Retirement is bit a like becoming a parent in that you have no clue what it’s actually like until you do it. I’m obviously not retired, but I have talked to enough retirees and their financial planners to know that many people find themselves adrift when they stop working. This does not describe Teena Dawson, a financial services industry veteran who retired two years ago. Ms. Dawson is a model of the industrious retiree – she takes classes, volunteers and travels. I invited her to do an e-mail Q&A to hear more about her retirement experience. Here’s an edited version of our exchange:
Q: Teena, can you tell us a bit about your background in the financial services industry and your decision to retire?
A: I spent about 30 years in the financial services industry in the group retirement area in various roles including marketing, communication and education. I enjoyed my job and the company I was working for and had planned on retiring at the age of 65. Then COVID hit and I got used to being home and not being on the road all the time. During that time, my husband and I paid off our mortgage and we no longer had car payments, so I was debt-free.
Financially, I didn’t have to work any more and decided to retire in September 2022, after the summer I turned 60. After I retired, my first inclination was to jump in and do everything now that my time was my own. But I gave myself a few months to adapt to see what not working any more felt like. In January 2023, I signed up for a line dancing class (two hours every Friday morning) through the Toronto District School Board, which was fun and I’m still doing it almost two years later. Plus, I started doing aquafit two mornings a week at my local recreation centre.
I also started looking for volunteer opportunities. I like movies and theatre, so I started googling festivals like Hot Docs, Fringe, TIFF etc. to see how to become a volunteer. I also signed up to volunteer with the City of Toronto and have volunteered for Doors Open and Cavalcade of Lights.
Q: Can you tell us how much you’re enjoying retirement? On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being incredible, where do you stand?
A: Retirement has been fantastic and definitely a 10! I haven’t worked in two years and it seems like a lifetime ago. It’s nice being able to do what I want, when I want.
Q: What aspect of retirement has surprised you the most?
A: First, there is so much to do. In the past, I felt sorry for clients who said they never wanted to retire because they didn’t know how they would spend their time since they had no hobbies or interests. I find sometimes I have too much going on. Also, unlike most couples, my husband and I don’t pool our money together – we have separate bank accounts. We keep track of who spends what, and whoever owes the other at the end of the month e-transfers the cash. So, I’m living 100 per cent on my own savings and assets and I’m finding that retirement isn’t as costly as I thought it would be.
Q: We often hear that retirees need 70 per cent of their working income to live comfortably. What’s your take on this as someone who advised people about retirement and then retired yourself?
A: If you plan on having a more extravagant lifestyle (perhaps doing a lot of travelling), then you’ll need that and maybe more. I’ve discovered I need less than 70 per cent since, for one thing, I’m debt-free. I haven’t changed my lifestyle, though. I still eat out, go to plays, concerts and sporting events, go on a couple big vacations every year, subscribe to TV and music streaming services, etc. My cost for clothing, though, has gone down because most of my days are spent in T-shirts and yoga pants or jeans. I don’t buy anything I don’t really need, not because I can’t afford it, but because as I’m getting older, I find that I want to declutter.
When I was working, I would cringe when I saw a retirement presentation with pictures of people travelling, golfing, sailing, etc. None showed people volunteering, taking care of grandchildren, reading in a park, hiking in a forest or having coffee with friends, which is what I imagine most of us want to also do.
Q: What did you decide on when to start your Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits and Old Age Security?
A: I haven’t started getting CPP or OAS. I’ll probably start them when I’m 65 (I’m too young for OAS anyway). But I’ll re-evaluate at that time to see if I need them because the longer I don’t take them, the bigger my benefits will be.
