XPost: can.general, can.legal, can.politics   
   From: abc@123.cl   
      
   A comfortable retirement is no sure thing   
      
      
   August 16, 2009   
      
      
   Many retirees hope to add to their income by taknig on some part-time   
   work. William Hanley says the 'jobless' recovery could upset those   
   plans.   
      
   Many retirees hope to add to their income by taknig on some part-time   
   work. William Hanley says the 'jobless' recovery could upset those   
   plans.   
   Photograph by: AFP/Getty Images, AFP/Getty Images   
      
   For a close friend of more than 40 years, Christmas is coming Oct. 1.   
      
   That’s when, a day before his 65th birthday, he retires after 49 years   
   of working life, most of it spent in journalism.   
      
   “I’m like a kid looking forward to Christmas,” he says. “In fact, this   
   will be better than Christmas.”   
      
   His will be a good retirement, with seven different pensions adding up   
   nicely to ease the way in what should be his golden years. (He will   
   have the OAS, CPP, a small British government pension and four modest   
   defined-benefit pensions from various employers over the years.)   
      
   He will do some travelling with his wife, who has already retired,   
   spending two weeks in the south of France, a place they adore, to start   
   his retirement with a Gallic flourish. But he will be toweringly   
   unambitious in retirement, spending much time listening to opera,   
   reading crime fiction and histories, cooking, having a few beers,   
   looking after his five cats and looking out the window -- when he has   
   the time.   
      
   And yet, if the right opportunity presented itself, he just might think   
   about working a day or two a week for some extra spending money. It   
   would have to be tailored precisely to his needs and wants.   
      
   But for many people of my friend’s vintage and a bit younger, Baby   
   Boomers who have been blindsided by the Great Recession, coming out of   
   retirement or working deeper into tarnished golden years are not   
   options, but necessities.   
      
   The problem is that the Great Recession has pushed unemployment to   
   decades-high levels, so jobs are simply not there for the taking, as my   
   friend will no doubt discover if he some day summons up the energy to   
   go looking.   
      
   A U.S. study published last week by financial retirement firm Longevity   
   Alliance shows that almost half of American retirees have thought about   
   getting a job, but now is simply not the right time. Though   
   circumstances are somewhat different in the United States for retirees,   
   we can roughly conclude that the numbers and sentiment in Canada will   
   be similar.   
      
   Among other things, the study found that:   
      
   * Among retirees, 43% “seriously considered the possibility of some day   
   going back to work” when they first retired.   
      
   * Only 16% of retirees say they are currently considering leaving   
   retirement.   
      
   * “Changes in personal finance” is a major consideration that would   
   force a retiree to think about going back to work, with 42% of retirees   
   citing it as a factor.   
      
   Though some economists and authorities have declared the recession over   
   (prematurely, in my view) the recovery, when it comes, is likely to be   
   of the “jobless” variety in the United States, Canada and much of the   
   rest of the world.   
      
   It is reckoned that 15 million U.S. jobs will have to be created to get   
   the country back to employment levels that match those before the   
   recession and also to make up for the subsequent rise in population.   
   For Canada, the number is likely to be more than one million jobs.   
      
   As a result, my friend, if he chooses, and millions of other retirees   
   should not expect to have jobs thrust at them any time soon, even if   
   they are skilled and reliable workers.   
      
   The answer, then, to finding a comfort level in retirement for many   
   people is saving solidly for retirement and probably cutting back on   
   some things in retirement.   
      
   As Longevity Alliance notes: “Retirees are very cautious right now, but   
   not panicked. Their reluctance to rejoin the workforce only underscores   
   the need for them to plan very carefully for the rest of their   
   retirement.”   
      
   Amen to that. As I’ve noted over the past few years, another thing   
   retirees can do is reinforce the themes of saving and planning to their   
   children and grandchildren. If they work hard and save hard, but not to   
   the exclusion of enjoying life, they will more likely be able to enjoy   
   a good, long life.   
      
   They will almost certainly not have seven different pension sources   
   like my friend, who also has a decent-sized RRSP that was not invested   
   in stocks at the time of the crash. But they can work toward making   
   their personal savings and investments add up to their own defined-   
   benefit plans.   
      
   So they, like my friend, will be able to look forward to their own   
   personal Christmases, to retirements that may include work, but not the   
   necessity of work.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)