Canada's Pension Benefits Changing

The financial turmoil of current economic events has effected the possibility of early retirement for many baby boomers. 


Investments are down, company pension plans are coming under pressure and now government benefits are changing to adapt to less revenue.

Governments in France are pushing retirement age ahead from 60 to 62 1 to save money, the United Kingdom has scraped the mandatory retirement age of 65 to allowing for longer working years to collect premiums 2 , now Canada has announced a plan to increase contributions, to drop benefits for early retirees and to allow contributions after 65 to support the Canada Pension Plan.

Retirement Reality Time to Downsize

The retirement reality is hitting baby boomers much harder than expected. For many the family home (or should I say the equity in your home)  has become the hope of retirees, and downsizing is the buzz word in the financial community.

The idea is a good one. Sell your large 2,000 - 3,000 square foot home to buy a less expensive smaller home, town home or condominium and invest the difference to create income at retirement. 

Add to this many baby boomers are dealing with downsizing their parents, downsizing is an issue that many families will be dealing with for next 10 to 15 years. So the question is downsizing sounds is such an easy solution ... why is so hard to do?