Canadian Seniors Back to Work

Some Canadian seniors are finding themselves applying for jobs when they thought they would be retiring. This phenomenon is particularly common in the Maritimes, but it is afflicting Canadians from all provinces.

Older Canadians today are facing far more risk of bankruptcy than their counterparts of twenty or even ten years ago. In fact, seniors in 2010 are 17 times more likely to be bankrupt than seniors in 1990. They are more likely to go bankrupt than any other age group.

In the past, baby boomers were encouraged to retire early. This may not have been the best advice, given the economic uncertainties that were to follow. People who retired at a younger age, perhaps in their late fifties or early sixties, are finding that they have insufficient savings to see them through their retirement. Part of the reason for this is that improved lifespans mean that their savings need to last for fifteen or twenty years, rather than five or ten years in the past.

The rising cost of medical care and food is also taking a bigger chunk out of household budgets, and seniors are no exception. Those who are healthy enough to work appreciate the opportunity to delay or slow down their rate of withdrawal from savings.