The Stress No One Talks About in Retirement

Retirement is supposed to feel like freedom.

Yay, no meetings!

Yay, no deadlines!

Yay, no alarm clocks!

But for many Canadians, the stress doesn’t disappear.

It just changes shape.

The Stress You Didn’t See Coming

Before retirement, stress is easy to identify.

Work. Deadlines. Constant demands.

But when that all goes quiet, or is about to, something else takes its place:

Uncertainty.

On a recent episode of More Than Money, Dave Popowich explained that retirement is “one of the biggest transitions people go through.”

And like any major transition, it comes with a sense of vulnerability.

Because in retirement, the structure that once guided your days, your income, and your decisions disappears.

Like Leanna mentioned:

“All of that uncertainty feels like a loss of control and that’s scary for people.”

What once felt predictable now feels open-ended.

And that openness isn’t always freeing.

What Are You Retiring To?

As Dave put it on the show:

“Everybody’s clear on what they’re retiring from. Very few have a good idea of what they’re retiring to.”

That’s where the tension begins.

You go from filling eight or more hours a day with work…

to suddenly having to decide what those eight hours now look like.

And the question becomes:

“Well, what now?”

Where This Stress Shows Up

It doesn’t always look like stress.

Sometimes it shows up as:

• Feeling unsettled without knowing why

• Tension in relationships as routines shift

• Small decisions feeling bigger than they should

• Checking your portfolio more often than you need to

On the show, this was framed as a loss of control.

When structure disappears, people look for control wherever they can find it.

But as Dave pointed out:

“Is it really control if you’re just checking your portfolio every day?”

That’s reacting, not controlling.

And when you go into react mode, you tend to make the wrong decisions. 

The Bridge Between Stress and Freedom

So how do you move from uncertainty to confidence?

On the show, Dave put it simply:

“The bridge between uncertainty and freedom is conscious choice.”

Not drifting into retirement.

But deciding intentionally means asking:

• How do I want my days to look?

• Who do I want to spend my time with?

• What actually matters in this next phase of life?

As Leanna put it:“One of the things that are quite challenging for people is to envision exactly what their retirement is going to look like on a day-to-day basis.”

Because when those decisions are made with purpose, something changes.

Uncertainty starts to shrink.

And control starts to return.

A Different Way to Think About Retirement

Your past doesn’t define you. 

And retirement can be about building what comes next. 

Because without direction, freedom can feel like pressure.

But with a clear sense of purpose and a plan to support it, 

retirement can finally feel like freedom again.

At PKAG we can give you a second opinion on your plan.  

Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have. 

You can also book a meeting with us and we can go over it in person. 

We also have free, no-obligation seminars where we'll discuss the tax implications on your retirement plans and answer any questions you might have. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

This commentary is intended to provide general information and should not be construed as tax, legal,  financial, or other advice. Individual circumstances and current events are critical to sound planning; anyone wishing to act on the information presented should consult with his or her tax, legal or financial advisor.

This information, including any opinion, is based on various sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed and is subject to change. 

David Popowich,  Faisal Karmali, Leanna Wachniak, Robert Gerrie are Investment Advisors with CIBC Wood Gundy in Calgary. The views of David Popowich, Faisal Karmali, Leanna Wachniak, Robert Gerrie do not necessarily reflect those of CIBC World Markets Inc. 

CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries, including CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc.