Moneysense.ca
By Jonathan Chevreau, March 13th, 2025
Economic uncertainty, inflation and the decline of workplace pensions have left growing numbers of seniors unable to leave their jobs.
The idea of “unretirement” seems to be making a comeback as more Canadians find themselves under economic stress. Even before the tariff threats emerged under Trump 2.0, seniors and near-retirees were finding the economic uncertainty and rising cost of living becoming uncomfortable. No surprise then that many who are approaching retirement age are delaying their exit from the workforce.
When I first saw the latest version of this survey by HealthCare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)—which finds more than one in four (28%) of working Canadians, aged 55 to 64, expect to continue working in retirement to support themselves financially—I assumed HOOPP’s use of the term “unretirement” referred to people who had tried retiring but then went back to work, usually for reasons of financial necessity.
However HOOPP’s definition is a bit different. It describes it as the situation for “respondents who are not either retired or semi-retired, meaning they may be employed full- or part-time, or unemployed but not due to retirement.” And it defines “retired” as meaning those who “have fully retired (not including semi-retired individuals).”
Regardless, as sixth annual Canadian Retirement Survey (conducted by Abacus Data in the spring of 2024), the survey found “persistent high interest rates and a rising cost of living continue to have a significant negative impact on Canadians’ ability to save and manage the cost of daily life, threatening their retirement preparedness.” The online survey included 2,000 Canadians aged 18 or older.
