The vast majority (86 per cent) of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s pensioners are happy they retired when they did, according to a new survey by the Municipal Retirees Organization Ontario.
But almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents said they’d advise future retirees to think more about how to handle their declining health in retirement. Half of respondents also urged those close to retirement to consider how they’d continue to learn new things (53 per cent) and feel useful (52 per cent).
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More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of respondents, who all receive a defined benefit pension plan from OMERS, said their retirement income was what they thought it would be. However, many still expressed concern about variable costs, where they had some control over what they spent, and fixed costs that were outside their control.
William Harford, president of the Municipal Retirees Organization Ontario, noted few respondents felt completely prepared for retirement, especially on a social and psychological level, and wished they’d given more forethought to some aspects of this new phase of life.
“Even those with a defined benefit pension have financial concerns in retirement,” he said, in a news release. “OMERS pensions for members retiring in 2016 average $29,600 annually and that income only stretches so far. Nevertheless, most MROO members are thoroughly enjoying their golden years.”
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