Clients keep telling me they’re ready to stop working, until they actually try it.
When I think about retirement today, I see something very different from what it used to be.
I speak with clients every day who are asking themselves whether they even want to “retire” in the traditional sense. That idea of a hard stop where one day you’re working, the next day you’re done, doesn’t resonate with many people anymore. And honestly, I understand why.
For a lot of Canadians, work is more than just a paycheck, it’s part of who we are. It gives us purpose, structure, and community. To wake up one morning and realize that part of your identity is gone can be deeply unsettling. I’ve had countless conversations with clients who admit that what scares them most about retirement isn’t running out of money, it’s running out of meaning.
There’s a saying that it’s not really work if you love what you do and that sentiment rings true for so many of the people I work with. They’re teachers, consultants, small business owners, and professionals who take real joy in what they do.
If you’re in good health and your work isn’t physically demanding, why wouldn’t you keep doing it into your 70s?
Prepping for curveballs
Sometimes, though, life throws us curveballs that completely reshape what retirement looks like.
One client of mine, a professor here in Ontario, had every intention of retiring at 65. He and his wife had made all the plans including travel, new hobbies, and quality time together.
Then she passed away unexpectedly. Financially, he was more than ready to retire, but emotionally, he couldn’t.
He told me, “Carlo, I just don’t know what I’d do with my time. I was supposed to spend it with her.”
For him, continuing to teach became a way to stay connected to his purpose and his peers. Retirement, in his case, wasn’t an escape from work, but something he decided to delay to preserve a sense of self.
Another big factor reshaping retirement is longevity. Our parents and grandparents might have retired at 65 expecting ten or fifteen good years. Today, it’s not unusual for people to live well into their 80s, 90s, or even beyond 100. That’s a long time to fill if you don’t have a plan for how to stay active and engaged.
Many of my clients start with a “retirement to-do list” — the trips, the hobbies, the home projects. But what happens when that list runs out?
Without meaningful activities to fill the days, boredom can set in, and boredom often leads to spending, sometimes unnecessary spending that can jeopardize a carefully built financial plan.
Semi-retirement
That’s why the idea of semi-retirement has become so popular. Instead of a hard stop, people are phasing out of work, scaling back hours, or shifting into consulting roles.
Some are even starting entirely new ventures in areas they’re passionate about.
They often tell me, “I’m busier now than when I was working full-time, but it’s a different kind of busy.” They’re choosing what fills their calendar, rather than having it dictated by meetings and deadlines. And in many cases, they’re still earning an income, which allows them to delay drawing on their retirement savings.
Of course, not all decisions about retirement are made purely out of passion.
Economic uncertainty, inflation, and market volatility have all made people more cautious. Even clients who’ve done everything right, including saving diligently, diversifying investments, and planning carefully, are second-guessing whether their money will last as long as they need it to.
It’s a natural reaction when headlines scream about rising costs and global instability. But I remind them that fear is not a strategy. We’ve been through uncertainty before - wars, recessions, oil shocks, dot-com crashes - and we’ve adapted every time.
The key is to stay invested through the ups and downs, because historically, the good years far outweigh the bad.
Running out of money
Still, one of the biggest fears I hear is, “Carlo, I don’t want to outlive my money. I don’t want to be a burden on my kids.”
That fear often drives people to delay retirement or seek part-time work, even when they don’t have to. I understand it because nobody wants to depend on their children.
But this is where flexibility comes in. A solid plan isn’t one that assumes everything will go perfectly. It’s one that can bend and adapt when things change, whether it’s a downturn in the market, a health issue, or the loss of a spouse.
Financial planning software today allows us to model all kinds of “what if” scenarios such as bad markets, unexpected expenses, early retirements, late retirements. But at the end of the day, planning still comes down to something simple: what do you want to spend, what are your sources of income, and what risks need to be managed?
It’s math, yes, but it’s also about mindset. We can’t predict the future, but we can prepare for it.
Retirement success
The most successful retirements I’ve seen aren’t defined by how much money someone has, but by how flexible they’re willing to be.
Those who can adapt, who stay curious, who keep finding purpose, tend to thrive. The ones who treat retirement like an ending often struggle to find their footing.
Maybe that’s the real shift happening today, that retirement isn’t about stopping, but about redefining. It’s about building a life where work, leisure, and purpose blend together, where the next chapter isn’t a finish line, but just another way to keep living fully.
Carlo Cansino is a Senior Financial Advisor with Assante Capital Management Ltd. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Assante Capital Management Ltd. Please contact him at (905) 771 - 5200 or visit https://tmfg.ca/ to discuss your circumstances prior to acting on the information above. Assante Capital Management Ltd. is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian. Investment Regulatory Organization.
