This year, I get to apply for Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) — two pensions in Canada for seniors. You need to be 65 to receive them and can apply when you turn 64. When you qualify for both, your monthly pension will average around $1700-ish.
Last year, I applied for Canada Pension Plan (CPP) 3 years early and now receive a whopping $299 a month from that. I’ll take it. Times are tough as a writer and blogger. Every penny counts these days.
Living in Guatemala means I can afford to live. Had I stayed in Canada, I’d be rooming with someone right now. I would not be able to afford to live on my own.
But moving to and living in Guatemala wasn’t something I planned out very carefully at all. Because I do not live in Canada, it turns out I also do not qualify for GIS.
Fair enough. I totally understand that.
Unfortunately for me, because of the tiny fine print I didn’t read 11 years ago and because I wasn’t thinking about my old-age pensions when I left Canada at 53 years old, the only pension income I will receive from Canada is my CPP and OAS.
Total = roughly $1100
Welp. No retirement for me then.
There’s another detail worth knowing if you’re a Canadian considering moving abroad. Qualifying for OAS doesn’t necessarily mean receiving the full amount. A full pension generally requires forty years of Canadian residence after age eighteen. Otherwise, you may receive a partial pension based on your eligible years of residence.
The Government of Canada explains how partial OAS pensions work here. If you live outside Canada, taxes may also affect what actually lands in your bank account. It might be in your best interest to get your own figures confirmed before building a retirement budget around them.
I don’t regret leaving Canada and moving to Guatemala. It was the best and sort of smartest thing I’ve ever done. What I do regret is not being properly prepared for my future and what it entails as a Canadian living in Guatemala.
Because I have not lived in Canada for 11 years, I also lost access to ‘free’ health care. I no longer have an Ontario Health Care Card, and if I visit Canada and need emergency medical care, I gotta pay for it. Ontario’s health coverage is tied to residency, so being Canadian doesn’t automatically mean you’re covered when you return for a visit.
Along with that, they also suspended and eventually cancelled my Ontario driver’s license. I found all this out 2 years ago when I went for a visit. I had to redo the written driver’s test and only have a beginner’s permit to drive.
Thank God they don’t check that in Guatemala.
I sure didn’t think this through.
So, because of super poor planning on my part and my refusal to leave Guatemala and return to Canada, there will be no retirement for me, and I will work till I die.
But even if I decided to return to Canada, I still wouldn’t be able to afford to live alone. Not on $1700/mth. Well, I could, but I would be poor. Housing prices have practically tripled since I left, and an average studio apartment in my hometown now runs about $1000 a month.
And that’s in a sketchy neighbourhood where theft, drugs and violence are pretty high.
Hard pass.
Oh, I could apply to live in a geared-to-income building, but that’s a 3–5 year wait. So what do I do while I wait?
By the way, this isn’t just my reality. Many Canadians (and Americans too) can’t afford to retire and will have to work until they die. You can check out the comments from this video I recently did and see just how many people can’t retire, are broke and are afraid of what the future holds for them.
Living Alone Means Paying for Everything Alone
When you live alone, there’s nobody splitting the rent, internet bill, or unexpected expense with you. Being single doesn’t get you half-price housing, and the electricity company doesn’t care that you’re the only person using the lights.
Even groceries have become harder to manage. Statistics Canada reported that grocery prices rose 9.8% in 2022 alone, the biggest annual increase since 1981. When your budget is already tight, increases like that mean changing what goes into your shopping basket.
People suggest getting a roommate like it’s no big deal, but it is. For some people, it works beautifully – for others, sharing a kitchen, bathroom, and living space with a stranger after decades of having their own home is a change they don’t want to make. We still want privacy and our own space in our 60s.
I’ve decided to just live out my years in Guatemala for as long as I can and pray. Pray that it all works out.
How Many People Are Working Because They Have To?
According to Statistics Canada, 21% of Canadians aged 65 to 74 worked in 2022. Of that age group, 9% worked out of necessity and 12% worked by choice. That means almost half of those working seniors weren’t simply looking for something to do with their afternoons. They needed the income.
There’s a big difference between working because you enjoy getting out of the house and working because your rent depends on it. One lets you choose your hours and walk away when you’ve had enough. The other has you checking your bank balance before deciding whether you can afford a few days off.
I like writing. I like making videos, and I like creating things. But enjoying my work doesn’t mean I want to do it every single day until I die. But right now, that’s what it’s looking like.
Why and how did this happen?
Here’s my two cents on this whole pathetic situation.
Our parents’ generation rarely divorced; they lived simply, budgeted and saved for their future. They didn’t really teach us life skills or pass down any money-saving tips.
My generation got divorced and thus produced a ton of single moms busting their asses to try to make ends meet and raise their kids, oftentimes alone and with no child support.
Because of this, many of us had low-paying jobs, leaving little to nothing to save at the end of the month.
Now here we are, in our 60s, broke af, with a tiny pension, and working part-time jobs to pay bills and put food on our tables.
I could be wrong…but
We didn’t stand a chance.
Saving for Retirement Wasn’t Always Possible
Some people had steady jobs, workplace pensions, and enough money left over to save. Others spent years trying to keep the lights on, raise children, and recover from one financial disaster after another.
Divorce can mean going from two incomes supporting one household to one income covering everything. If you’re raising children without reliable child support, retirement savings can feel pretty far down the list when someone needs shoes and the fridge is empty.
Then there are the years spent caring for children or aging parents, the jobs without pensions, the illnesses, and the businesses that didn’t work out. You can work hard for decades and still reach your 60s without much put away.
I made decisions I regret. I can admit that. But I also know there are people who planned, saved, and did what they were told, and still don’t have enough. Calling everyone broke in retirement irresponsible is a pretty lazy explanation for a much bigger problem.
So here I sit at 64 years young, writing, doing videos, making colouring books to sell on Amazon, throwing spaghetti at the walls and hoping most of it sticks so I can pay rent and buy food.
It’s a sad reality. For many of us.
What Happens When You Can’t Keep Working?
The part that worries me is how much of this depends on staying well enough to earn money. You can be willing to work and still have a body that needs a break. A sore back, an illness, or a few weeks recovering from something can become a financial problem very quickly.
I can keep coming up with ideas and trying new things. What I can’t do is guarantee that I’ll have the same energy ten years from now, or that the work I do today will still be relevant and provide me an income. There are no guarantees here.
That’s a shitty thing to think about when you’re supposed to be looking forward to retirement. You’re trying to cover this month while wondering how many more years you’ll be able to keep doing it.
And I’ll admit. I’m tired. I wish I could take a week off, not have to turn on a computer or check my cell phone for work. Just one week. That’s all I ask.
I just want to wake up, lounge around in my jammies on the couch, watching mindless YouTube videos and checking my horoscope. I want to play with my dog and cats all day. Ok, well maybe not the cats, but the dog for sure — he’d like that.
I want to go for walks whenever I want, take naps, and go on day trips to some of the towns around my lake. I want to do all kinds of things for one week and not have to worry about work.
Just one week.
But I can’t. Unless someone in my family back home wins a mega lottery and loves me enough to toss a million my way. Otherwise it’s me, work, and til death do us part.
xo iva xo
Canadian Pension and Health Coverage Resources
If you’re trying to figure out your own situation, these official resources explain the rules and current payment amounts. Your pension will depend on your circumstances, so don’t assume someone else’s figures will apply to you.
