Greg St. Croix of Bancroft, Ont., started taking in rescue dogs like Chase, a three-year-old golden retriever, about nine years ago. "Having dogs can be a little messy at times, but it’s very rewarding," he says, pointing to the exercise as well as the excitement when the dogs are adopted.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
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Greg St. Croix, 72, retired in 2014 at the age of 62 after 18 years as a senior vice-president at a global insurance broker based in Toronto. Before that, he worked in the transportation sector, including more than 20 years with the provincial government. “I retired because I felt my company no longer supported me; the ‘writing was on the wall,’ as they say,” says St. Croix in the Tales from the Golden Age article. “My wife had been retired for five years, making the choice easier. I left about a week after making the decision.”
Retirement was scary at first, he recalls. “I was afraid of the unknown. My work defined me. I was used to getting a load of e-mails daily, attending meetings and travelling the world for work. Suddenly, all of that ended.”
A few weeks after St. Croix retired, his son – an Ontario Provincial Police officer in Bancroft – told him about an on-call job as a jail guard at the local detachment. “I thought, ‘Hey, that sounds interesting,’ so I applied and got the job. It’s a fascinating role. Soon after, I got another on-call job as a driver doing vehicle transfers for the local dealership,” he says. With both jobs, adds St. Croix, he can choose when he wants to work.
“I consider myself ‘selectively retired.’ The income from the part-time work is nice, but I do these jobs to stay engaged in life and my community,” he notes. It was also a lifesaver during the pandemic when there wasn’t much to do. His wife also jokes that these jobs keep his senility in check – and St. Croix says there’s some truth to that.
“About nine years ago, my wife and I also started taking in rescue dogs from a charitable organization called Home Again Bancroft. Having dogs can be a little messy at times, but it’s very rewarding. They give us the exercise and mobility we need, and our payback is the joy and excitement when the dogs are adopted into their ‘forever home.’”
Read the full article here.
Are you a Canadian retiree interested in discussing what life is like now that you’ve stopped working? The Globe is looking for people to participate in its Tales from the Golden Age feature, which examines the personal and financial realities of retirement. If you’re interested in being interviewed for this feature, and agree to use your full name and have a photo taken, please e-mail us at: goldenageglobe@gmail.com Please include a few details about how you saved and invested for retirement and what your life is like now.
Can Judy, 62, afford to join Charles, 64, in retirement this summer?
Charles and Judy are in their mid-60s with three adult children, all financially independent.
Charles has retired from his $80,000-a-year sales job and will soon begin collecting his defined benefit pension. Judy plans to join him this summer, leaving behind her $68,500-a-year administrative job. She has a defined contribution pension plan.
They have a mortgage-free house in a Southern Ontario city valued at $850,000. Short term, they want to pay off a $15,000 line of credit and travel extensively “in the early years of retirement,” Judy writes in an e-mail. “Can I retire now with enough funds to reach age 90?” she asks. They are willing to sell their house “in the later years” if necessary to cover health care expenses.
Judy will have to move her group retirement savings plans when she leaves work and wonders how to manage them. “I would appreciate recommendations as to how and where to invest these funds to maximize success.”
Their retirement spending goal is $76,000 a year after tax.
In this Financial Facelift, we asked Vikki Brown, a certified financial planner at Modern Cents, an advice-only financial planning firm, to look at Charles and Judy’s situation.
Want a free financial facelift? E-mail finfacelift@gmail.com.
Mediterranean diet helps women live longer, study finds
It’s a top-rated diet that’s been tied to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, dementia and cancer, writes Leslie Beck in this health article.
Now, research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston has uncovered another health benefit of the Mediterranean diet: longevity.
Women who closely followed this well-researched eating pattern were nearly 25 per cent less likely to die during the long-term study. While this study focused exclusively on women, there’s abundant research to show that the Mediterranean diet is widely beneficial for everyone.
What’s more, the researchers found evidence of biological changes to help explain how the diet may reduce the risk of death.
Here’s a breakdown of the study, plus tips to incorporate this healthy eating plan into your lifestyle.
In case you missed it
How to navigate real estate as part of family wealth transfers
Transferring real estate holdings within families is often complex. But, writes Jamie Sturgeon in this Investing article, whether it’s the disposition of a primary home, cottage or rental property, the process is one more Canadians and their financial professionals will have to plan for extensively.
During the next two decades, more than US$84-trillion globally is expected to be passed on between generations. The transfer of real estate is bound to be a significant consideration in this country as the asset class represents about 55 per cent of overall household wealth, according to a Statistics Canada report published in March.
Although financial advisors don’t deal with Canadians’ real estate investments directly, they’ll play an increasingly key role in helping families sort through the reasons and goals for real estate transfers, the timing, and who wants the property and will take care of it.
Rather than waiting until a family member of an older generation dies, advisors and their clients should use the 40-70 rule to start this process, says Darius Muica, senior wealth advisor and associate portfolio manager with Lakeview Wealth Management at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Burlington, Ont.
“You need to have a conversation about what will happen to your real estate holdings with your children if they’re 40 years of age or older or if you are turning 70, whichever is earlier. Certain things take time to plan if you want to do them in a tax-efficient manner,” he says.
“There are many important issues to discuss, and then you can go ahead and implement strategies through tax and legal professionals. The conversation in the family is crucial,” Mr. Muica adds.
Yet, even those with existing plans in place for bequeathing such properties must now revisit them.
Read the reasons why here.
For more from Globe Advisor, visit our homepage.
Paying a family member to be your executor is the right thing to do
Our aging population is driving some much-needed critical thinking about wills and executors, writes personal finance columnist Rob Carrick.
It is now widely acknowledged that being an executor is not an honour – it’s potentially time-consuming, aggravating work, he adds. You need a financially experienced person with good organizational skills to be an executor – it’s not enough to just pick one of your children. Also, the idea of having an adult child be your executor without any compensation is being challenged.
In a recent newsletter, Carrick looked at some potentially costly options for people who don’t have someone who can be their executor. Estates lawyer Barry Corbin read that post and thought it perpetuated the idea that a child acting as executor should not be compensated. In an interview, he outlined his reasons why people drafting a will should consider compensating a child who serves as executor.
Read the full article here.
Sign up for the Carrick on Money newsletter here.
Retirement Q & A
Q: I elected to start getting CPP shortly after I turned 65, in May, 2023. Now, I regret that decision and would prefer to wait to receive CPP until I turn 70, given the increased payments you receive by waiting. I understand I can reverse the decision, but I’m not sure how it works. Is it too late? If not, do I return the money or do I keep it and pick it up later?
We asked Daryl Diamond, chief retirement income strategist at Dynamic Funds in Winnipeg, to answer this one.
A: Once you’ve started taking your CPP retirement benefits, you can still reverse the decision. You will need to contact Service Canada and apply for the cancellation in writing within 12 months of starting the benefit. You can then reapply to restart your CPP benefits at the time of your choosing, keeping in mind that you can’t defer past 70. You must also pay back all of the income received to the date of cancellation.
You can also reverse your decision to receive OAS once you’ve started. The details are similar to those for the CPP. The only difference is you have six months to cancel your OAS benefits compared with 12 months for the CPP.
Looking for more about the CPP? Read our series, Planning for the CPP.
Have a question about money or lifestyle topics for seniors? E-mail us at sixtyfive@globeandmail.com and we will find experts and answer your questions in future newsletters. Interested in more stories about retirement? Sixty Five aims to inspire Canadians to live their best lives, confidently and securely. Sign up for our weekly Retirement Newsletter.
