By Fonds de solidarité FTQ

Can you say with a degree of certainty what your plans and projects will be in retirement, things that will keep you happily occupied for the next 10, 15 or 30 years? You may find it difficult to answer this question. But even if retirement feels far off, it's important to plan ahead to get the most out of it. While retirement doesn't signal the end of your active life, it doesn't have to be the busiest time of your life either! It's up to you to decide how you want to spend your golden years.

Download the Retirement Guide (PDF 3000 ko )

A guide to help you picture your perfect retirement

That's why we came up with this guide, which is designed to accompany you in your thinking and help you find out how you want to spend your retired life. That way you'll be better equipped to discover the retirement plan or project that best suits you. By answering just a few questions, the guide will let you better understand who you are and help you identify your interests and the things that your are good at, both in your work and in your day-to-day life, so you can better plan your retirement.

Curious? Complete the first exercise to find out which profile best describes you.

What kind of person are you?

To find a retirement activity that best fits you, you have to get to know yourself a little. Answer the following questions to help bring out the traits and hobbies that make you the unique individual you are and help you understand how important your career was in your life. Ready, set…go!

1. What does your typical Saturday morning look like?
2. What's your definition of a dream holiday?
3. Who would you rather spend the day with?
4. How do you feel about being with your spouse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week once you are retired?
5. How do you feel about a retirement lasting 25, 30 or even 40 years?
6. Supose you suddenly had to make certain changes in how you live, how would you react?
7. A former colleague you really like calls and asks if you'd like to have dinner in the next few days, what do you say?

You answered A most of the time.

Obviously you have a lot of energy and like to stay busy. What's more, if you had to retire tomorrow, you'd probably have no difficulty living an active and productive retirement. Even so, our Retirement Guide can help you manage your expectations and plan your projects. The more you want to do, the more important it is to be prepared!

You answered B most of the time.

You seem to have struck a good balance between work, obligations and rest. The important thing is to stay balanced when work is no longer part of the equation. You have a lot of time ahead of you, so experiment, make some new friends and enjoy your life! Our Retirement Guide can help you identify your fields of interest and find new activities to try.

You got a balanced profil.

You seem to have struck a good balance between work, obligations and rest. The important thing is to stay balanced when work is no longer part of the equation. You have a lot of time ahead of you, so experiment, make some new friends and enjoy your life! Our Retirement Guide can help you identify your fields of interest and find new activities to try.

You answered C most of the time.

You like the routine an active lifestyle brings you, but maybe you define yourself a little too much by your work? To avoid this trap, ask yourself if you're completely satisfied with your life. Do you long to make certain changes? Don't wait until retirement to ask yourself what makes you happy. Our Retirement Guide can help you through this process.

"Whether it's during your working life or in retirement, there comes a time when you need to decide what you really want to do, and then focus on doing it."

- Daniel Houle, retired civil servant


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