Please check back in late summer 2009 for upcoming events.

Meeting Notification:

Investing for Retirement

In the past, individuals focused on growing their investment portfolios during their working years. Once retired, folks more than likely switched their assets to more conservative, 'safe' investments, such as annuities or GICs.

But the retirement landscape has changed. People are retiring earlier and living longer. And they often have more expensive lifestyle demands than earlier generations ? annual vacations, golf club memberships, boomerang kids, etc. Suddenly, this 'safe' investment strategy no longer seems so secure. The erosion of capital has become a much more significant concern.

Further details are provided in the attached brochure. For those wishing to forward their registration via email, a Word document is attached for your convenience. Space is limited. Be sure to register soon!

Note all individuals must pre-register by Friday, January 30th, with any last-minute registrations emailed to rpac.bc@gmail.com.

In that the Association is required to guarantee payment for a specific number of attendees in advance, all individuals who register will be required to pay the applicable registration fee unless their advice of cancellation is received 4 business days before the event.

RPAC-BC website: www.retirementplanners-bc.ca
RPAC National website: www.retirementplanners.ca

Investing for Retirement Brochure (pdf)
Registration Form (doc)

Join us on a cruise to Alaska aboard Celebrity Cruise Lines' 'Mercury'

Full Conference Brochure (PDF)

Please forward any questions regarding the conference to:
Terry Colton 2008 RPAC Conference Chairman
Tel: (604) 657-7404   terry@lifestyleplanners.com

If you have any questions about the cruise, flights to Vancouver and pre- and post cruise accommodations, please contact our cruise consultant:

CruiseShipCenters Andrea Guiler
Vancouver: (604) 937-7125   Toll-Free: 1-800-667-0057
aguiler@cruiseshipcenters.com

Health, Wealth & Happiness

Friday, September 28, 2007

Dr. James Thornton & John Collins from Educational Studies at UBC spoke to us about developing our life portfolio. Through developing our own autobiographies, we can learn to draw on our strengths to promote balance as we enter the new stage of our life - our retirement. Doing so will help us to determine how to best invest our time, energy and resources.

Titus Cusiak, Health & Fitness Advocate As a 77 year old marathon runner, Titus shared with us the need to love what you are doing and the people you are around. His journey through diagnosis of cancer, surgery and recovery is inspiring and helps to emphasize the importance of a healthy mind and body in our wellness.

Shifting Gears

Enise Olding and Carol Baird-Krul of D.R. Associates and authors of the book “Transition to Retirement: The Uncharted Course” examined the transitional period from the last day of work until the retiree begins to adapt to their new role.  The main point to be taken is that it’s not about finances or lifestyle; it is about YOU – the person behind the work title, name-tag or job description and how to discover who you are or will be outside of your job.  Calling upon their own retirement experiences Enise and Carol combined these with research and development to help us become aware of some of the challenges that occur early on in retirement.

Pete O’Reilly of To the Point Consulting Services
shared with us his own experiences which took him to the position of Hospice Services Co –ordinator. Grief in retirement can mean loss of many things – loss of job, loss of friends, loss of self-esteem and loss of identity.  Pete helped us to understand how we can better cope with these experiences.  Pete is also the author of two books, On the Other Side of the Fence and I Like That… and offers a variety of community workshops.

Peter Berger, Julia Blockberger and Ken Smith, are three retirees who shared with us their retirement experiences.  While both Peter and Ken had prepared themselves for retirement, there were still issues they had not considered.  Saying no is the first step to having more time in retirement – interestingly, none of these three individuals struggled with too much time on their hands.  Julia, who had to deal with several tragedies, has learned to transform herself and has now completed 33 walking tours!

AGING IN STRIDE

Nov 3, 2006

Presenters: Rocky Sethi, B.Comm (ULE) of Pacific Western Developments; Peter Silin, MSW, RSW of Diamond Geriatrics Inc. and Berna Ho of With Care Home Transition Services, focused on housing in retirement and gave members and guests an insight into many of the issues facing people as they move into their retirement years.

Rocky pointed out that life doesn't stand still.  People age, families change and so do their needs – especially when it comes to living space. 'FlexHousing' allows homeowners to adapt their dwellings as their circumstances change.  When applied at the design and construction levels, this concept affords homeowners the luxury of making future changes easily with minimal expense.

Peter Silin examined the important aspects of aging and the issues to consider when making the decision to remain in the home, downsize or move to a care facility. He reminded us that choosing our style of housing is a complex issue.  To make an appropriate choice, you must first understand the services available.  Moving is both a practical and psychological process, affecting both the senior and the caregiver.

And our final presenter, Berna Ho reminded us that their service provides relief when no friends or family are nearby to assist the process of downsizing. Sorting through a life-long collection of belongings is a daunting task.  However, there are ways to simplify the job and Berna provided us with some much needed pointers.

This was the first in a series of ½ day Seminars
sponsored by RPAC– BC.