Hi all, welcome to my corner on the Planner. I'm Bethany, a 38-year-old mom of two, member of the CAAT Plan and a Pensionality Builder result.

In my 20’s I used to think planning for retirement was some far-off thing I didn't need to worry about anytime soon. It feels like time just sped up and now being in my late 30s, it's occurring to me that I should probably give retirement planning some more thought. I’ve been seeing the ups and downs of the economy, and I want to make sure that I’m financially secure enough in the future to handle those situations. It feels like a lot to learn at once, but I’m committing myself to getting through it slowly, piece by piece.

Life as I know it

With a lot on my plate as a working mom, my financial priorities have been all about the here and now -mostly because I don’t have a lot of extra funds to put away, and it feels like I don’t have a lot of free time to even think of it. My primary focus is on the mortgage payments, day-to-day home expenses, and additional costs that come with raising kids. In fact, long term vision hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind for a while.

How my perspective changed

But I recently attended a retirement party for a former colleague, and it got me thinking about my own retirement plans. As I heard others discussing their preparations and what they had in place, it reminded me how fortunate I am to have a job that provides a defined benefit pension, guaranteeing me lifetime retirement income and a sense of security for the future.

This security is especially important to me because my parents didn't have a pension, and that meant a lot of stress and hard work to build retirement savings on their own. They ended up working longer than they would have liked just to make enough for a comfortable retirement. With my CAAT pension I am able to easily save for retirement while still prioritizing other immediate needs. Plus, I have all these professionals managing my investments to help grow my pension without me having to do that by myself – which takes another load of my plate.

Come along on my learning journey

Attending that retirement party truly opened my eyes to how much I didn’t know about my pension and the other valuable features it offers. Now I am on a journey to learn more, and I figured there might be other members in a similar situation as me, seeking more information about their pensions. I hope my insights can help you understand the value of your pension and so you are better prepared for retirement. Let’s learn together!