Gone are the days when Canadian workers retired immediately upon becoming eligible to do so.  Employees over the age of 50 are looking forward to long and healthy lives.  A new survey commissioned by Ceridian and CARP – A New Vision of Aging for Canada, suggests many are choosing to invest much of that added time in their careers.  It reveals that close to 6 in 10 mature workers want to continue working in some capacity after they reach 65, the traditional age of retirement. But they want to keep working on their own terms and reduce the possibility of age discrimination in the workplace.

Susan Eng is the Vice President of Advocacy for CARP.  She tells Zoomer Media News, “employers can adapt by finding out the needs and preferences of older workers.  You might find that they actually do want to reduce their work hours, saving you payroll and allowing them to fulfill what they need to do in their lives and for you to be able to keep the best of their commitment and contribution, while at the same time, easing them out of the workplace, so these are opportunities for employers and employees to have to work together to create a new workplace.”

The other significant finding in this survey of older workers is the importance of health.  The greatest concern identified by mature workers is maintaining their health beyond the age of 65. They say employers who provide health and wellness benefits beyond that age have a significant advantage in recruiting and retaining mature workers.

Listen to Jane Brown’s full interview with CARP’s VP of Advocacy Susan Eng: