finding good people 89% were challenged in identifying, attracting, and retaining good-quality employees.
3. Minimizing taxes 81% of respondents felt reducing the tax burden was of primary concern to them.
4. Growing the business 73% found government and municipal red tape and regulations hinder them in growing their business to greater prosperity.
5. Keeping pace with technology 68% were challenged by new technology and inadequate workers skill-levels.
6. Managing cash flow 66% said maintaining the finances of the business day-to-day were important.
7. The current business climate 65% said keeping up with the news and current events was important.
8. Creating and executing strategy Three out of five identified strategic planning a high priority.
9. Retirement and succession planning 55% considered retirement and succession planning important
10. Finding expansion capital 80% considered making the business attractive to lenders and investors important.

How Much Do You Know About Retirement in Canada Quiz

1. Most Canadians believe they will have to work longer before they retire.                                 True
2. Most Canadians feel that their pension benefits will not be reduced by the time they retire.     False
3. Most Canadians over 25 have already begun to plan financially for their retirement.                 True
4. Most Canadians can calculate the amount of income they will receive in retirement.               False
5. Most Canadians are risk adverse and prefer life insurance and RRSPs as retirement income.  True
6. One in two Canadians will rely on stock market investments to supplement their income.        True

Women Define the New Face of Retirement

According to a new Statistics Canada report authored by Lynn McDonald, Director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging, women in the baby boom generation, having been the first cohort of women to participate in the workforce for most of their adult lives, will be retiring in greater numbers than ever before. The significance of this society-altering demographic shift is reflected in the percentages: women made up 57.4% of the population in 1998 and, of those aged 55 to 64 in 2004, 47.7% were in the labour force (compared to only 12.9% of women in 1954). By sheer numbers alone, women will have a profound influence on retirement, so much so, says MacDonald, that “the new retirement is women’s retirement, [which is characteristically] amorphous and fluid.” Because of this, this generation of women who reshaped the workforce by pushing for pay equity and work-life balance, will transform retirement for some of the same gender-biased reasons these changes transformed work. Many of today’s retiring women will have greater pension coverage than ever before and will more readily opt for early retirement for lifestyle reasons and family caregiving reasons than men. 

For women, the transition to retirement is fraught with many of the same gender issues as work. While women were in the labour force for most of their adult lives, they still managed to provide the greater part of care for the young and, now, in growing numbers for their aging parents. These women have always juggled work and family responsibilities, and they will likely do the same, opting in and out of retirement depending on the demands of caregiving. While the workplace adapted to these demands slowly, retirement and pension plans are still mired in the century-old model of a full-time working male breadwinner providing for a large dependent family.

One of the greatest contributions women will make to the New Retirement will be the flexibility and frequency with which they will define their own retirement, moving in and out of work in irregular patterns, unconstrained by pension regulations or working within the parameters of their own pension plans.

This flexibility will be enhanced by the fact that women find the psychological transition from the workforce to retirement easier than men. Women are less likely to define themselves by their jobs, while men find a strong social identity and sense of purpose within a predominantly male world of comradeship they are reluctant to give up. Women “adapt more easily to retirement and find other interests to pursue.” This outlook will influence their decisions to seek employment during retirement, punctuated by demands for family caregiving, and their patterns of re-employment will become more a form of “career progression,” aided by their “higher levels of educational attainment and increased occupational prestige.” The baby boom generation of women in the New Retirement will be hard to miss and they will reshape the face of retirement, no longer content to be the invisible or passive female retirees of a previous generation

Canadians Expect to Work Longer before Retirement

An increasing number of working Canadians expect pension
reform to occur in the next 10 years, according to an
international survey on retirement issues conducted recently
by AXA Group and reported on by InvestmentExecutive.com.
A high percentage (75%) of Canadians also favour reducing
the tax burden on the retired. Such measures are especially
desired by those still working (81%) and by retired
Quebecers (82%).

Conducted in 11 countries, the survey reveals that 55% of
working Canadians expect pension reform to occur, up 11
percentage points from the 2004 survey.Seventy-five per cent
of working Canadians also anticipate that they will have to work
longer before retiring, while another 70% think their public
pension benefits will be reduced by the time they get to them.

Compared with their counterparts worldwide, working
Canadians are among the least inclined (35%) to assume
complete responsibility for funding their retirement. Most feel
that government (81%) and employers (67%) are also
responsible. For their part, workers in Japan (75%),
Hong Kong (72%) and Germany (62%) are more convinced
that the responsibility falls mainly on the individual.

According to the survey results, working Canadians are among
the most far-sighted in the world when it comes to preparing for
retirement from a financial perspective.  Specifically, 78% of the
working population age 25 and over has begun their retirement
preparations, an 8% increase from last year. As a result,
Canada now ranks third in the world, just behind the United
States(82%) and Germany 84% 

Also, Canadians are preparing for retirement increasingly early,
at age 30 on average. Only workers in the United Kingdom
begin their retirement preparations earlier (age 28). Moreover,
the survey revealed that working Canadians are the third largest
group of savers in the world, exceeded only by their
counterparts in the United States and Hong Kong (once
exchange rates have been taken into account). Canadian
respondents said they saved an average $586 a month for
retirement.

Less positively, only 20% of the Canadians who responded to 
the survey said they could calculate the amount of income
they will receive when they retire.When it comes to saving for
retirement, Canadians tend to prefer safe and diversified
financial investments. Life insurance and tax-sheltered
savings plans remain the most popular ways of supplementing
government pension plans.Some Canadians, especially the
more affluent, are less risk adverse.

One in two Canadians, and an even higher percentage
of the retired (62%), rely on stock market investments
to help fund their retirements.Employer pension funds
also play a key role in retirement preparations, in
particular for retirees.

The AXA survey sample included 6,915 working and retired
people in 11 countries. The survey was conducted between
July 14 and August 21, 2004, by a consortium of polling firms
headed by GfK Group and represented in Canada by CROP. 
The following countries involved were Australia, Belgium,
Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan,
United States, and United Kingdom.

AXA Canada offers a broad range of financial services to its
clients and is a member of the AXA Group, a world leader
in financial protection.

Why Plan for Retirement?

Such a question might well be asked by someone unfamiliar with the precepts of the New Retirement, one of which is the rediscovery of the authentic self.  However, think of any other major periods of change and transition in your life when you wouldn't dare venture forth without some kind of plan: college, career, marriage, children, vacations, investments, car and home purchases. We plan for such occasions because we want to get it right, because we want to make sure that the decision we make is the right one for our life at that time, and because we don't want that decision to end up being a costly or emotionally hurtful mistake.

We plan because we want to avoid saying to ourselves: "If only I'd had a plan, how much easier and less complicated things would have turned out!" We plan because we are all aware of the lasting impact change and transition have on us, and because we respect the importance of making life-altering decisions carefully.

So, consider these important concepts in the planning process as you approach those decisions you will make for your retirement: When you plan, you have the power and ability to chart your own course. When you plan, you're in the driver's seat to actualizing your goals and dreams. You have the power to learn and implement new strategies for dealing with your changing needs and circumstances, and you have the ability to access many different resources to help you make informed and educated decisions about them.

In addition to the above considerations, the planning process for retirement is founded on these five principles:

1.    The last third of your life will be different from that of any previous generation
2.    Your future is your sole responsibility, you can no longer count on others to meet your needs in later life - and that includes your employer, the government, and your own family
3.    Planning does not take a great deal of effort and will not overwhelm an already busy life
4.    Any forward step creates momentum and creates more opportunities to accomplish your goals
5.    Your own individuality is a wonderful resource, which will support and guide you through the  planning process - keep in mind, that it's all about you!

Retirement is a life changing transition and one of the most important periods in the adult lifespan.  It's that time of life that we all look forward to after we've raised our children and reached the fulfillment of our careers.  It's also one of the longest periods in our lives, where we can now expect to spend up to 30 years.  It deserves nothing less than our most careful and well-planned consideration.

Barbara's Dream Retirement Career

Barbara Strachan writes:

As a former schoolteacher, I know that playing hooky can have unexpected consequences. In June of 1987, I was attending a conference in Vancouver and decided to play hooky and take a day-trip to Victoria. I remember saying, “I think I’d like to live here some day.” It wasn’t until October 2002, when I retired that I realized my dream and now enjoy my new life in beautiful Victoria.

The biggest impediment to my decision to move to Vancouver Island from central Ontario was my family, especially my granddaughter, Emily, the light of my life. To soothe my conscience for deserting my family, I promised to visit them twice a year. To ensure that Emily would remember me between visits, in the spring of 2003, I rented a video camera and taped myself reading two children’s stories. I sent the tape to Emily and her parents played my tape for her before my visit. In August, when I arrived at Pearson airport, there was my family waiting outside the automatic doors of the baggage area. Emily was in her father’s arms and she was waving at me! I was welcomed with a big hug from my nineteen-month old granddaughter who had not seen me since January. She proceeded to hold my hand and walk with me to the car. There were tears in all the adult eyes, I assure you.

What does all this have to do with my finding something meaningful to do after my retirement from education? How could I use my experience as a teacher-librarian, elementary school principal and public librarian? Well, I have always had a strong belief in the value of reading skills as the basis for learning and in a love of literature as the basis for developing strong reading skills. As well, another of my interests is family history and the recording of it. My father, for example, was a great natural storyteller. The year before he died, I taped four hours of his memories about his family and his life. I value those audiotapes highly and they have been useful to my extended family.

Combining all those interests and experiences together, plus my new role as a grandmother, the first idea came to me to videotape other grandparents reading children’s literature and then sending the books and the video to their grandchildren as a very special gift. It would be a way for grandparents to participate in their grandchildren’s learning experience. I determined that I wanted to make a professional-looking video with theme music and credits, so that the end result would look like a television program that families would enjoy watching and would save as a permanent family keepsake.

Gradually, the second idea evolved of videotaping people telling their life stories, or family histories — an invaluable memento for families to have. Think how many of us have wonderful photographs of family members that are not currently identified. We might know who they are, but our families don’t. Such family photos could be incorporated into the video and described for subsequent generations. What a real legacy gift to keep and treasure forever!

Referralss are an extremely important part of doing business. My business concept sounded like a relatively simple idea, but since I knew little about business, I enrolled in an excellent small business program at Business Victoria. At the same time, I registered the business name Family Video Links, took out a municipal business license, registered for PST and GST numbers, registered copyrights, and joined a number of business organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce. From what I have learned from business people here, networking is critical in Victoria.

I had a lawyer create a permission document for publishers and authors, and I contacted authors and publishers asking for their cooperation, allowing me to film grandparents reading their books. As well, I took a video-editing course at Cinevic, a local film cooperative. I had some experience as a teacher-librarian with using video cameras, but I did not have the film editing skills I felt I would need.  I purchased a camcorder and practised my filming skills. Eventually, I decided the simplest thing was to work with video-editors who had editing software and the knowledge to do the editing for me. One of my editors is a retired federal senior civil servant and the other is a recent graduate of the Victoria Motion Picture School. In September 2004, I launched my business. I now have a website, a demo DVD, and promotional material. I’ve been successful  in interesting over 20 grandparents to be videotaped reading quality Canadian children’s books, telling family stories on DVD, taping a message to send for a special event, or having their home videotaped to share with their family or friends. I’ve also begun to film when I’m in Ontario twice a year, bringing the tapes back to Victoria for editing.

I am well on my way to another career adventure! I am thoroughly enjoying my experience as a senior entrepreneur. One of the bonuses of my business is meeting some lovely people. Obviously, the type of clients who want to participate in one of my video projects are kind and caring people.

These contributions allow me to support agencies that promote my strong interest in children's literacy. I would like to add that I donate a portion of my profits to literacy organizations -- the Raise-a-Reader Campaign (local) and CODE, which is an international children’s literacy organization that supports initiatives in Africa and the Carribean.

For more information about Family Video Links,
go to www.familyvideolinks.com
or call Barbara Strachan at (250) 383-3195
or e-mail.info@familyvideolinks.com.