Skating to a secure financial future

Did you know that once you’re a PEPP member, you’re always a member? Whether you worked a single summer with a PEPP employer or your entire career, you’re always part of the Plan. 

We recently spoke with member Phil about his 40 years with PEPP employers, his life in retirement, and his advice for other members.

Phil has always been a problem solver, whether through his career in IT, pensions, and project management or his personal retirement planning. 

He started planning for retirement in his twenties, explaining, “Back at my first job, about three years in I did a cash flow projection through to age 65 of my wages, expenses, retirement income, and how I expected it all to grow.” 

Because he worked at a PEPP employer, he created the projection based on the assumption he would contribute to PEPP his entire career.

However, thinking about such a big portion of his life was emotionally daunting. Phil didn’t return to these papers for over twenty years. When he did, he discovered the projection matched almost exactly how PEPP had performed, a testament to the reliability and performance of the plan.

Preparing for retirement

Phil re-engaged in retirement planning later in his career, though he always maintained a financial plan as the sole provider for multiple family generations.

Even when he put his information into the PEPP Retirement Planner and it told him that he would have more than enough money in retirement, he still worried: “I have relatives who have lived to be 107; longevity is a very real concern.” 

Logically, Phil knew he had enough money. What he needed was the reassurance he had made the right decisions. When his health became a problem before his planned retirement age of 65 and he needed to retire earlier, he consulted with financial experts to settle his mind.

“I attended two retirement preparation workshops with PEPP. My wife attended one with me.” He also talked one-on-one with a PEPP Retirement Information Consultant (RIC). “They’re your true source for PEPP info. They can help you model whatever you want in the PEPP Retirement Planner. With the help of a RIC, you could do what I did initially on my spreadsheet. They also showed me Planner tricks I didn’t know and reassured me.”
 

Did you know? PEPP’s Retirement Planner is the same tool used at banks and major insurance companies, but it is only available to their advisors. PEPP gives you access for free and provides a RIC to teach you to use it. 

You can access the Retirement Planner through your PEPP online member account. Questions? Send an email to ric@plannera.ca.

Finding financial and emotional relief

These conversations helped Phil decide to retire in 2024. But what gave him the greatest peace of mind was when PEPP introduced the Lifetime Pension in early 2025. His retirement planning included considering the longevity of a life-long dependent.

He had looked at annuities before to address his concerns about family longevity but didn’t like that traditional annuities wouldn’t adjust over time with inflation.

He decided to invest about half of his PEPP funds in Lifetime Pension, as the indexing over time helped settle his longevity concerns, and kept the rest in PEPP. “Even a 1% [increase] over 25 years makes a huge difference” compared to a traditional annuity. The moment I hit the enter button [to purchase the Lifetime Pension], it was a weight off my shoulders. I felt overall happier about not working and earning more money for retirement. The worry going away is an amazing thing for enjoying your retirement.”

Purchasing a Lifetime Pension also allowed him to income share with his wife, which can’t be done with Defined Contribution pension plans until age 65. 

The joint-life pension option with a maximum guarantee period provided him further comfort that his pension would be sustainable to him and his family far into the future.

Skating towards the future

Phil is still mentally transitioning into retirement, indulging in existing hobbies and finding other ways to stay busy while navigating a slower lifestyle for his health. He enjoys word and jigsaw puzzles, polishing his classical guitar skills, playing Pokémon Go, and skating with his granddaughter. 

He’s also a gamer, explaining “if you’re playing online, real-time, very fast-paced games, your mind is going to stay sharp, because that’s the domain of 15–25-year-olds.”

As for his advice to other members, Phil recommends “start building a relationship with the RICs and attend some of the sessions. Start getting the basics. The RICs help you make informed decisions by making you aware of your options.” 

For young members, he says “I wish I’d known employers don’t always invest the maximum allowed by law into pension, the 18%. Make sure you know what yours does. Keep your money in PEPP. Let it grow. Pay off debts, live within your means, and you'll be well served in retirement.”