News Releases
WHAT:
Conventional retirement planning used to be about accumulating “a magic” (and often elusive) number, be it $1 million or 70 per cent of your working income. But with the demise of mandatory retirement, fewer corporate pension plans and longer life expectancies, the traditional approach puts the “cart before the horse.” With people working longer and living differently in retirement, the ultimate goal is no longer a specific dollar amount, but to identify how individuals and families intend to live and the life those dollars will be required to support.
In the context of the new retirement, that means considering specific goals, contingencies and ambitions and the effects these decisions will have on family and friends ahead of the actual money matters.
BMO is helping boomers to think more broadly about how they see their retirement years, with its recently developed Define Your Path guide. Define Your Path was created to help boomers perceive retirement planning in an entirely new light -- from an activity focused almost exclusively on accumulated savings to a process that integrates personal, philosophical and health and wellness issues into the equation.
“Retirement planning has traditionally been focused on the means to an end rather than the end itself,” said Tina Di Vito, Director of Retirement Solutions, BMO Retirement Market Group. “However, without a clear picture of your retirement outlook -- from work and leisure to health and family – the dollars alone lack the full context. Just as Canadians don't save for a family holiday without a destination in mind, retirement planning shouldn't establish a target financial sum without having a clear picture of how a person intends to live in retirement,” added Ms. Di Vito.
The Define Your Path book helps the user create a life map of goals and milestones by exploring such questions as:
- With whom will I spend my time?
- How will I spend my time?
- What do I value most?
- Do I still want to work part-time?
- What will I do in my leisure time?
- How will I manage my health and wellness, and also that of my family?
The life map also helps users consider contingencies for managing those unexpected events that could derail a financial plan, such as caring for an ailing loved one or dealing with a change in a significant relationship.
Working on their own, with a spouse or with friends and peers, Define Your Path guides pre-retirees to chart a retirement course that an investment advisor can then help make attainable. It's about shrinking the gap between retirement aspirations and reality.
WHO:
Tina Di Vito, Director of Retirement Solutions, BMO Retirement Market Group and other BMO experts are available to discuss:
- Why conventional retirement planning models are outdated
- How to get started
- How the process can impact the future
- Life events to consider when planning for the future
- How life planning differs for singles and couples