The New Retirement

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

Dian Cohen starts from the premise that most of us need to rethink the
ways we see work and retirement since we live in a changing economy with
changing demographics. The Canadian population is aging as the
percentage of seniors in the total population steadily increases.

Cohen begins by shooting down the old myths of security through company
pensions, universal pensions, and universal healthcare. A typical RRSP
is very likely to prove insufficient. Careless planning may have
retirees “eating catfood.” The retirement system depends on savings,
“but there’s no rationale for saving left in the system.” Blame
rapacious taxes and “bracket creep,” meaning the government’s
refusal since 1992 to adjust tax brackets annually to allow for
inflation.

Cohen’s charge that Canadians are grossly over-taxed is well
documented. In addition, she argues, with supporting evidence, that we
are not responding well to the challenges of globalization.

In her third section, Cohen gets down to specifics of investment
options, saving strategies, and estate planning. The latter’s obvious
goal is to leave more to one’s heirs and less to Revenue Canada.

There is no shortage of books offering investment advice, but this one
may well prove to be one of the best. Cohen’s wake-up call may shock
some and galvanize others. She urges readers to take the long view, but
start today.

Cohen is a seasoned economist, writer, and broadcaster with a shrewd
understanding of financial realities in Canada. The New Retirement is a
detailed, practical handbook that could help readers to a more secure
financial future.