The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The number of Canadians opposed to mandatory retirement has increased significantly over the past seven years according to public opinion poll results released by Investors Group. A poll commissioned by Investors Group in September 2003 and conducted by Decima Research revealed that 33 per cent of respondents agreed that mandatory retirement should be banned. That represents a marked increase from an Investors Group poll in May 1996 conducted by Gallup Canada showing 20 per cent of respondents opposed to a mandatory retirement age. "An increasing number of Canadians are choosing a retirement lifestyle that includes some form of employment or work," said Debbie Ammeter, Vice President of Advanced Financial Planning for Investors Group. "More and more Canadians are looking to their retirement years to provide them the opportunity to embark on a new life-adventure doing things they have wanted to do for many years." A significant number of Canadians see retirement giving them the chance to achieve new goals in their lives. New goals and achievements were identified as important factors in a successful retirement by 37 per cent of respondents while only 16 per cent thought retirement success was a full time vacation. The number of Canadians who say they want to work past 65 or as long as they are able has also increased according to the Investors Group survey results. In 1996, 15 per cent of the respondents to the Gallup Canada survey indicated they expected to retire sometime after age 65. That number increased to 26 per cent in the 2003 Decima Research polling. Interestingly the number of Canadians anticipating an early retirement hasn't changed much in recent years. Survey results from 1996 indicate 34 per cent said they expected to retire before age 60 compared to 36 per cent in the 2003 survey. "Early retirement is a traditional goal and dream," Ammeter said. "But the emphasis is beginning to shift away from when you retire towards planning how you retire and what you are going to do with your life from that point forward."
