No doubt about it: at some point we’re neither semi-retired, findependent or fully retired. We’re out there in a retirement community or retirement home, and maybe for a few years near the end of this incarnation, some time to reflect on it all in a nursing home. Our Longevity & Aging category features our own unique blog posts, as well as blog feeds from Mark Venning’s ChangeRangers.com and other experts.
As I argue in my latest online column for MoneySense, published this morning, I believe that the next big wave to be surfed by the baby boom generation will NOT be retirement, but Semi-Retirement. Click on highlighted link to access: Why semi-retirement is the future.
I’ve also argued that the boomers are largely going to be responsible for retiring the very word Retirement. This is of course the central theme of the book I co-authored with former corporate banker Mike Drak: Victory Lap Retirement, which MoneySense excerpted in its Summer retirement issue. See Why you wake up each day. (See also links to two recent reviews and a BNN clip listed at the end of yesterday’s blog: Millennials say Financial Independence defines Adulthood.)
Now a cynic might argue that in making the Victory Lap Argument, necessity is the mother of invention. A lot of us haven’t saved enough to retire in the style to which we’d like to be accustomed. Add to that the decline of corporate Defined Benefit pension plans and minuscule interest rates and there’s a lot to be said (at least financially speaking) for sticking at the old grind for five or ten extra years.
But those extra years don’t have to be spent as an employee in a corporate setting, complete with the challenges of coping with bosses, endless meetings, daily commutes and all the rest of it. There has to be a happy medium between corporate wave slavery and the traditional “full-stop” retirement that amounts to a permanent vacation. Some call this new stage between full-time careers and traditional retirement an encore career or a legacy career. We call it the Victory Lap.
If you accept the global average life expectancy as tabled by the World Health Organization (WHO), which currently rests at 71.4 (all factors calculated), it’s hard to imagine taking any projections fourteen years out to 2030 up to age 80, let alone 100.
There is no denying that the number of centenarians has increased in certain parts of the world, and I’m sure there’s a spot in a Blue Zone I can sell you on moving to, if you can’t begin one in your own back yard.
Canada, at an average life expectancy of 82.2, may not be a designated Blue Zone, but if you like the WHO’s info graphics colours, I’ll take Canada’s dark green – a lush, promising shade for an age of longevity. How fortuitous then, in the green of early July, that I should happen to be reading The 100-Year Lifeby Lynda Gratton & Andrew Scott, another volume written in the re-think aging category of a contemporary western world.
The cost of life insurance increases as you get older. It is also more expensive for people with less than perfect health. Even if you are in perfect health today, you could become ill tomorrow or your fitness level could drop, especially if you live a sedentary life. People generally become less active when they get older. Insurance companies are now launching new incentives to help keep Canadians fit and healthy longer.
Manulife, one of Canada’s top insurance companies, is introducing an innovative new product called the Vitality Program. This product rewards policyholders for maintaining a high level of health and fitness and Goodlife Fitness is going to help with reduced membership fees.
“You make choices every day. With Manulife Vitality, you get rewarded for the healthy ones.”
This is the first time such a program has ever been offered. The Vitality Program combines the benefits of life insurance with two great features:
• The opportunity to save money on your life insurance premiums
• The opportunity to earn valuable rewards for improving your health
Or you can scroll down below for a lightly edited transcript of the proceedings.
But first, here’s an overview written by Doug Hoyes, co-founder of insolvency trustees Hoyes Michalos:
Doug Hoyes
Doug Hoyes:
Today’s podcast is the first ever podcast interview with Jonathan Chevreau and Mike Drak together, talking about their new book Victory Lap Retirement. This is so exclusive an interview that the book won’t even be officially released until October 10, 2016 but it is available for pre-order at amazon.ca, and the Kindle version is available now.
Mike Drak created the concept of a Victory Lap as an alternative to retirement, and teamed up with Jonathan to write their new book.
So what is a Victory Lap?
You will have to read the book for a full description, but as Jonathan and Mike and I discussed the concept of retirement has changed significantly. Our grandparents and parents had a good chance of working at the same company until aged 65, and then retiring with a full pension before dying at age 70.
Today almost no-one works at the same company for their entire working life, and most employers no longer offer full pensions, so the old fashioned view of retirement at age 65 with a full pension is no longer reality for most workers.
Instead, we are working longer, and living longer.
The essence of Victory Lap Retirement is to leave corporate employment, which usually entails working for someone else, and enter a new and different phase of your life.
Mike and Jonathan wrote Victory Lap Retirement to show readers how to transition from a high stress work environment to a low stress sustainable lifestyle to enjoy a happier, healthier life. For many, that may involve turning a hobby or passion into income during your “retirement” years, or working part time to “stay involved.”
Debt and Retirement
Debt is a prominent subject in Victory Lap Retirement, including this quote:
…make breaking free from the chains of debt your first priority. Not only will debt limit your financial freedom severely, it will suck the life right out of you.
As we discussed, debt and retirement don’t mix. When you retire your income decreases, so it’s likely you won’t be able to afford payments on a mortgage or other debt in retirement. Get out of debt long before retirement.
Unfortunately that’s not always possible, which is why seniors are the fastest growing age group of people filing bankruptcy and consumer proposals. Older debtors, aged 50 and older, now account for 30% of all insolvency filings, up from 27% two years ago, and that number keeps growing.
Senior debtors, people aged 60 and over, have the highest amount of unsecured debt of any age group when they go bankrupt, almost $70,000. A growing percentage of them even resort to payday loans to stay afloat.
If you’ve got debt, retirement is very difficult. If you have trouble making your debt payments while you are working, it may be impossible to keep up when you retire and your income drops, which is why we all agree that eliminating debt is essential long before retirement.
In addition to eliminating debt, Mike and Jonathan suggest you ask yourself “what do I like to do?” and start planning your Victory Lap now.
For more, listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
For some people, getting the life insurance coverage they need is not easy. Factors such as health conditions and lifestyle choices play an important role in determining whether or not a company sees you as a qualified candidate. Lying on your application to hide potentially damaging facts won’t help. It might get you a great policy at prime rates, but when it comes down to filing a claim, the insurance company will discover the truth, and your claim will be denied.
We reached out to Gisèle Babineau, Chief Underwriter with Assumption Life, for the most common reasons a person may be denied life insurance coverage. The reasons for being declined vary from one company to another, and there is also a significant gap between a re-insurer and insurer because many insurers do not shop their declines with their re-insurers. However, in general, these are the most common reasons why an application may not be approved.
Medical Reasons
A medical condition under investigation
If you have some symptoms of an illness or disease, but all of the results aren’t in yet, your medical condition is considered under or pending investigation. During this period, you are considered a high risk applicant and the insurance company may deny coverage or delay their decision. Once you are cleared of any possible long-term illness or disease, the company will probably approve your application or ask you to re-apply with the new doctor’s report.
High grade cancers
Cancer can develop in any part of the body. Where it occurs determines its type. For example, lung cancer develops in the lungs. All types begin as a tumor and how the affected tissue looks under a microscope indicates how quickly the tumor cells will grow and spread. Based on the appearance and other factors, doctors can assign a numerical “grade.”
The grade of the cancer is not the same as the stage. Stages refer to the size or extent of spread. Malignant tumors are very low grade and almost always can be completely removed. High grade cancers tend to grow quickly and spread rapidly, putting your life at a higher risk.
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As I argue in my latest online column for MoneySense, published this morning, I believe that the next big wave to be surfed by the baby boom generation will NOT be retirement, but Semi-Retirement. Click on highlighted link to access: Why semi-retirement is the future.
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