Retirement is a phase of life that many look forward to with so much anticipation that they know the exact date that they plan on retiring. People that tend to fall into this category are usually public service employees such as school principals, nurses, union workers, etc. – those with defined benefit pensions available at a specific date, which will offset the loss of income upon leaving the workforce. For the most part, however, my clients tend to view retirement with much more fluidity and although they may have a ballpark idea on when they might retire, it is usually contingent on a few factors. Those factors include health, job satisfaction, and sometimes the retirement timelines of their spouse and friends.
Retirement age is often cited as age 65, as that is the age when benefits historically kicked in, but as we live longer, healthier lives, we are working longer. This has caused the concept of retirement to evolve for the better, in my opinion. In fact, if you go far enough back in history, retirement didn’t exist. The very first man to have life, Adam, was given a specific role and purpose; he was a gardener and his job was to work the Garden of Eden and care for it. In this sense, I like to challenge clients on what retirement looks like to them, because although we may change the type of work that we do, I believe that we were created for work. Retirement should be viewed as a time where people are more afforded the chance to pursue other endeavours that they perhaps could not previously explore. I have seen some go on to undertake opportunities in ministry and I have also seen some start successful businesses at the age of 70. Retirement should not be the end of our working lives, but an exciting start to something new that will be unique to each person’s gifts and passions. As a Portfolio Manager, it is my role to provide the investment guidance that will help our affluent individual and family clients achieve their retirement goals, whatever that looks like for them.
Janet Kim Sing, Portfolio Manager
Capstone Private Wealth