Article content

When it comes to money, surprises can go in one of two ways — wins or losses.



While we may welcome unexpected windfalls but fear shocking debits, some of us planner-types want to avoid eye-openers altogether.So to get a better sense of what might come in retirement, we asked retirees: What was your biggest financial surprise in retirement?

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'I finally woke up and realized we couldn't live like this': Retirees share their biggest financial surprises Back to video

“I retired at 56 as a teacher; my wife was a school principal but she didn’t have that many years [of service]. But she [thought], ‘Why not spend our lives together and enjoy life even if the income isn’t the same.’ So she retired early. It was quite a pay cut from $150,000 down to $50,000 a year. I was a little wary. She was the one who convinced me that it would work and it did. By careful planning … we found we could live quite comfortably and still do. That was the biggest surprise — that we didn’t feel that much of a setback financially.” —

Rudy Hane, 68, retired teacher, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.



“My mistake was being in debt over my head before I retired. I retired in June 2010 and I had 16 credit cards accumulating a debt of almost $80,000. Almost half of the debt was used to help my three girls in college and university. My lifestyle with debt was survival. Because of our decent government pension, we were able to provide the basic necessities that our family required. But we were unable to put any money away for emergencies; so when my brother-in-law passed away, we were unable to travel the 1,500 kilometres for his funeral. I finally woke up and realized that we couldn’t live like this any longer. I turned to Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada…. Now, other than a car loan and house payment, I am debt free. We now pay cash for everything. If you have any debts, find a way to clear them off before you retire. The peace of mind will [help] you enjoy your retirement to the fullest. — Jacques Marion, 64, retired federal government employee, Bathurst, N.B.