The RetPloyment Roadmap

By John Klotz

The RetPloyment Roadmap
Be Retired, Be Employed, and Live Your Dream Life
In other words: Be RetPloyed, and Ultimately RetJoyed.
RetPloyment is the new Retirement!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098328641

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Copyright © 2020 by John Klotz

The RetPloyment Roadmap

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,

recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known

or invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer

who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written

for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09832-864-1

Disclaimer

Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife Karen and my two amazing children, Jeremy and Jori. Thanks for all your support in this initiative. You are all the joys of my life and you make RetPloyment something worth living for.

—John Klotz

Table of Contents

Prologue

CHAPTER 1

The Retirement Myth and the Reason for this Book

CHAPTER 2

What do RetPloyment and RetJoyment Mean?

CHAPTER 3

What do RetPloyment and RetJoyment Look Like?

CHAPTER 4

The Benefits of RetPloyment and RetJoyment

CHAPTER 5

Ten Events That Can End a RetPloyment Strategy. In Other Words: When Is It Quittin’ Time?

CHAPTER 6

Are You a Candidate for RetPloyment?

CHAPTER 7

The RetPloyment Challenge

CHAPTER 8

The 10-Step RetPloyment Roadmap

CHAPTER 9

Your RetPloyment Revenue Roadmap

CHAPTER 10

The Financial Basics: Home Sweet Home

CHAPTER 11

Earn the Right Kind of Income and the RRSP Trap

CHAPTER 12

The Life Insurance Tax Shelter

CHAPTER 13

The Corporation as a RetPloyment or RetJoyment Funder

CHAPTER 14

Top 10 Wealth Management Tips for RetPloyees and RetJoyees

CHAPTER 15

The Shark in the Water or Risk Management for RetPloyees and RetJoyees

CHAPTER 16

Estate Planning for RetPloyees and RetJoyees

CHAPTER 17

Charitable Giving and Your Legacy

Chapter 18

Top 10 Criterion for how to Choose a Financial Advisor for your RetPloyment strategy.

CHAPTER 19

Case Studies: Putting It All Together

Epilogue

Is RetPloyment For You?

About the Author

Prologue

In the pre-Covid19 days, we used to travel with friends during vacation time. On our most recent trip to Peurto Vallarta, my wife and I and our two teenaged children travelled with our good friends, Bobby and Denise, and their two teenagers. It was a great vacation because each of our kids had someone to hang out with and Karen and I really like Bobby and Denise.

A few days into our vacation, I asked Bobby how it was going as we relaxed by the pool. I couldn’t do this for too long, he claimed. Bobby is in his 50s and has a successful career as a lawyer. I’d go out of my mind. In fact, my mind would turn to mush, he continued. I’m ready to get back to work in a few days. I can only take so much of this sitting around.

Bobby likes to relax, but he will go bonkers if he slows down too much. He comes by his work ethic very honestly. His dad ran a successful dental practice and reluctantly retired at age 78. It is obvious that Bobby’s going in the same direction. With two teenaged children to raise, educate, and figure out future housing for, he feels compelled to keep on plugging away. Retiring at age 65 is not his type of thing and he loves being part of a team. His favorite jobs have been as in-house counsel where he is part of all the decision making. He has an active mind that will only get more curious as time goes on.

If you ask Bobby about retirement, he will tell you that he’ll do it someday. But it will not be to sit on a beach chair and watch the waves go by. He will need to do something. To me, Bobby is the person this book was written for—namely, he is going to always want to be doing something. He needs a challenge and it better be a good one. He gets paid well in his profession and he just might want to continue squeezing it out for as long as possible. You see, Bobby is going to be RetPloyed. He just doesn’t know it yet.

CHAPTER 1

The Retirement Myth and the Reason for this Book

As Canadians, we have been told that the reward for a successful career is a happy retirement. It means no work, no stress, lots of travel, and lots of time with family. We have seen all sorts of advertisements with smiling couples going off into the sunset together, happily retired. And some people are satisfied with this concept of retirement. But for many, it is a complete letdown on many levels, both financially and emotionally. When asked about how retirement feels, many will say it is empty, boring, unfulfilling, and just downright lonely. In the words of Kathryn, one of my clients, Retirement sucks. Her kids have grown up, the business has dwindled, and she has nothing to do. Although it seemed like a great idea when it was a far off dream, retirement sucks.

Here is the bottom line: we’ve been sold a bill of goods with retirement. It is not Nirvana. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is all the things Kathryn said it is. The majority of financial planners talk about having seven figures in your RRSPs and TFSAs like that’s the magical answer to all your retirement issues. They just don’t get it. Everyone is talking dollars and not sense, as in common sense.

When you hit age 50, people start asking when are you going to retire? Frankly, the idea of retiring absolutely terrifies most people and conjures up nightmare images: hanging around in pyjamas until noon, changing into polyester pants, having lunch, playing a round of golf, eating dinner at 4:30 p.m., then watching TV until bedtime at 8:30 or 9:00 pm.

It’s a horror show. No structure, no purpose, no engagement—all the things many people love about work.

So what’s the problem with traditional retirement?

Retirement is an old-fashioned concept based on working hard your entire life, with the end goal of not working at all. You work until age 65 and then do a hard stop. For past generations, retired life meant finding hobbies, spending time with grandchildren, doing a little bit of travel, and then ultimately getting old and kicking the bucket. People bought into this concept as their ultimate life goal. It’s common to hear people say, I can hardly wait to retire

For many, this traditional type of retirement is unfulfilling and the equivalent of social poverty. Numerous studies have shown that retirement is lonely, socially isolating, displacing, and often the equivalent to a waiting line for the ultimate end: death. And with the rising of cost of living, many people are worried about having enough money to traditionally retire.

According to Bob Dylan, The times they are a changing’. People are looking for a more fulfilling solution that offers the financial and emotional benefits of combining work and retirement. This book will make you reconsider your whole retirement strategy by providing both personal and financial gain.

Why give up work when you enjoy it?

Work provides the structure and engagement that people need and enjoy. Why does getting older have to mean losing those things? The idea of structureless, workless, unengaged retirement does not appeal to anyone who enjoys working.

On a personal note, I love being a financial advisor. It’s fun, it’s intimate, and it’s extremely rewarding. It’s very satisfying to help people achieve their financial goals and to be a part of the process. Why does hitting a certain age mean that our careers have to end? Why does getting older have to mean losing the lifestyle we enjoy?

While reading the obituaries, I noticed there was a psychiatrist who loved his work so much that he was seeing clients up to 6 months before his tragic end at 94. He was shot by a jealous lover. Ok, maybe I embellished on his violent demise (he died in his sleep), but clearly, this is guy was not in it for the money!

More people are working longer. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 15 per cent of Canadians 65 years and older are still in the workforce, compared to around six per cent 20 years ago—and their entrepreneurial spirits are strong¹.

And what about the perpetual learners out there? Does 65 mean the end your learning and just point you to the Mah-jong table or the monotonous senior-focused cruise ships? Shuffleboard, anyone?

So, what’s my point? My point is that we’re being defined by age as opposed to who we wish to be.

What if you want to work because you enjoy it? Why would you ever quit? Yes, perhaps it would be nice to slow down a