Returning to the workforce after retirement is indeed a win-win situation, especially when you combine part-time work and the outdoors! However, we often think that returning to the workforce after retirement does not pay off. The idea circulates that the earnings will be used to pay taxes and contributions and will therefore not be used to improve one’s financial situation. It turns out that this is not true at all!
In fact, following a study in 2021, the Comité consultatif des travailleuses et travailleurs de 45 ans et plus has studied the question and measured what is really left in the pockets of workers according to different life paths. For example, a low-income couple with no employer-sponsored pension plan or RRSP would keep 88.3% of a $5,000 employment income or 69.8% of a $10,000 employment income. Thus, a net income of $31,953 plus $5,000 in employment income becomes a net disposable income of $36,366, while only $823 was paid in taxes and contributions. Similarly, the net income of $31,953 plus employment income of $10,000 becomes net disposable income of $38,934.
All in all, a return to the labour market, even on a part-time basis, can pay off!
To use the Government of Quebec’s Retirement Income Calculator