Involuntary Retirement

Marwa is a 58-year-old woman who worked for the same company for most of her adult life and has always had great work reviews. A little over two years ago she was laid off due to company restructuring and has not been able to find work since even though qualified and experienced. After sending out dozens of resumes with little or no response, and with her savings nearly depleted she decided to take early retirement drawing on her Canada pension and previous work pension plans. This has had a significant impact on her self esteem and confidence not to mention financial resources, and she has become quite anxious about her future.

Peter is a 67-year-old retiree. He voluntarily retired at 65 from a successful career as a senior software engineer and had planned to continue to work part-time as a way of sharing his knowledge, staying engaged, and earning additional income to supplement his pension. Unfortunately, Peter has not been able to find any work after retirement and has been to only two interviews with no subsequent job offers. Peters’ sense of self and belonging was very much tied to his career and he is experiencing a significant sense of loss and self-doubt.

Samantha is a 62 year old woman who was laid off from her work a little over 2 years ago. She had not been able to find work even though qualified and experienced. She slowly began to feel that her age got in the way of her being called in for interviews, let alone getting hired. She recently opted to take an early retirement drawing on her Canada pension and work pension plans rather than continue to deplete her savings. This has had a significant impact on her self esteem and confidence not to mention financial resources, and she has become quite depressed.