🎙️ The 91 Percent Retirement Crisis: Financial Independence & Retirement Planning with Dwight Heck

🎙️ The 91 Percent Retirement Crisis: Financial Independence & Retirement Planning with Dwight Heck

🔥 Episode Overview

Are you living paycheque to paycheque, wondering if you will ever escape the financial hamster wheel that keeps you trapped in survival mode? In this eye‑opening episode of the Give A Heck Podcast, Dwight Heck breaks down the harsh reality facing millions across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond. A retirement crisis threatens to leave 88 to 91 percent of people either dead or dead broke by age 65.

Dwight shares sobering statistics that will make you question everything you thought you knew about retirement planning. From the 32 percent of Canadian households who have never saved a penny to the staggering fact that 45 percent of retirees run out of money before they die, these numbers paint a picture that demands immediate action.

💬 What You Will Learn

  • Learned behaviours and financial ignorance create generational cycles of poverty.
  • Emotional mindset traps sabotage your financial planning before you even start.
  • Evidence‑based reframing techniques interrupt negative thought patterns and build confidence.
  • Real‑world statistics from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Japan reveal the global scope of this crisis.

🧠 Breaking Free from Survival Mode

Dwight introduces the mission of the Give A Heck Podcast: to help listeners live intentionally rather than accidentally. He explains how survival mode is perpetuated by limiting beliefs, emotional traps, and financial stress.

Learned behaviours passed down through families and cultures often normalise living paycheque to paycheque. Without intervention, these patterns create generational cycles of poverty. Dwight stresses the importance of age‑appropriate money conversations with children and families, breaking the silence around finances so that ignorance does not continue unchecked.

He also examines procrastination, showing that it is not laziness but often an emotional response tied to anxiety, perfectionism, or depression. Shame and avoidance create blind spots that prevent people from facing their financial reality, while instant gratification undermines long‑term goals.

🛠️ Reframing Techniques for Mindset Change

Dwight presents three evidence‑based methods to help listeners reframe their thinking and take control:

  1. Thought records and evidence testing. Write down troubling thoughts, list evidence for and against them, and create balanced statements that reflect progress rather than failure.
  2. Identifying cognitive distortions. Replace all‑or‑nothing thinking, catastrophising, and other distortions with measured alternatives that encourage growth.
  3. Behavioural experiments. Test beliefs in real life with small, safe actions, such as saving $20 in a week, to prove that change is possible.

🌍 The Retirement Reality Check

Dwight reveals sobering statistics from North America. In Canada, 32 percent of households have never saved for retirement, and among those aged 55 to 64, 44 percent have less than $5,000 saved. In the United States, between 20 and 46 percent of households have no retirement savings at all, and nearly half of retirees run out of money before they die.

Government programmes provide some support, but the amounts are often inadequate. In Canada, the maximum combined benefits from CPP, OAS, and GIS reach about $2,500 per month, while the average CPP benefit is closer to $900. In the United States, the average Social Security benefit is around $1,959 per month, with men averaging $2,181 and women $1,780.

📊 The 91–9 Rule: Modern Retirement Outcomes

Dwight explains how the classic “91–9 rule” still holds true today, showing that only a small fraction of people retire financially independent while the vast majority face insecurity:

  • 15% — Die before reaching age 65.
  • 20% — Retire but live below the poverty line.
  • 15–20% — Are broke and unable to retire, forced to keep working.
  • 45–50% — Retire with varying degrees of financial instability.
  • 9–12% — Retire comfortably and independently, free from financial stress.

🔎 Ratio Perspective

If we simplify this into a 100‑person scenario:

  • 15 people die before 65.
  • 20 people retire but live in poverty.
  • 15 to 20 people are broke and must keep working.
  • 45 to 50 people retire but struggle financially.
  • Only 9 to 12 people retire comfortably.

That means roughly 9 out of every 100 people succeed, while 91 out of 100 face hardship in retirement.

👩‍💼 Gender Gaps and Retirement Disparity

Dwight shines a light on one of the most pressing issues in retirement planning: the financial gap between men and women.

  • In Canada, 36 percent of women aged 55 to 64 have no retirement savings compared to 22 percent of men.
  • In the United States, women’s retirement savings are on average 24 to 30 percent lower than men’s.
  • Across Europe, women’s retirement income is consistently 25 to 30 percent lower than men’s.
  • In Australia, women’s superannuation balances trail men’s by 20 to 30 percent.
  • Globally, women live longer than men — often 5 to 7 years more — which means they need greater savings to sustain retirement, yet they consistently retire with less.

Dwight explains how this disparity is not just about numbers but about structural challenges:

  • Career breaks for childcare or elder care reduce contributions.
  • Lower lifetime earnings compound into smaller pensions.
  • Social expectations often leave women prioritising family needs over their own financial security.

🌐 Global Retirement Crisis

Dwight expands the conversation beyond North America, showing that the retirement crisis is global:

  • 🌍 United Kingdom. Around 40 percent of working‑age adults are under saving for retirement. Workplace pension participation is strong, but adequacy remains a concern. Many retirees live 15 to 20 years beyond 65, requiring sustained income.
  • 🌍 Europe. Roughly one in three working‑age adults are under saving. Pension adequacy varies widely, with stronger systems in Northern and Western Europe and larger gaps in Southern and Eastern Europe.
  • 🌍 Australia. Inflation and cost of living remain barriers to saving. Women’s superannuation balances continue to trail men’s, and average life expectancy is about 83 years.
  • 🌍 Japan. With life expectancy near 85 years, many retirees live 20 to 30 years beyond 65. A significant proportion of seniors continue working well into their seventies.

Across all these regions, the pattern is consistent: longevity is rising, savings are inadequate, and only a small minority retire comfortably.

🎯 Taking Action with Define, Align, Act

Dwight closes by offering practical tools to help listeners translate mindset shifts into behaviour change. The Define, Align, Act framework provides a simple but powerful structure:

  • Define. Set one clear financial goal.
  • Align. Connect the goal to your values and identify the emotions or beliefs that block progress.
  • Act. Take small, consistent steps each week, such as saving $20, and record your progress to build sustainable habits.

🎯 Final Message

This episode is not about doom and gloom. It is about awakening you to the reality that intentional choices today can completely rewrite your financial story. Whether you are 25 or 55, the principles Dwight shares will help you shift from living by accident to living with purpose.

Do not let yourself become another statistic in the retirement crisis. Your past financial mistakes do not deserve eternal loyalty, but your future deserves every chance you can give it. Start taking control today and begin designing the life you actually want to live.

And remember, it is never too late to GIVE A HECK!

📬 Connect with Dwight Heck

Chapter Summaries:

00:00:02
Breaking Free from Survival Mode: Introduction to Intentional Living
Host Dwight Heck introduces the Give a Heck podcast’s mission to help listeners live purposefully rather than accidentally. This episode focuses on escaping survival mode through mindset reframing, addressing limiting beliefs, emotional traps, and financial stress that keep people stuck in unfulfilling cycles.

00:04:33
Learned Behaviors and Financial Ignorance: Breaking Generational Patterns
Explores how financial habits are inherited from family and culture, normalizing survival mode living. Discusses the importance of age-appropriate money conversations with children and breaking the cycle of financial ignorance that perpetuates from generation to generation through proper education and awareness.

00:12:22
Understanding Procrastination and Emotional Barriers to Financial Success
Examines procrastination as an emotional response rather than laziness, often tied to anxiety and perfectionism. Addresses how shame causes financial avoidance and the importance of understanding personal financial numbers to maintain emotional control and prevent impulsive spending decisions.

00:21:03
Reframing Techniques: Three Evidence-Based Methods for Mindset Change
Presents practical tools including thought records, identifying cognitive distortions, and behavioral experiments. Teaches listeners how to challenge negative beliefs, rewrite limiting thoughts, and test new behaviors with small, safe actions to build confidence and create positive change.

00:37:11
The Retirement Reality Check: Shocking Statistics from North America
Reveals sobering retirement statistics showing 20% of seniors still working past 65, with 32% of Canadian households and 20-46% of American households having no retirement savings. Discusses life expectancy trends and the growing financial insecurity among aging populations.

00:49:12
Gender Gaps and Financial Vulnerability in Retirement Planning
Highlights significant disparities in retirement savings between men and women, with 36% of women aged 55-64 having no savings versus 22% of men. Explores factors contributing to this gap including single parenthood, career interruptions, and wage disparities affecting long-term financial security.

00:58:34
Social Programs and Government Benefits: What You Can Actually Expect
Examines maximum government benefits available at retirement age in Canada ($2,500) and the US ($1,959), demonstrating how these amounts often fall below comfortable living standards. Discusses the inadequacy of relying solely on social programs for retirement income.

01:02:13
The 91 and 9 Rule: Modern Distribution of Retirement Outcomes
Updates the classic statistic showing only 9-12% of people retire comfortably and financially independent, while 88-91% face financial insecurity through death, poverty, or continued work. Breaks down current retirement outcome categories and their stark realities.

01:06:18
Global Retirement Crisis: International Perspectives and Comparisons
Compares retirement challenges across developed nations including Europe, UK, Australia, and Japan. Shows consistent patterns of under-saving, gender gaps, and financial insecurity affecting aging populations worldwide, emphasizing this is a global rather than regional issue.

01:15:09
Taking Action: The Define-Align-Act Framework for Financial Success
Introduces practical tools for translating mindset shifts into behavior change. Outlines steps for defining clear goals, aligning with values, identifying blocking emotions, and taking consistent small actions. Emphasizes the importance of recording progress and building sustainable financial habits.

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Full Unedited Transcript:
[00:00:02 – 00:04:31]Welcome back to the Give a Heck podcast. I’m your host, Dwight Heck. I’m here to help you live a life on purpose, not by accident. Each week we dive into real stories, raw truths, and powerful conversations that challenge you to give a heck about your life and the lives of others. Today’s solo episode is about breaking free from survival mode. By reframing your mindset. We’ll explore how limiting beliefs, emotional traps, and financial stress keep us stuck and how intentional choices can help you design a life of purpose instead of a life lived by accident. Today’s episode is going to entail some stories, some factual, obviously information I’ve spent about two hours researching. Quite a bit of the numbers that I’ll share with you today in regards to retirement in North America, in Canada, specifically the United States, and as well touch on places like Europe, the uk, Japan, Australia, places around the globe that are all suffering in regards to an aging population that has not saved enough money for their future, has never learned how to even go about living intentionally today, but still possibly having a future by putting in place specific things that will help them. It all starts out though, between our six inches, between our ears, and for Canadians, 30 centimeters. That’s supposed to be a joke anyway, for those that understand that what we have between our ears needs to be constantly worked on, constantly evolved so that we can get what we want out of life, which is to be comfortable, which is to live with purpose and with intent and not live on that hamster wheel and then find out the harsh reality by the time we hit retirement of approximately 65 years of age, which is that for most countries that we will be okay, when in reality most people in the world will not be okay at 65. And we will get into that discussion. So segment one that I’m going to discuss and for those watching, I am looking down once in a while to specifically read the things that I wrote. It’s just far too much for me to memorize, but realize that this was effort and work put into place by myself to ensure that, you know, I could really impact those that are again listening or watching and understand that there is hope, there is the ability for you to take charge of your life and move forward with intent and again with purpose. So segment one that I’m going to talk about is learned behaviors and ignorance. Most people inherit financial habits from their family, peers and culture. Survival mode becomes normalized, whether it’s living paycheck to paycheck, avoiding financial realities, or denying the need for change. If you could, would you not want to set a good example for your children, for your family in general, for those that are around you in your life, showing them that living purposefully is possible with guidance and action. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to money. It is a trap, but one you can escape by choosing awareness and taking responsibility for your story. I will add, learned behavior is something that is so powerful. As young children, we listen to what our parents are talking about. Not necessarily they’re directing it straight at us, but we overhear their conversations with friends, family, maybe they’re on the phone about financial strife. They don’t really talk to us about it. They don’t educate us about money because they really don’t know the rules of the money game themselves. And those that do don’t necessarily train the younger generations, their children, because of the fact that they are stuck themselves. They don’t know how to educate, they don’t know how to share that information.

[00:04:33 – 00:12:20]Accurately. Our school systems, the majority of them, don’t teach a lot of the lessons that I wish I had been taught. I wish my kids would have been taught, I wish my grandkids were in school currently would be being taught and they’re not. But I’m telling you right now, learn behavior. Things that you overhear from your parents or, you know, you’re an adult now and you heard from your parents, your uncle, aunts, you know, friends, people in your social circle of your family, and you’d overhear things and they’d hush, hush, because the kids are around, right? They don’t want you to know or understand where their current financial circumstances are. I’m here to tell you that’s the wrong way to look at it. You need to obviously teach age appropriately to your children, whether they’re young or they’re adults. It’s never too late to have those discussions, to admit that you didn’t know or that you did things that you know may not have seemed right, but that’s the way they were taught. That hamster wheel, that learned behavior continues on from generation to generation unless we are willing to break it to have those age appropriate conversations, which I did. Did I do it to the level that I should have? Probably. Probably not. You know, I didn’t have that opportunity. Raising kids as a single dad, it was tough. But having age appropriate conversations about money, I tried my best. I discussed things with them. And then now as adults, when they bring it up, we have discussions and I’m real with them. I wish I would have done this a little bit better. I wish I Would have done that a little bit better. But I, you know, taught them the differences between things like a need and a want. I taught them the differences of having more month than money and what entails not having enough money and your month continues on. Right. Having to utilize different instruments like credit cards, lines of credits, loans, maybe just not paying the bill. Right. Maybe didn’t have that opportunity. And obviously back then, I didn’t really share all that details with him. I shared with them the fact that, sorry, we have a dollar and our bills are a dollar fifty. Right. I wouldn’t necessarily use those numbers. I just say we can’t afford it. Right. If it’s a need, I will, you know, figure it out. But if it’s a want, it’s going to have to wait. And we’d have those conversations when they were younger and now as adults, obviously there are a lot more elevated and higher end conversations. And I admit to them. Right, you’re right. You know, this is something that we should have discussed. I didn’t know. Right. I know better now. So now that you’ve brought it up or I see something that’s blatant and I think that we should have a conversation about it, maybe I can help them not be on that hamster wheel, to not suffer like I did as a single parent. There’s married couples out there that are listening to this. Maybe one of the significant others is terrible with money. The other one’s good and they don’t know what to do and they’re stuck on that hamster wheel and they’re just continually broke and they don’t feel like there’s any hope in sight that they can ever live a life of comfort today. Right. Retire with comfort as well and die with dignity to pass away knowing they did their best and that they’re not leaving a legacy of broke mentality. Right. And broke financially as well, which happens time and time again, especially in 24 years of my practice. I’ve seen it so many times, people that don’t plan properly and suffer. So we’re going to go on to the next segment, which is segment two. Emotional mindset traps and reframing techniques. Some things that you could utilize to help reframe the way you look at stuff. That’s one thing. That’s, you know, I work at, I get interviewed myself on shows and people ask this question, what do you do? Well, when you look at a negative circumstance, I reframe it. I try to look at the positive side of it. Oh, this was really negative. But on the flip side, it taught me this, and this is how I can proceed forward and now not be stuck anymore. So the negative can be really a catalyst or a positive, depending on how you reframe it. So we’ll touch on that as well. So fear, shame, and instant gratification are emotional barriers that sabotage financial planning. Right. Fear of failure leads to procrastination. Right? What is procrastination? Well, people, it is simply putting off what you know needs to be done, even when delaying makes the problem worse. What people don’t realize procrastination is not laziness or an inability to focus. It is often tied to deeper mental health struggles such as anxiety, perfectionism, or depression. People procrastinate because tasks trigger uncomfortable emotions, not because they lack discipline. So think about that. Oh, that person constantly procrastinates. Have you ever thought what that person’s going through in their life? Have you ever really give it some attention in your mindset because you’re judging them by saying that they procrastinate all the time, right? You don’t know all the facts. Now if you analyze and look at it and you still don’t know, maybe if you care enough about them, maybe that’s a conversation you could have. Hey, John. Hey, Sally. You procrastinated about doing this and is there something that I can help with? Have a conversation, maybe give you a helping hand so that we can get past it. Maybe they just need somebody to be supportive, right? It can be something simplistic. You have a project that you’ve been putting off and putting off, and if you stood there with them and had, you know, just the presence of mind with them and physical presence with them, maybe that’d be enough for them to push past and start working on it. And you might not even have to help them. Just being present with them can be that support they need, right? May seem simplistic, but I know it’s worked for me. I’ve had things and struggled in my life, and a good friend of mine that has many, many times come and helped me and said, you know, I’m not doing anything this weekend. Why don’t I pop over? Awesome. And I’m thinking to myself, oh, now I can’t escape it because he’s coming over, right? So procrastination is something that you can support for people to get over. And if you’re procrastinating yourself, invite somebody to assist you. Say, you know what, I’m stuck. I really want to do this. I would love your support. Doesn’t hurt to ask. Same thing I taught my kids and still teach them today. You never get if you don’t ask. The worst a person can say is what? No. Right? And if somebody says no, ask somebody else I know is just another stepping stone to get in a yes for somebody. Don’t give up. So procrastination, again, is something that people really do not understand, but it does not mean that somebody’s lazy or lacks discipline. It is an emotional mental.

[00:12:22 – 00:21:00]Thing that people need to learn how to climb over. Right? And they may need your support, they may need professional support. But realizing, don’t judge those and say those silly statements. All they ever do is procrastinate. And don’t tell yourself that either. Don’t tell that positive or negative talk. Right? Don’t tell yourself stuff like that. Tell yourself positive. And we’re going to get into the reframing portion of that. But don’t tell yourself, oh, I procrastinate about everything. Don’t tell it to yourself. Don’t tell it out loud to people when they say, oh, you haven’t done that. Oh, I procrastinated a lot. No, you’re just setting yourself up to be stuck in that negative rut, that valley of despair. So next thing. Shame causes avoidance. When people feel embarrassed about past mistakes or overwhelmed by, let’s say, debt, they often avoid facing the truth. And in regards to debt or finances, they disregard and don’t want to face the numbers altogether. I find that all the time. And this avoidance keeps people stuck in survival mode. And in some cases, it’s not even survival mode. They can’t even survive. They’re beyond survival and they’re quickly drowning. Right? So at the end of the day, one of the things that I help people out with and, and it’s worked well for me and I still have to constantly motivate myself to stay on top of it is budgeting. Knowing my actual ins and outs and the numbers of my life empowers me so that I understand, right? This has gone on in my life. This caused this. I don’t feel shame about it. I don’t avoid it. I just realized that the, the more I understand my ins and outs, what’s coming in financially, what’s going out on a monthly basis, sometimes you can dial it for some people need it weekly. Right? It’s easy to make mistakes. It’s easy to go out and buy something and not understand that, hey, next week this bill’s due. My car payment, I forgot about it. It’s not put into a calendar it’s not jotted down anywhere. It’s not put in a budget template that’s stuck to the cupboard or to the fridge. And I go and spend this money and then next week all of a sudden, oh goodness, the payment come out and it’s stuck on my overdraft or oh goodness, I have to pay it. It’s not on auto withdraw, I don’t have the money, how am I going to do it? And then you feel ashamed because you look over at what you had spent money on the week before when in reality, if you understood your numbers, you wouldn’t have bought that. You would have given you more courage, more stick to itiveness, to stick within that budget, knowing, yes, that what I want is a need or is it a want? And in most cases you’ll say, no, it’s a want, I don’t need it, right? It’s not worth me going into overdraft. It’s not worth me using a line of credit. It’s not worth me just not being able to pay it because they don’t even have enough of credit to pay it. And that happens to people all the time. So in order to avoid that, understanding your numbers is one of the most powerful things to keep your emotions in check, right? So that you don’t want that dopamine hit, you’re kind of depressed, you don’t really know what’s going on in life and you go buy something that you really shouldn’t and then you’re happy and immediately you’re happy, you get that happy dopamine hit. And then the reality you, as other bills are due or other things happen, you realize that you shouldn’t have done it. And then you feel shame, so much so that people won’t even return things, right? If that’s you and this has happened to you, don’t be afraid to return stuff, right? I’ve done it. I will continue to do it. I am not perfect. I fall into these traps myself. I’m being totally honest with you and I will just send things back. If it came in, you know, if it was delivered, if it was something I bought at a store, I’ll take it back. You know, shame is not going to pay your bills. So the next thing, instant gratification, we’re going to go into a little bit more. I did bring that out that up though. You know, people choosing short term pleasure over long term security, meaning they go out and buy stuff and they get that dopamine hit. And in reality they shouldn’t have done it they should have been saving a little bit more for their retirement. They could have been putting a little bit more on debt. They can be prepared for that payment that’s going to come out a week later for their vehicle or for a utility bill or whatever the case may be. So try to avoid being that person, person that does shopper therapy, right? They go out and shop. They go out and buy stuff they don’t even really need anything in their window shopping to avoid being at or to, you know, avoid the thought process of being stuck or that they’re not happy. And they go out, they see something nobody’s ever taught them. Is that a need or a want nobody’s ever taught them. Will that fit into my numbers? My inflows are this. My outflows are this. I add that on now that’s another outflow. Is it going to make me live a life of more month, more days in a month than money? Am I going to slip into quiet desperation more than I am already when I go to bed wondering how am I going to pay the bills next week or next month? That’s a terrible way for us to be or to be stuck in again. I’m not judging you. I’ve been there and I’ve slipped back into it many times in my life. The difference is I have the tools to get myself back on track. Now when I initially started this journey and it was struggling, when I first got into the Finance Life Coaching 24 years ago, I was, I was, I was terrible. I was a wreck, right? Just I was a ship coming in on the up to the rocks and about to crash. And I learned all this stuff and I implement it and I constantly strive to, to. You can’t be perfect at it, but I constantly strive to always be aware of the signs of my emotional and my mental. You know that 6 inches slash 30 centimeters between my ears. So hopefully that makes sense. You know, whether it’s spending or you should be saving, as I mentioned, or you know, at the end of the day, having goals, having it planned out, understanding your numbers to know what you have. As for spare things that are wants, not needs, right Is possible, but you need to give yourself some lead way, some grace and start somewhere and that is putting down some goals, doing some budgeting and figuring out your numbers. And if you are not able to do that, reach out to somebody like me and ask for help. What are the steps I need to do? Where do I need to go next after I get those steps right and follow it? Create yourself that financial Roadmap with somebody else’s assistance and you will live a more purposeful, intentful life. So we’re going to talk about some of the patterns and things that have, you know, evidence based reframing techniques can help you, you know, interrupt the loops that are stuck in your brain. That hamster wheel thought process that I can’t do it, I’m not going to succeed. I can never learn to budget Dwight. I can never learn to understand the differences and you know, program my brain to understand needs and wants. I can’t. I’ll never be able to retire. I’ll never be able to have what, you know, my neighbors have, my sister, my brother, my parents, you know, all the negative selft talk. Right. You can reframe that. And I’m going to talk to you about three different techniques briefly here and you can certainly reach out to me or research from yourself and we can go into this further as to how you know, you can reframe your thought processes to make things better for yourself.

[00:21:03 – 00:26:53]So Technique 1, Thought Records and evidence testing. Write down the exact thought. That’s what thought records are. So journal. Some people use journaling. I just had an interview on a podcast day or two days ago where we talk quite in depth about this of whether or not journaling helps when you get stuck. And it does, trust me. Some people do it on a phone, they type it. Some people do it on their computer, they type it. Other people will take a pen and paper and actually write it down, right, right down. So that they can see their mind’s eye and their hand and their pen as they write it down. Or if they type becomes more prevalent in your mindset and becomes more of a reality. So write down the exact thought that is troubling you, list the evidence that appears to support that thought. So write down the thought, do bullet points beside it, little dashes and just write down the words. You don’t have to write down complete sentences, you don’t over complicated, you just want your brain to be able to process that thought and proceed forward from there. So again, write down the thought, put down some supporting evidence that challenges it. If the thought is that you will never get out of debt, acknowledge past credit struggles and along that lines, or maybe it’s a thought that has nothing to do with money, you can do the exact same thing and then name your progress. What are you currently doing? So you’ve named the thought, you’ve written it down, you got some bullet points to support it and the challenges of it, and then put down Evidence after the fact of what you’re going to do. If you haven’t started or if you have started, write down, well, I’ve done this and I’ve done that so that you can actually see it in black and white and realize the next steps, the next part of the, and phases of you getting control of that thought. Again, whether it’s finance or not finance, this process works wonderfully. If you write down, put down what is required and where are you at in what is required. And if you struggle even to do that again, there’s lots of great information, lots of good things that you can actually research that will help you build that thought process or again, reach out to somebody like me and ask for some assistance. So, you know, if the thought is something that is just so stifling to you when you think about it right now, writing it down and breaking it down will help you. You’re just going to have to trust and trust in the fact of what I’m saying. So when you do this process, again, it shifts the belief into a balanced statement such as, well, again, use the debt thing, right? The debt problem. Debt is challenging, but we have done this and this and that and we are giving our, you know, we’re showing our brain, we’re showing ourselves, maybe our significant other, if we have one, if we’re not a single individual, that there’s progress going on, right? Maybe your significant other says, oh, you know, all this debt and stuff, I just can’t stop thinking about it. And the, and the one party, the one other significant other. And a lot of times it’s unfortunate, one person takes on the burden, lack of communication, lack of being taught, husband, wife, common laws, significant others, whatever the case may be, they really do not know how to communicate about money. So one person avoids it, the other person records it or attempts to understand it and they’re overwhelmed because they’re taking on all the other pressure. So a conversation comes up, oh, I don’t know what we’re going to do about all our debt. Well, the person that’s been working on it, maybe they’re a person that has learned this process or they’ve heard about this process and they’ll say to their significant other, let’s sit down and write down what our thoughts are about debt, right? And what do we need to do to get out of debt? I don’t have a clue how to get out of debt. I don’t know what to do. The one person might say, or if it’s an individual and they’re Saying that to themselves and reach out to somebody, have somebody, you know, support you. If it’s a couple and both, you can’t seem to get dialed in to write down the thought, you know, appropriately so that you can actually understand both of you and then break that thought process down. Then maybe it’s best that you reach out and get some coaching, get some lifestyle and finance coaching from somebody like myself. Ask for help. I’ll help you dial it in. We will help break it down. And you know, you’re going to get kudos where you deserve kudos. Oh, look at this. You do have, you have been doing stuff toward your debt. You’re putting $20 extra away every pay period against debt along with on top of your current payment. And you know, what do we need to do more? Oh, well, maybe we need to, you know, learn how to budget more tightly and, and take out the wants within our budget and just have the needs so that we can, Instead of putting $20 a week pay period or a week or whatever the case may be, you’re able to do $50 because you realize through a little bit of research that you have a lot of wants in your budget that really aren’t wants. Right. I have specific.

[00:26:55 – 00:33:17]Workshops that I help people understand how to increase their cash flow and manage debt that specifically talk about the differences between needs and wants. And how many people I’ve done this presentation to over the last 20 years that are completely shocked how much money they can free up by getting rid of things that they really don’t need or really didn’t utilize, but it was just comfortable, came out of their bank account, got charged to their credit card or whatever the case may be. So you need to literally outline, work on things, put the thought down. What are you currently doing if you aren’t doing anything? What do we need to do if you don’t know, research it. If that doesn’t help you and you literally find that emotional mental angst and you decide and you’re going to procrastinate, call out, reach out, communicate with somebody such as me, or communicate with me and we’ll have a call and I will do whatever I can, no promises to help you escape that thought process of being procrastinating again and not doing it and actually putting the thought down, finding out what you know, how to deal with it if you don’t know anything, educating you what you need to do. And then what have we currently done? Maybe you do know some stuff and we write down the wins that $20 a pay period maybe it’s 50, who knows what it is? And you have never patted yourself on the back that you actually did something to make a difference and are continuing to do something to make a difference in your life. It’s not always about beating yourself up. It’s about awareness and acknowledgement. So the next thing that we will discuss is identifying cognitive distortions and reframe that. Well, what does that mean? Notice patterns such as all or nothing thinking, right? You ever had that? You ever been stuck in all or nothing thinking? Catastrophizing, right? There’s a catastrophe around the corner. You know, you’re always doom and gloom, you’re always negative. And patterns of mind reading, reading what other people are thinking, right? In regards to your significant other, your partner, your family, whatever it is, in regards to money, don’t try to read their mind, right? Ask specific questions, have conversations. It will help bring out the truth. And if it causes defensiveness, it causes issues. Instead of just asking questions that are too blunt and overwhelming, maybe ask that person, hey, we need to talk about some of this. What would be the best way for us to communicate? Would it be better if I write it down and you read it and then we discuss it? Or it would be better for us to sit down with a tea, a cup of coffee and you know, write some things down that are concerning both of us and see how you can possibly get past that. Because really, trying to read that person’s mind, what they think or what they feel about your financial situation or life circumstances. Maybe there was a tragedy that went on and they’re avoiding talking to you about it. Maybe there was a death in the family and, and those tough conversations don’t happen. It’s the same thing. You can’t read their mind. How will you know how they feel about money, about their just life in general, about a tragedy, as I mentioned, that could have happened. It’s called conversation. Have that conversation with people. So, you know, if you believe that one mistake means you are a failure, that’s another thing. Rewrite it as one mistake does not define you, right? How often do I hear that from people, oh, I screwed this up, I’m a failure, right? Might have been learned behavior from their family, might have been learned behavior from people they associate with or hang out and they’ve heard it a lot. So, you know, because that person, they seen had a mistake and they said that, but they never seen the repercussions or the positiveness on the other side that maybe that person was just saying that comment and they figured it out the next day. And they triumphed over what was causing them strife. We don’t know that. So conversation is so important. One mistake does not define you. So if you’re that type of person that goes, oh, my goodness, I made a mistake. I’m such a failure. Don’t say that you’re not helping yourself. Just say, hey, I made a mistake. What did I learn from that mistake? How can I take that and elevate myself past it? What can I do better tomorrow to not make that same mistake? What did that mistake teach me? To elevate my next day, to elevate my next moment to avoid that same circumstance that was created. Right. It’s a stepping stone. Think of it as a positive, not a negative. It’s one step closer to success as opposed to sticking in that mindset that I’m a failure and never trying again. Again, this applies to money, your personal life. It doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t tell yourself defeating statements that I made a mistake. I’m such a failure. So again, feedback with ourselves, feedback with others is so important for us to be able to reframe our mindset and think more positively than negatively and stay stuck on that hamster wheel of life, never getting off. So technique three, and then we’ll move on. Test the belief in a real life with a small, safe action. And here’s what I mean. We’re going to go back to the financial thing. If you believe you cannot save Money, set aside $20 this week and observe the result. How does it make you feel? You said you could never save money. You put away $20, and now next week, you’re still living life, but you know that you put away $20. Maybe it’s transferring into.

[00:33:18 – 00:37:09]Maybe it’s a shoe box you have in your closet. You put $20 bill in there. Maybe it’s something that you’ve set up for auto transfer and created a bank account called, you know, life savings, and you transfer $20 into it, and then a week later, that $20 is still there, and then you put another $20, right? It’s as simple as, don’t beat yourself up, right? Try, try saving that $20 and serving the result. You can also utilize this behavioral experiment and, you know, let’s say something happens and your brain automatically gives you a negative response. You see something that you normally would see when you leave the house, and it frustrates you, right? Well, maybe the next time that you see it, you. You tell yourself something different instead of the negative. You tell yourself to positive about it, right? I know that may seem weird, but it’s not weird, right? Maybe you’re a person that suffers from road rage. I wonder what that person’s going through that they’re driving like that, that they’re swerving, that they’re cutting people off. Did something happen at home? Are they rushing home to a loved one that’s really ill, right? Are they, you know, list goes on. I could give you a bunch of different reasons, but you can pivot your mindset to be compassionate and empathetic toward that person and say, does it really help for me to be angry, to have road rage, to honk the horn, to get upset? No, it doesn’t help me. It doesn’t serve me. It’s not the hill I want to die on. Because now I’m driving with anger and frustration and now I’m not paying attention and it’s hard on my health and maybe makes me not be the best driver. Maybe I cause an accident, maybe I speed and get a ticket. Do you understand what I’m saying? We need to reframe our mindset and how we think about things and understand it takes baby steps. So I used to be a person that had massive issues with road rage, right? Am I perfect at it now? No, but I try to reframe. Just like I said, that’s a real life example. When I see somebody, I try to think, what is that person doing that for? What is going on in their life? Is it worth me being upset because they cut me off? Is it going to serve me five minutes from now, five seconds from now? Is it going to serve me? Not really. Is that person me honking the horn at him or yelling at them inside of my closed vehicle? Are they going to. Oh, not really. So I’m letting that circumstance live in my head rent free to eat away at me, right? So we just need to put a little bit more effort into how we look at things and understanding the condition, like the human condition of what other people are going through and how we. How we allow it to trigger us. And what can we do to stop that trigger from happening? More often than not, I won’t say it’ll be 100%. Right? So we’re going to go into a reality check. We live in North America, right? I do. Can. I’m in Canada, my. My brothers and sisters, you know, in the United States, we’re in the continent of North America. And North America has a lot of challenges and a lot of good things, too. But one of the things that Is is really causing challenges is reality check of retirement. What will I have when I hit 65? We’ll also touch on for those of my international audience that live in Europe, Australia.

[00:37:11 – 00:38:16]Japan, the UK we’re going to touch a little bit on yours. If you want more specifics, please reach out. I can give you more detailed information and numbers about where you live as well, but I will touch on that. Right now my most listening audience is in the United States and Canada. So we’re going to focus a little bit more on those numbers. Again, for those that are global, that listen to the Give a Hack podcast, just send me a note, right? And I will help you understand more specifics about where you live. Because Europe’s pretty big. There’s differences between certain countries. In Europe, there’s differences in the UK as well. Right. So we will even in the U.S. there’s differences between one state to another. Canada, it’s more specifically balanced across from, from one coast to the other, from west to east coast. But in the US there can be disparities between states. And for those of my American listeners, yes, there is disparity and we will get into.

[00:38:18 – 00:46:28]Might also be a disparity though too because the cost of living can be different from one state to another as well. So we’ll get into that. Decades ago, educators warned that the 91% of people at the age of 65 are either dead or dead broke. The exact numbers have changed, yet the modern reality remains sobering. Right, so we’ll get into that. Just to give you an idea, when they used to say the 90, 91 and 9, think of a room of 100 people. You walk into that room of 100 people, 91% of the people or 91 of those 100 people are going to be dead or dead broke at 65, unable to retire, having to still continue to work. Maybe they have health challenges and can’t work anymore and now they’re living at poverty or below poverty because the social programs don’t cover the life that they need to survive at that age. Maybe they got major medical and health issues and you know, if they’re completely healthy, maybe that little bit of money that they get through social programs like in Canada we have cpp, Old Age Security and Guarantee Income Supplement, not including if you have work pensions. In the US just as Social Security, they have other programs too, disability programs, etc. Etc. We do as well. But just comparing social programs that you can access at 65, many, many times that is living people at poverty or below poverty because it’s just not enough money because they have nothing else to supplement it. So we’ll get into that. So life expectancy, let’s talk about that first. In Canada, as of 2025, life expectancy on average is 82.7 years. Men 79.2, women 83.8 and the United States as of 2025. Again, these are all verified. I can send you where I got the information from. You just simply have to reach out to me. I’m not going to read all the sources because it would take far too long, the amount of research that I did to get this document together. So United States, 79.4 is their average years overall. Men 77.2, women 82.1. So we’re relatively close. Canadians live a little bit longer, not much than American or American counterparts, but regardless, 82.7 years overall for Canada, 79.4 years overall for the United States. Now we’re going to get into talking about the seniors that are still working Canada. About 20% of Canadians age 65/ remain in the workforce. And you may say to yourself, oh, that’s because of boredom that, you know, they, they, they need purpose, they’re bored, they need to continue to work to, to feel worthy. I know a lot of retired people, 24 years as a financial planner and doing lifestyle coaching. Along with that people, if they had enough money, they aren’t going to continue to work because now they have, they have the time to do their hobbies, to do all the things that they really want to do in their lives. They don’t have to go to that grind, to go to that nine to five, go to work, go home, get paid. So don’t kid yourself, people don’t remain in a workforce. Majority of them don’t remain in the workforce because they want to. I know I was watching something recently this week, but an 88 year old man, and you may have seen the memes yourself or read the story about it, was still working at Walmart because he had lost his wife. He had no retirement because his retirement was taken away from him when a company went in, I believe it was bankruptcy, right? So somebody showcased his life and within days they had over a million dollars donated to help this 88 year old man out. That was working 40 hours a week, 9 to 5 at Walmart just to sustain myself and, and be alive. Well, village mentality, we take care of one another. So people in the US and maybe for people, I think I read that people from around the world donated money. They came up with a million dollars because they wanted to ensure this man would be okay. And the social programs he had access to were, wasn’t enough money for him to survive. So he had to work. It wasn’t part time, he was working full time. Do you know people like that in your life? Do you know people that are going to be like that? Are you going to be like that? And again, I’m, I’m using this story because my American brothers and sisters took care of this person. Again, I heard that, I read, I can’t remember the details that he received money from outside of the US too that people wanted to help. That’s what a village mentality is, taking care of our own. How many other people stories in the US or in Canada or around the world are in the same plight and nobody will hear their story, Nobody will offer them a leg up, a hand up and give them money to make it so they can retire better. Right? So we need to think about our social circle and the people around us that are older. Are they going to be okay? Are they okay? Are they giving us a facade? Are they not telling me the truth? My parents, are they suffering? Are they still buying presents for grandkids and other people as adults, their kids, when really in reality they should be. They can’t afford it. They need that money to survive for themselves. But they’re embarrassed and that shame comes in and they don’t want to say anything. Let’s take care of our immediate backyard, our social circles of people that we know to ensure they’re going to be okay or are they currently okay? Maybe they need a hand up, a leg up. Maybe you can help them access other programs they are too embarrassed to access on their own without some support. Or maybe they just don’t know about them. There’s so many things that could be factors into why people are suffering. So you know, as mentioned again, 20% of Canadians still remain in a workforce United States. About 20% of Americans age 65 + remain in the workforce as well. In some cities though, according to the stats I was reading, which was shocking, there are certain cities in the US where nearly half of the seniors age 65 to 74 are still still employed. Well, I just give you an example. 88 year old man working at Walmart, right? And I know what happens in Canada do going to the Walmart and the greeters or the security are usually people that should be retired, can’t afford to be retired. And you see them there every time you go in, right? Is that a bad thing? It’s a good thing that they can have a. Have a job and are still healthy enough to work, or are they. Are they healthy enough to work? Are they forced to have to work? Whether they, you know, can stand for that? 8, 10 hours at the entrance, watching people come in and watching people leave, and they have no choice just so they can have a little bit of money to survive, to pay rent, to pay their costs of living in. Let’s say they’re still in the house that they, you know, that they’ve been in for a long time. They can’t. They can now afford to. They can’t afford the bills, property tax, whatever, utilities. So they have to work to be able to pay all that, plus still have some food on the table, right? So there is a major disparity. Again, the numbers are pretty much specific for both Canada and the U.S. 20% of people are still working. All right? And then some of the numbers are saying people are working into their mid-70s. And how many of those, though.

[00:46:30 – 00:49:11]Aren’T working in their mid-70s anymore because they just can’t physically do it and they’re living inside their home. Lack of food, lack of good nutrition, and nobody asking, hey, are you okay? John, you okay? Sally, right? Is there something I could do for you? Is there something that you’re lacking? Be compassionate and kind about it. Maybe you have to not be so blunt as I’m being in this, in this podcast, just because of the fact I’m short on, on time to get through all this information I wanted to share. So just do that, right? Have a simple conversation. How are things going? Right? Want to come over for something to eat? Maybe invite somebody, a neighbor or a family friend or. Or a relative, sister, brother, right? Maybe it’s your own parents. You’re a little bit better off. Invite them over for a meal, make extra, and say, hey, you know what? We’re not real big fans of leftovers. You want to take this home with you, be another meal for you. Maybe it’s the fact that they don’t even have the ability to cook. Maybe they can afford the food, but their frailty or they’re. They’re having challenges. Maybe they need you to go in or make them food that can be frozen, stuck in the freezer, so that they can have meals for the next week and they just thaw it when they need it and heat it up. Do that little bit of extra for the people that you love and care for and it’ll come back, right? It’ll come back to you when you you get back what you sow in society and especially with your family, in my opinion. Is that the case every time? No, but it will be there more times than not. So Canada, 32% of households have never saved for retirement. Wow, 32% of households have never saved for retirement. Canada is over 40 million people. The U.S. is what, 330, 340 million. Their number is 20 to 40%. 20. Part of me to 46% of Americans have no retirement savings at all. Right. So 20 to 46% of Americans. So let’s say you’re 340 million people. That’s close to 70 million people on the low side that have never been able to save. They have no retirement savings. On the high side, it’s even more scary. Scary at 46%. But in Canada too, we’re looking at 12 million people.

[00:49:12 – 00:50:13]Right. That’s a lot of people that are going to be relying on social programs that won’t necessarily be there because most social programs are paid for by tax dollars. And if you have less people working paying into the system, you’re going to have less money to pay out, right? Yes. There’s certain programs, like in Canada, we have our CPP or Canadian pension plan that literally ensures that that money is segregated. But is that the case for all the money that we can get in Canada? No, it’s not. Old age security and GIS are based on current tax gatherings from the population and then it’s redistributed. It’s not an investment scenario like CPP is, where we have an investment endowment fund that takes care of that to ensure that future Canadians will be able to get their pension. I know down in the U.S.

[00:50:15 – 00:53:50]Their, their coffers, they’ve been paying out consistently, but it’s all based on income coming in. Right. And being reshuffled. And you know, it just. We used to be that way at one point in time in Canada. We weren’t efficient, but we realized we got better. So I hope that many other countries, anybody that’s listening, if you’re somebody in government or have influence in government, Right. Please, please make sure that you understand that there’s no guarantees for any of these social programs. Right. Even our CPP having its own investment arm that takes care of it, doesn’t mean that something can’t happen. Right? So we need to take care of ourselves. Obviously, if the only thing we can plan for for future is, is social programs from our governments, then we’ll have to understand all our numbers and understand this is the level of what we’re going to live when we’re, when we finally can’t work anymore or we’re forced into retirement because of. Of age and capacity of being able to do the career that we did before. Maybe it’s physical ailments, maybe it’s just, it’s impossible for you to do due to your age now, so you’re stuck on just social programs. So we have a lot of work to do to help a lot of people based on these numbers. So we talked about how many people don’t necessarily have retirement in Canada. This is shocking. Ages 55 to 64, 44% have less than $5,000 saved. How much do you have saved? If you’re a Canadian listening to this, don’t matter where you live in the world. You know, this is the podcast listening to a lot of different countries. How much do you have saved? Right. Have less than $5,000 saved in the U.S. i couldn’t find this stat for the 5,000, but for their stat is 50% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved. Think about that. 340,000 people, approximately, that’s 170 million people that have less than $10000 saved. Is it because people don’t want to save in Canada or the US or other countries? Absolutely not. People just get caught up in life and they forget that, you know, they need to save for their future. It’s not that I shouldn’t say they forgot. They don’t have the ability, they don’t have the capacity to do that. They don’t understand their numbers, as I mentioned. They don’t understand inflows, outflows. They’ve never been taught how to budget. They’ve never been taught how to go set for their current life today, to live in prosperity, living comfortably, to living a good retirement. They’ve never been taught, well, what happens if I pass away? Is my significant other going to be okay? Is my family going to be okay? Can they afford to even bury me? Like, just things like that. I’ve been working on and helping people now for 24 years. It’s real, right? So it’s not that people didn’t necessarily want to there were never encouraged to save first, budget, live off the difference after you save a little bit for your future for an emergency fund for retirement, whatever the case may be, right? Even saving for something as simple as a, as a vacation.

[00:53:51 – 00:54:46]This is what we want to do. We’re going to save this little bit of money, right? This is something that’s important to us, but not at the sacrifice of the needs within our budget. This is only if all our needs are met and we have some leftover, then we can start distributing it. Saving again for vacations, putting kids in extracurricular activities that aren’t necessarily a need, they’re a want. But you want to keep your kids occupied, keep them out of trouble, Right? And, you know, you save them for retirement. A portion of it, again, takes planning. It’s not hard. You just need somebody to be your coach, to be your mentor, to help you through this. Again, there’s tons of information online how to do it. But if you’re somebody that needs a little bit of guidance, find somebody that can help you, you reach out to me. Let’s have a conversation. So we’ll continue on with these numbers.

[00:54:48 – 00:58:32]Gender gap. This one was shocking to me when I put more research. I’ve always known these numbers, but I have not updated them in my mindset or on paper in a long time. So that’s why I put this effort in. 36% of women in the age group right. Of 55 to 64 have no savings, versus 22% being men. So in that same age category, that 44% have less than 5,000 saved, that same segment that have nothing saved, 36% of them are women and 22% of them are men. You may think to yourself, why is there more women that you know have no savings versus 22% of men? Well, there’s a lot of single moms out there. I’m talking to you. I’ve known a lot of single moms. I know a lot of single dads. It’s almost impossible to raise our children by ourselves on one income, depending on how many kids, and still be able to save. Is it possible? Absolutely. But it’s going to take some strategy, it’s going to take some goal setting, it’s going to take some number crunching to help you maybe figure out how to change careers so you can make more money. Right? That could be a. That could be a solution. Maybe you’re at a career you love and you’ve tapped out how much income you can make, but you’ve just always spent whatever you spent. And if there’s money left over, great. If there’s no money left over, then you’re in lines of credits and credit cards. Like a lot of people live their lives. It’s not just single people. Single women, single moms, single dads. It’s couples, too. But that is a staggering number, right? So when we look at Morningstar, which is a famous, you can actually look up Morningstar. You can go Google their website. There are a numbering, number crunching site, number crunching company. They’re, they’re, they’ve got some great statistics. So 45 of retirees at 65 run out of money before death. So 45% of retirees run out of money at, you know, and they’re only 65. That’s terrifying. Right out of those stats. 55% are single women, 41% are couples, single men. It’s 40% again, single minutes a little bit less. A lot of times it’s because women are the ones that have either their marriage fell apart or they became a single mom with kids and they were stay at home mom and they never had the ability to save initially because now the financial burden. Unfortunately, stats prove it. There’s more deadbeat dads than there is deadbeat moms. And they just got stuck behind the time, right? The time of life, raising their kids. All of a sudden they don’t necessarily have the schooling to get a high paying job, don’t have the ability to start their own entrepreneurship and make money because there is women out there, very successful women that have been stuck in that rut, managed to elevate themselves out. But it’s, it’s not easy because you need to understand you have to have money to do it. You have to have the where for all or people to assist and guide you. So we’ll continue on from there.

[00:58:34 – 00:59:52]We literally have programs in both countries. They have many in in other countries too. But in, in the two countries I’m talking about in North America, Canada and United, we have different things that will help us. Right. I won’t get into all the specifics because this podcast is already getting extremely long, but you can reach out to me on the different types of income that you can tap into when you’re 65 years of age in either country. Obviously in Canada, I know the more specifically because this is my stomping grounds. This is where I live. So combine maximums that people can get at 65 if they have no other government, pardon me, company pension or, or created a pension for themselves is roughly $2,500. And that’s if you’re fully eligible, meaning you’re heading into your 65 years of age and you’re destitute. Right. You fully don’t have anything and you will be able to get the maximum. Right. That is base if you’re fully eligible. $2500, is that a lot of money or is that a little bit of money? To me, that’s not a lot. It would be a very.

[00:59:54 – 01:02:11]Sad retirement to only bring in that kind of money because now all the things you dreamed about when you were in the workforce of doing when you were retired, you can’t afford to do. You can’t afford to go on those traveling trips. You can’t afford to maybe buy that boat that you always wanted, that trailer that you always wanted. Maybe you wanted to renovate your home, maybe you wanted to spend more time doing whatever and you just don’t have the money. And now you’re stuck in that retirement trap of just getting what you qualify for but nothing extra. In the United States it basically works out to an average retired worker. Benefit is around $1959. And for men tire women it’s lower. Right, which is unfortunate. In Canada we don’t have that circumstance, men or women. The only thing that’s going to affect is you might get a little bit less CPP because you haven’t necessarily worked enough years to contribute to get the full amount. But at the end of the day, that happens to men as well. They’ve worked at a low paying job so they’ve never ever hit their ceiling of contributions. So they don’t get the full cpp. So on the high side they might not get very much either. Again, it’s all circumstance dependent. Both countries have disability benefits that you can tap into if you’re disabled. You know, survivor benefits. What is that? Well, you’re married, your significant other passes away, you can get survivor benefits in Canada and they have that in the US as well. I won’t get into the numbers. One of the things I did mention though was that I found interesting was there’s a state variation of how much money was paid out versus one state to the other. I won’t mention the states, but it can be a difference between $2,114 versus $1756 living from one state difference to the other. So at the end of the day we also need to talk about distribution, right? What do I mean by that?

[01:02:13 – 01:03:46]When we look at the 91 and 9 and we want to look at the whole complete picture of it, what I talked about going into a room where 91 people out of 100 are dead or dead broke at 65, those numbers again have changed. We’re going to talk about them a little bit though, and we’re going to break them down and then we’ll go on to global comparisons. So 15% of people currently in North America are deceased before 65. They haven’t even made it to 65. I’ve got a lot of clients that haven’t made it 65 today. I was actually at a funeral of somebody that was 59 years of age, never hit retirement. Right. Still was a person that, you know, we thought would live longer, but they didn’t. Circumstances happen and they’re no longer with us. Right. 20% retired, but living below poverty, social assistance. I mentioned that. Lots of people. So 20% of people at the age of 65 living below poverty and on social assistance, 15 to 20% unable to retire, broke, still working. How many people do you know that are 65 plus still working? I know quite a few walk into a Walmart, walk into maybe a Target, or walk into a lot of retail, different places and see how many seniors are still working because they can’t afford not to work. The social programs aren’t going to even help them out, keep their heads above water.

[01:03:48 – 01:04:11]And 45 to 50% retired with varying degrees of stability. What does that mean? Well, within this group, 9 to 12% of the total population are retired, comfortably financially independent and are not reliant on government assistance. That’s not a lot. So 9 to 12% of the total population. So that room of 100 people.

[01:04:13 – 01:05:33]Maybe 9 are going to be okay. And on the high side, 12 out of the 100 will be okay. Does that make sense? So nine out of 100 or 12 out of 100, in that range, you’re going to be okay. When they hit retirement at 65, that’s not a lot. It’s pretty darn close to the 91 and 9, isn’t it? I guess depending on where you live, it’s going to vary because the cost of living can be different even in Canada, from one city to another, based on housing costs, based on taxes, based on food costs, et cetera, et cetera. So the big picture overview, we’re going to say it again. 9 to 12% succeed, retired comfortably and financially independent. But back to that, 91 and 9, 88 to 91% do not succeed. They’re either deceased, broke, under, saved, still working, or living below the poverty or social assistance. What segment do you want to be in? I’ll let you answer that yourself. Which segment do you think you’re in? And is that based on education and knowledge and understanding all your numbers, understanding what you need to be retired based on the goals of what you’ve set out for yourself by the time you hit 65? What do you want to do in your retirement years.

[01:05:35 – 01:06:17]If you can’t Add answer a definitive it’s time for you to sit down and figure it all out. Instead of living by accident, live by purpose, with intent. And again, there’s many people like me out there that are willing to help, that you can reach out and get some assistance and to see where you need to go. Right? Where are you going to be? So that you have a defined thought process, you’ve, you’ve framed where you need to be. You’re not going to think negative about it, you’re just going to go, oh my goodness, this is where my life’s at. This is where I want to be. Now how do I bridge that gap? What do I need to do to get to that end? Result.

[01:06:18 – 01:10:12]So global comparison. This is not only a North American story. Developed countries across the globe face similar pressures including longevity, higher living costs and under saving. The overall reality is that most people worldwide are friend are not financially prepared for retirement with only a minority retiring comfortably in the Europe. For my European friends that are listening, across the EU, EU roughly one in three working age adults are under saving for retirement. One in three, that’s 33% of the population that are under saving for retirement. Pensions adequacy varies widely. Northern and Western Europe, Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia have stronger workplace pension systems, while Southern and Eastern Europe, which is Italy, Spain, Poland face larger gaps Gender gap Women’s retirement income is on average 24, 5 to 30% lower than men. Well, we see that gap in North America too. Numbers are similar and a lot of times it has to do with not being in the workforce early enough, being forced into the workforce because of separation, divorce, being forced into the workforce because of a tragedy, losing one of their significant others and their income. There’s so many different reasons why there that number could be why it’s so high and why women are achieving less than men. Right. Sometimes it can be even still to this day, sadly it can be wage disparity, salary disparity, what they’re making. Right. It’s just sad, but it is the reality. Cold hard truth of reality. So the use EU’s average life expectancy 81 years roughly around the US and Canada’s increasing pressure on public pension systems is something that’s a reality in all of our countries. The longer medical technology allows people to live longer so shouldn’t rephrase that. The more that medical technology advances, the longer we live. The longer we live, the more pressures it puts on to the social programs, the more pressures it puts on to people to still have to work because now they’re going to know they’re going to live longer and the old formulas of how much they need to save have changed and they haven’t changed to ensure that that happens. Right. So again, education action or the ways that you’re going to get past this education action until you can do little things like we talked about, saving that $20 a week so you can reframe and increase your belief system. There’s a lot of different things you can do that I teach and utilize with my, my clients and people around me to help them get past over that hump and start on, you know, the, the climb. Instead of living in a valley of despair on the hamster eat the wheel, they start in the climb whether it’s baby steps, wherever it’s time to start. So in the United Kingdom, 4 and 10 working age adults are under saving for retirement 40% of the population. Workplace pension participation is strong, but adequacy remains a concern. What does that mean? Well, workplace participation, people are participating in it, right. In Canada we have different types of contribution systems. I won’t get into the details. If you’re a Canadian, you want to know and want to discuss it and go over your pension stuff at work, whether or not you’re utilizing it. Right. You know, get a hold of me or get a hold of somebody within your pension.

[01:10:14 – 01:11:21]Administration and ask them to explain it. Maybe they have documentation that can explain it better to you. The pros and cons of maximizing your participation again, happens in both all of our countries and many retirees live 15 to 20 years beyond 65 requiring sustained income. I sure hope I live 15, 20 years past 65. You. Well, let’s make sure that it’s a reality that we live that comfortable retirement. Do you worked 40 years, right? Do you want to only live off 40% to what you used to have? Right. I know I don’t. So let’s do what it takes to take action to understand how to reframe our mindset and find the right people to help us do it. If we don’t have a clue or if you have a partial clue and you’re doing something but you don’t see results, maybe you just need a nudge, maybe you need some redirection. Maybe your, your life roadmap, your financial roadmap is you’ve taken the GPS is taking you off course and you need somebody to put you back on course.

[01:11:23 – 01:13:04]So we’ll talk a little bit about Australia. Retirement readiness sentiment has improved modestly. They’re like most stuck inflation and cost of living remains barrier to saving and invasion and investing. That’s standard for all of us, not just Australia. Women’s super annualization balances continue to trail men’s. What does that mean? Well, that’s basically the same thing we’ve been saying. Women trail behind men when it comes to savings or what they have upon retirement. And there’s so many reasons why. I listed a few of them again. Separation, divorce, tragedy. List goes on. Average life expectancy in Australia 83. Around the same as as North America and the UK and Europe. Japan. Life expectancy there is 85. They’re a little bit higher than us. Right. Many retirees live 20 to 30 years beyond 65. That’s putting a lot of pressure on their society as well, on their health care systems, on their social programs. Why am I telling you all this is just to give you the idea. Not just the idea, but give you the knowledge that we’re not in this alone. This is happening around the world, especially in a world that has 8 billion population and you know, so many people that are going to start to age out and continually needing social programs or family, friends to survive. Right. Do you want to be that person? Maybe you have no choice. Maybe you do with a little bit of education and some action.

[01:13:06 – 01:15:07]So literally, overall global statement, I’m going to state here, cross developed nations, the pattern is consistent, longevity is rising, savings are inadequate and only a small minority retire comfortably. Whether in North America, Europe, Europe, Australia or Asia. Majority of people face financial insecurity by age 65, underscoring the urgent need for intentional planning and mind shift. Mindset shifts. So how do we frame this again? I talked about reframing, framing the narrative. Your financial story is not written in stone. It is being written every day by the choices you make. The question is whether you are the author or whether you have allowed old beliefs and external pressures to hold in your brain. Right. Are you allowing that breaking the chain means acknowledging the past and choosing not to let it dictate your future? Living by accident is drifting. I’ve been there. Don’t like it, don’t want to ever go back. I’m glad I know enough that if I find myself drifting back into that living by accident, I know how to pull myself out. You can do it too. Living on purpose is designing, putting a design in place, creating a road map so that you can take away a lot of uncertainties. Again, there’s no promises that any of it’s going to work, but it takes away the uncertainty and gives you hope and faith for the future, when you have things in black and white and you’re consistently doing those little baby steps, you’re reframing your life, you’re budgeting your goal setting, you’re putting a little bit away to prove yourself that it’s possible you’re starting to pay down debt. Guess what? It’s all about structure. It’s all about following a road map to success. What is your timing? I don’t know. Everybody’s timing is different. Just like our lives are different, just like our fingerprints are different. We just have to start somewhere.

[01:15:09 – 01:20:14]So we’re going to get into the wrapping up of the show and hopefully this is something that you’ll find helpful. One last thing I’m going to talk about is practical tools and next steps. How many of you have ever heard of use the Define Aligned ACT framework? You can look it up to translate mindset shifts into behavior. Here’s simple little homework lesson for you. Define one clear goal. Remember we’ve been talking about this. Define one clear goal, align it with your values and identify the specific or emotion that that belief of that belief that blocks you. So there’s something that you want to define. You define that goal, you align it with your values, but you feel you’re not going to do it. I’ll do that another day. And you procrastinate. What is causing you to procrastinate? Identify that emotion, reframe it like we talked about earlier, right? Act with a small step, then you can repeat weekly, right? Talked about reframing, saving $20 just to prove to yourself that you can do it. Maybe it’s not even saving. Maybe it’s putting an extra $20 against debt that you normally would have gone and bought a fancy drink at Starbucks that costs 6, 7, 8 dollars or you grabbed a sandwich. Maybe you’ll learn to take food from home as opposed to eating out every day of the week so that you can take and have that little bit of extra money to pay down debt to save, to maybe go on a holiday. There’s so many different things that when you literally start to practice them, you’ll start feeling better about your life. Can you slip backwards? Yes. But you will learn how to address that and stop that slip from being one rung on the ladder as opposed to five, right? So while you’re doing that, continue to act with a small step that you can repeat weekly. So do something that’s gonna show you success. Don’t bite off more than you could chew initially. Start it with something that’s little. Move forward Record it down. Record your actions and review them every month to reinforce that progress and adjust as needed. Add more things as you feel more confident again. That’s why goal setting and budgeting is so important. So you can see the black and white of what you’re trying to achieve, what you have available for resources to achieve it. And even write down who who around you can help you, right? Who can help you achieve more? Can does that person have the ability to say it like it is and maybe you need to hear it that way? Maybe it’s a person that when you’re. You’re feeling troubled and you’re emotionally overloaded that will listen and give you positive, constructive advice to help you get out of that valley of despair that you’re living in, that quiet desperation. So I hope this has been helpful. I look forward to the next podcast where I’ll have another fabulous guest. And I hope this solo podcast has given you that I wonder that epiphany, that light bulb moment so that you will continue to realize that you can live life on purpose, not by accident. There are people out there that have been doing it, are continuing to do it, and that you don’t need to follow the norm of what society is living around the world. You can’t effectively change what they’re going to go through, but you can take charge. You can take ownership of your own life and work at being successful for yourself and your family, right? But knowing that the rest of the world is going through this doesn’t mean that you should just accept it. It you can make a difference in your life. So this was today’s solo episode as it started out, still at solo, just trying to give you some humor, an invitation to recognize the financial traps that keep people stuck, and encouragement to reframe their mindset. Your past does not deserve eternal loyalty. Did you hear that? Your past does not deserve eternal loyalty. What does that mean? Your learned behaviors, the things you’ve been taught, don’t deserve you to be loyal. Your life deserves you to climb and move forward. So your future deserves what it deserves you to give yourself a chance. If this episode resonated, subscribe to the podcast or hit subscribe on YouTube. Leave a reviewer rating in your favorite app Like Like Comment and share on social media. Every review and share helps amplify this message and reminds others that intentional living is possible. And remember, it’s never too late to give a heck.