I’ll be 75 in a few months and I’ve been working for 15 years about 20 hours a week since retiring at age 60. I worked for 10 years in school transport, then in a school caterer, and today in a market gardener. I work to maintain a good social network and to give meaning to my daily life. I earn enough to spoil my kids and grandkids and don’t feel like I’m giving it all back to taxes, as I’m often asked.
I will surprise you, but my biggest challenge has been my poor command of English, which almost all Montreal employers now require even for small minimum wage jobs. The other difficulty is that there are no truly successful job boards aimed at job seekers aged 60 and over.
In my opinion, by working I may not prolong my life, but I have the feeling, when I go to work in the morning, to prolong my youth.
Retired at 61 and for a year and a half, several of my colleagues and I expressed the desire to continue part-time, but the collective agreement and the union did not allow us to do so. So much lost experience…
I was a teacher in the public sector and left exhausted two years before my full retirement with a 4% penalty. I would be motivated to come back if I could keep paying from the pension fund and get back the 4% I lost.
For my part, if I were offered part-time right now, that is to say a few years from retirement when energy is decreasing and the need for flexibility in the schedule is a factor that motivates work stoppage would change everything! I could really consider staying longer in my role.
One of the major issues for me is the tax rate. If we really want to solve the labor problem, we must reduce this rate, which discourages the return to work. I suggest the following: for a worker who is already receiving pension income, why not split the taxation of his pension and work income?
Example: I withdraw a pension of $50,000 which is taxed at the prescribed rate. I have work income of $40,000 (working two or three days a week), the first $30,000 would not be taxable and the excess, therefore $10,000, would be taxed at the prescribed rate.
Right now I am taxed on a total income of $90,000; I have to pay way too much tax and it really isn’t worth it considering all the expenses related to a job, such as car, gas, insurance, clothes, etc.
I sincerely believe that governments are not serious and proactive in solving the problem of labor shortages.
I am an active retiree in the workplace. I returned with a contract for my employer to help socially with the dire staff shortage. One of the important reasons, apart from the non-negligible pecuniary side, is the social side and the fact of feeling useful. When you retire, you have a lot of free time.
As long as I have fun with the people I meet and the stress is less than that of the job I initially held, I will be there. I am telecommuting in full-time hybrid mode. Of course, health has to follow too and working conditions have to be accommodating!
The tax credits offered by Quebec are ridiculously low, bordering on insulting.
If we want to encourage partial job retention – or a return – of retirees, we must offer more in terms of taxes. Working part-time, with sufficient remuneration that is not taxed, improves the living conditions of retirees financially, but also their health. Activity and socialization are two important factors in maintaining good health and thus reducing medical expenses. The Minister of Finance should take this factor into account in his calculations to promote part-time work for retirees.
I’ve been retired for two years, I’m fit and active. I have a good retirement income and financial need is not my motivation, but I would still like a job to be useful to society. Currently, I am volunteering.
I would agree to return to work if I could take time off when my grandchildren need babysitting and also for a trip (which volunteering allows me to do).
