Kelowna

In a recent poll by Castanet, just over two-thirds of respondents said they will have to work into their retirement years. 

There were a variety of responses to Castanet's request that people tell us what they think of working well beyond the traditional retirement age.

While some were fine with the idea, more were upset and even fearful of what they will face or are already facing in their retirement years.

William Schmidt writes:

Being arbitrarily “forced” to work longer or be penalized financially is absolute crap!

What ‘plans’ and ‘services’ have been put into place to accommodate the (thousands) of older workers 50+ that can’t and haven’t been able to find employment and can not get retrained because of the lack of proper, user friendly job retraining and replacement services.

Now they are forced to stay in the working system with no job and literally no way out.

Where are the concessions and options for these workers who would otherwise have applied for CPP and OAS and not be a burden on the work force!

Jim and Marilyn Ivanitz say the way seniors are treated in Canada is criminal.

My wife and I are nearing retirement age. We have spoken to many many folks our age (63). Most, but not all, are really afraid of retirement years.

With the cost of living today it will be nearly impossible not to become a financial burden to our children. We personally know of four couples out of dozens that are wealthy enough to shoulder the cost of retirement.

The amount we receive from the government is nothing but a joke. It is not meant to live on unless you really enjoy dog and cat food!

Our criminals locked up in our jails are far better off, with all their needs met.

Get out on the street and talk to those trying to live off old age pension, and ask them if they were able to spend $4,000 to $7,000 on new hearing aids or glasses or any thing else, never mind basic living costs.

Prisoners do not have these worries, everything is covered, and we pay for it!

We, as seniors, are not asking for all that much, just to be treated at least as well as our incarcerated criminals.

But there are those who are happy to be working and plan to continue to do so.

Jim Near says:

At 57 I am a retired Canadian soldier who works in the security industry. I plan to work as long as I can both because I really enjoy my job and because at our comfort zone my wife and I will have to work well into our 60’s and maybe into our 70’s."

We would like to hear your thoughts. Send your comments to letters@castanet.net.