Grey-Bruce Boomers Spring 2024

A FREE magazine for adults 50+
SPRING 2024 — Volume 11, Issue 1
BUCKET LIST
THE NIGHT GUY
Came to Town
Play honours Lombardo’s
performance in Southampton
FINANCE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
GENERATING
CASH FLOW
in retirement
SLEEP APNEA
Recognize the signs for a better sleep
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ah... spring! Although you may be reading this in March, while technically
spring in Grey/Bruce, it often doesn’t feel like it, but rest assured those
longer, brighter days are ahead of us.
It is often said that spring is a time of renewal, coming out of months of
cold, dark days but I always liken spring to a ‘New, new year’ – when plans
are being made for the year ahead. There’s outside projects to take prepare
for, which seem to multiply under the snow, summer vacations to plan, new
activities to sign up for (don’t forget that early registration!) and an overall
sense of feeling hopeful, ambitious and somewhat alive again that coincides
with the reappearance of the sun, grass and birds.
CONTENTS
Sleep apnea • 4
Bucket List • 8
Raising grandkids • 14
Cash flow in retirement • 18
Amazing Alaska • 24
Recipe • 30
I’m thrilled to share that this is our 10 th year of publishing Grey-Bruce
Boomers, with our anniversary at the end of this year, and I couldn’t
be prouder that we have made it this far. I’m always grateful for our
advertisers, writers and readers who keep showing up each issue to
allow us to provide the only publication for adults 50+ in Grey/Bruce.
In this issue, we have something of interest for everyone! Doug Archer
writes an interesting Bucket List feature about a local playwright who based
her first play on the history uncovered at her Southampton cottage, while
Jill Ellis-Worthington takes us on a trip to Alaska. Ontario Home Health
has an informative article about sleep apnea and the Rural Response team
writes about the rising occurrence of grandparents raising grandchildren.
Finally, Christine Wiedman shares her expertise
about creating cash flow in retirement.
Thank you for reading and happy spring!
Amy Irwin, Publisher
Grey-Bruce Boomers
SPRING 2024
Publisher
Amy Irwin
amy@greybruceboomers.com
Magazine Design
Becky Grebenjak
Advertising inquiries
Amy Irwin
amy@greybruceboomers.com
Grey-Bruce Boomers welcomes
your feedback.
EMAIL
amy@greybruceboomers.com
PHONE 519-524-0101
MAIL
P.O. Box 287, Ripley, ON N0G 2R0
Grey-Bruce Boomers is distributed for free in Grey and Bruce
counties, and is published each March, June, September, and
December. Distribution of this publication does not constitute
endorsement of information, products or services by Grey-Bruce
Boomers, its writers or advertisers. Viewpoints of contributors and
advertisers are not necessarily those of the Publisher. Grey-Bruce
Boomers reserves the right to edit, reject or comment on all material
and advertising contributed. No portion of Grey-Bruce Boomers may
be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS
SLEEP
APNEA
RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS AND TAKING ACTION
BY TRACY GEORGE
4 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Tracy George
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Sleep apnea is a common, yet often undiagnosed, sleep
disorder that can have serious health implications if left
untreated. It’s crucial to recognize the signs and symptoms
and take appropriate action.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to identify if you have sleep
apnea and what steps to take if you suspect you may be
affected.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by interrupted
breathing during sleep. There are two primary types of
sleep apnea – Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which is the
most common type. It occurs when the throat muscles relax
excessively, obstructing the airway during sleep. The other
type is Central Sleep Apnea, which is less common and results
from a failure of the brain to send the proper signals to the
muscles responsible for controlling breathing.
SPRING 2024 • 5

HEALTH AND WELLNESS
by Tracy George
Recognize the signs
Identifying the symptoms of sleep apnea is the
first step toward diagnosis and treatment. Here are
common signs to look out for:
Loud and persistent snoring. If you or your
sleep partner snores loudly and frequently, especially
with intermittent pauses in breathing, it may be a
sign of sleep apnea.
Frequent awakening. If you find yourself waking
up gasping for breath or experiencing a choking
sensation during the night, this could be indicative
of sleep apnea.
Excessive daytime fatigue. One of the hallmark
signs of sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness,
even after a full night’s sleep.
Morning headaches. Waking up with frequent
morning headaches, especially if they are severe,
may be related to sleep apnea.
Difficulty concentrating. Poor focus and
difficulty concentrating on tasks can result from sleep
deprivation caused by untreated sleep apnea.
High blood pressure. Sleep apnea is linked to
hypertension and cardiovascular problems, so if
you have high blood pressure, consider it a potential
risk factor.
Suspect sleep apnea?
If you recognize the signs of sleep apnea in yourself
or a loved one, it’s essential to take action promptly.
Here are the steps to follow:
Consult a health care professional. The first
step is to discuss your symptoms with a health care
provider, ideally a sleep specialist or pulmonologist.
You will need to discuss with your family doctor to
get a referral.
Undergo a sleep study. This will monitor your
sleep patterns, breathing, and other essential
parameters to confirm the diagnosis.
6 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Tracy George
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Explore treatment options. If diagnosed with
sleep apnea, your health care provider will discuss
treatment options. Common approaches include
lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and positional
therapy, and the use of Positive Airway Pressure
(PAP/CPAP) device.
quality of life, reduce the risks associated with sleep
apnea, and regain restful, uninterrupted sleep.
Tracy George is a Sleep Therapy Manager at Ontario Home
Health. For more information, call 1-800-661-1912, visit
www.OntarioHomeHealth.ca, or visit one of their six locations.
Compliance and follow-up. If prescribed PAP or
other treatments, it’s crucial to use them consistently
and attend follow-up appointments to monitor
progress and make necessary adjustments.
Recognizing the signs of sleep apnea and seeking
treatment is vital for your overall health and wellbeing.
By taking these steps, you can improve your
Learn how we make clean energy and medical
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SPRING 2024 • 7

The Night Guy
THE BUCKET LIST
Came to Town
STEVIE VALLANCE’S FIRST PLAY TELLS STORY OF
GUY LOMBARDO’S 1935 PERFORMANCE IN SOUTHAMPTON
BY DOUG ARCHER
Stevie Vallance didn’t set out to write a
musical revue about the night iconic
Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo
performed with his orchestra at a dance
pavilion in Southampton back in the 1930s,
but once she learned this did indeed happen,
she knew the story had to be told.
It all started with a door frame.
An accomplished actress from the age of 11,
Stevie spent a career moving between Toronto
and Los Angeles, appearing in movies and
TV series such as Three Men and a Baby, Road
to Avonlea, Knot’s Landing, The Ropers, and Night
Heat. She even won a Daytime Emmy for her
work on Disney’s animated series Madeline.
When she retired several years ago, it was
the small town of Southampton that called
to her.
“It’s not Mendocino or Carmel-by-the-Sea,”
she laughed, “but Southampton has always
pulled at my heart strings. My Dad purchased
8 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
our family cottage that I now live in back in 1972 and
I have wonderful memories of spending summers here
with my family. It’s my Brigadoon!”
Of course, her Brigadoon needed some work. So,
during the first COVID lockdown in 2020, Stevie began
renovating the family-cottage-turned-home. Crowbar
in hand, she pried the top piece of a door frame loose
and discovered something interesting. Scrawled across
the underside of the framing was a signature – Mrs.
Eliza Knowles.
“I had no idea who Eliza was, so I sent a photo of the
mysterious inscription to the Town of Saugeen Shores
Municipal Heritage Committee,” Stevie said. “They
got back to me with the fascinating story of the Knowles
family.”
The Knowles family (Rene, Irene, Eliza,
Arlene, William Jr.) in front of Parkside.
Credited with bringing tourism to Southampton, Eliza
and her husband William built the Parkside Hotel &
Resort and later they built almost 20 cottage rentals –
including the first house, where Stevie now resides – on
the shore of Lake Huron in the late-1800s and the first
half of the 20th Century. When William died in 1918,
Eliza pushed on, running the resort with the help of her
children, while also expanding it, eventually building a
dance pavilion and bringing famous big bands to this
area to entertain locals and visitors alike.
When she dug a bit deeper into the Knowles family
history, Stevie learned that Arlene Letheran (née
Knowles), Eliza’s granddaughter, was still alive. So she
reached out to her.
“Arlene was 92 at the time and a few minutes after
our meeting, she was telling me how after World War
1, her grandmother and her father had brought Guy
Lombardo to Southampton to perform in the Dance
Pavilion they built.”
And that’s when the idea for the play, The Night Guy Came
to Town, was born.
“It’s a story about a colourful period in Southampton’s
Backstage with the “Knowles family”
(actors Marcia Cunningham, Matt Evans,
Stevie Vallance, and Natalie Robataille).
SPRING 2024 • 9

THE BUCKET LIST
by Doug Archer
Stevie Vallance
history during the Great Depression,” Stevie
recounted. “About Eliza Knowles and her family and
how they brought big band music to this area during
the Depression so that people could forget their
worries for a night and just dance. It was a time
not unlike our own where people are unsure about
the future and it tells how the community all came
together to produce this incredibly uplifting event in
spite of all.”
“Having Guy and his orchestra show up in the small
town of Southampton in the middle of the Great
Depression was a really big deal!”
A native of London, Ont., violinist and bandleader
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians orchestra
in the early-1920s with his brother Carmen. Known
for playing the “sweetest music this side of heaven,”
the Royal Canadians became the top dance band in
North America. They played inaugural balls at the
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10 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
White House and are responsible for making Auld
Lang Syne the definitive song of New Year’s Eve.
Excited to get underway, Stevie pitched the idea to
Charlie Bell, co-founder of the Canadian Big Band
Celebration held annually in Saugeen Shores and
a bandleader himself, who she thought might be
interested in the project.
“I barely got the concept for a musical revue based on
Guy’s visit to Southampton out of my mouth, before
Charlie was all in,” Stevie said. “His immediate
reaction was, ‘We’ll kick off the 2023 Canadian Big
Band Celebration with it!’ Then in his next breath,
he committed to looking after the music!”
Now all Stevie had to do was write the play.
“I have never thought of myself as a writer,” Stevie
confessed. “Even though I have developed several
outlines for movie and TV show pitches, designed
exercises for animation acting workshops I created,
and, from the ages of 15 to 50, written every day in a
SPRING 2024 • 11

THE BUCKET LIST
by Doug Archer
Left: When Stevie Vallance began renovating
her home, she found Eliza Knowles' name on
a piece of trim, which led her down a road
that led to The Night Guy Came to Town.
Above: The Dance Pavilion in Southampton,
courtesy Bruce County Museum.
journal, I still consider the script for ‘Guy’ to be my
first time working as a ‘for-real’ writer. I had to think
about formatting lines of dialogue into skits; about
scene entrances and exits; about musical cues, and
overall timing… it was a significant undertaking.”
But she persevered and the end result was a book
of scripted pages – now registered with the Writer’s
Guild of America – which guides actors, musicians
and stage managers through the telling of The
Night Guy Came to Town.
“My dad was a writer,” she said with a wistful smile,
remembering her late father. “I think he would have
been proud of my first scripted play.”
Of course, no significant piece of writing is
documented in isolation so Stevie worked with local
historian Bill Streeter to research the Knowles family,
the dance pavilion that Eliza built, and the history of
Southampton in the early-1900s. Although they tried,
the pair were not able to establish the actual date
that Guy came to town – no ticket stubs remain of
that famous night – but based on local stories passed
down through generations, and newspaper articles
they discovered in the Bruce County Archives, they
settled on the date Aug. 1, 1935.
“The specific date doesn’t really matter. The Night
Guy Came to Town seeks to recapture the life and
feeling of a ‘dance night’ in Southampton back in
the mid-30s.”
To help recapture that feeling, Stevie needed 14 cast
members – a tall order. Undaunted, she reached out
to the local acting community and was overwhelmed
by the response. Actors from The Roxy Theatre in
Owen Sound jumped on board, including awardwinning
Matthew Evans, who played Eliza’s son
Biscuit, who helped his mother bring Lombardo to
town. Grammy-nominated jazz violinist and vocalist
Drew Jurecka stepped into the role of the big band
12 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
leader, while Stevie took to the stage as Eliza Knowles.
It didn’t stop there. With Bill’s help, Stevie tracked
down 20 descendants, whose actual grandparents or
great-grandparents would have been at Guy’s dance
in the ’30s. She then met with each of them to see if
they would be interested in playing their ancestors in
the play. Six of them said they would.
“Support just fell into place, without me even pushing
it that much,” Stevie said. “People just wanted to get
involved, and not just in the acting roles either. The
local Canadian big band musicians all stepped up
to portray actual musicians in the Royal Canadians;
people volunteered for stage management and
marketing; and wardrobe was donated by The Roxy.
It was like the story had a life of its own!”
With the cast in place, the rehearsals began. Under
Stevie’s direction, the actors memorized monologues
they would use to introduce themselves in the play.
They studied ‘character dossiers’ and ‘research packs’
that Stevie and Bill had prepared, so that every cast
member not only knew the character they were
playing, but they also had an understanding of what
was going on locally and around the world in 1935.
Most importantly, Stevie held classes for those cast
members new to acting to help them find a voice for
their role, to teach them how to stay in character, and
in addition, because the play involved live interaction
with the audience, to give them a crash course on
improvisation.
“The Night Guy Came to Town is set at a big social dance,
not unlike a speakeasy, so I wanted the cast not only
to interact with each other, but with the audience as
well,” Stevie explained. “To prepare them, I would
toss out random questions, or describe situations, and
tell them to respond in character. I even taught them
slang from back in the ’30s so that when they spoke
they would sound authentic. Words and phrases like
‘swell,’ ‘shake a leg,’ and ‘buck up,’ which means be
cheery,” she laughed. “It got pretty hilarious at times,
but they all rose to the challenge.”
In the end, without any dress rehearsal, and with
only one complete run through of the play, without
the entire cast and band present, The Night Guy
Came to Town held its triumphant opening night at
Southampton Town Hall on Sept. 14, 2023, with a
full house in attendance, “who by the way, all came
dressed in 1930’s garb!” Stevie boasts. The actors
stayed true to their Southampton roles, and mingled
with the audience, answered questions about local
life during the ’30s, and, most especially, they all
danced their hearts out to the music of the Royal
Canadians.
Under the guidance of Charlie Bell, the band
performed 16 big band arrangements obtained from
Lombardo descendant, Gina Lombardo.
“The music was incredible,” Stevie said. “It mimicked
exactly the way Guy and his band would have
performed back then and the musicians each played
a member of the Royal Canadians! They dyed their
hair, wore outfits from the 1930s, and even mingled
with the audience during intermission. Some of
them were having so much fun, it was difficult to get
them back on stage for the second act!”
Stevie couldn’t have been more pleased with – and
humbled by – the success of her first play.
“A talented and dedicated group of people all came
together to tell the story of Eliza Knowles and her
family – and the night they brought North America’s
greatest big band to Southampton,” she said. “And
when it was done, the audience left feeling ‘swell.’ I
feel honoured to have been part of such a magical
event.”
Doug Archer is a local writer who enjoys celebrating the multifaceted
lives of the 50-plus generation. He is also the author of
three locally set mystery-adventure novels. Learn more at www.
coldcasekids.com or email archer@bmts.com.
SPRING 2024 • 13

COMMUNITY
Grandparents
raising grandkids
THERE ARE OVER 32,000 ‘SKIP-GENERATION FAMILIES’ IN CANADA
BY JILL ROBERTSON

y Jill Robertson
There are many situations in life that can lead
to grandparents taking over the primary
caregiving of their grandchildren. There are many
terms for it, including “skip-generation families,”
“grand-families,” or “kinship care,” but in essence,
it is a circumstance where grandparents take on the
parenting role for their grandchildren.
According to the 2016 Canadian Census, there are
over 32,000 such families in Canada, and that number
has continued to rise over the years. It is important
to mention that these grandparents are typically also
living in a “sandwich generation,” meaning they are
raising their grandchildren, and possibly their own
children, while also supporting their aging parents
or relatives. The care they provide for their family
members, young or aging, requires a multitude of
capacity, ability, and resources.
Grandparent primary caregivers do not get
the opportunity to have a typical grandparent
relationship with their grandchildren. They do
not get to be an exciting place for grandchildren
to come for a weekend, to be spoiled with treats
and fun activities. Rather, they are tasked with
the tougher aspects of the caregiving role, such as
potty training, assigning chores, and making sure
vegetables are eaten. They don’t have the option of
sending children back home after a short, fun-filled
visit.
Grandparent caregiving is for the long haul and
includes both the good moments and the tough ones.
For many of these folks, this also means their
retirement plans must change. Though many
have reached the point in life where they wished
to downsize their home, travel more, and join local
clubs, not all of this is possible when they have had
to shift back into a parenting role. This was true for
Adrienne and her husband, who are raising their
grandchild.
“In our retirement years, the challenge of raising
our grandchild means that we have had to rearrange
our home, our time, our energy, our finances, and
our mindset to provide a stable, loving family home
that is safe from trauma, neglect, abuse and lack of
provisions that my grandchild has experienced,”
Adrienne said.
There are many reasons parents may be unable to
care for their children and have passed that role to
their own parents. Some examples include substance
misuse, child maltreatment, parenting capacity,
financial strain, housing, illness, mental health issues,
incarceration, military service, teenage pregnancy,
or sometimes even the death of the parent. In most
of these cases, the care is being passed due to a
significant loss or big change in the grandchildren’s
lives. Therefore, these grandparents are in the
position not only of providing care, but potentially
also grief or trauma support. This comes at a time
when they are most likely experiencing their own
grief or trauma. This can be a rewarding role but
also a heavy burden.
In order to meet the challenges of becoming a
SPRING 2024 • 15

COMMUNITY
primary caregiver to grandchildren, support for
these families is essential.
“My advice to grandparents raising their
grandchildren is to ask for help!” Adrienne said.
“Doctors, dentists, teachers, and professionals who
deal with children can all assist and offer help,
and you can be guided through the transition. It is
overwhelming to try to do it on your own. These kids
have separation anxiety, anger, confusion, and a lot
of issues they are dealing with, and they are going to
need lots of support. So will you!”
For grandparent caregivers, self-care is very
important. Each family circumstance is different,
but for many grandparent caregivers, their role
is complicated by their own difficult emotions. It
is essential that grandparent caregivers prioritize
their own health and well-being to be the healthy,
regulated, safe adults that their grandchildren
need them to be. The old saying about ‘putting on
your own oxygen mask first,’ before you can assist
someone else is very much true in these situations,
but this is often easier said than done.
Some key components to health and well-being for
these families include connecting with others in the
community, exercising and eating well, and taking
time to rest. Speaking with a counsellor or mental
health professional to navigate their experience is
also essential for many grandparent caregivers to
maintain their well-being.
Finding a group of other families experiencing similar
circumstances is a significant source of support
for many grandparent-led families. Adrienne is a
member of Rural Response for Healthy Children’s
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Peer Support
Group, which serves Huron and Perth counties.
Through her peer support group, Adrienne was
connected to additional resources in the community.
“We became part of the group to get information
about what services, agencies and counseling are
available for both us and for my grandchild. It
turns out there are a lot of resources within our
community, and we have been able to use many of
these. The support of talking to other grandparents
and listening to their stories is so important, and it
makes you realize you are not alone and, although
this is a fairly unique situation, there are many of us
in it together.”
Connecting with a group of families in similar
circumstances is also beneficial for the grandchildren.
It provides an opportunity to be together and socialize
with other children who are also raised by their
grandparents. Their unique family circumstances
may make them feel different from a lot of their
friends at school, but in a shared group the children
are able to meet other families like theirs.
Another benefit Adrienne has experienced through
her peer support group is the opportunity to learn
new ways to be a caregiver for her grandchild.
“We are in a unique position of raising children for
a second time, and times have changed. We needed
to update ourselves with how to handle behaviours,
how to motivate and bring confidence out in children,
and how to cope with their specific issues effectively.”
Grandparent caregiving is a challenging role that
no grandparent hopes to find themselves. It is a
circumstance that often occurs on the heels of a
family tragedy and requires a great deal of personal
sacrifice. It places enormous strain on grandparents,
many of whom are unprepared for the financial and
emotional toll of taking on a parenting role again.
For many families, however, it is also a healing
experience, and an opportunity to provide a safe and
loving home for the next generation. This has been
the case for Adrienne and her husband.
“We feel so blessed to have her with us. Knowing we
can provide excellent care, schooling, proper health
16 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Jill Robertson
care and all the comforts of a happy home brings us
peace and great relief.”
For more information about Rural Response
for Healthy Children’s Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren Peer Support Group, visit www.rrhc.
on.ca/grandparentsraisinggrandchildren.
Jill Robertson has a Master’s of Education from D’Youville
College and has been a Parent Support Worker at Rural
Response for Healthy Children since 2010. Through her work
at RRHC, her focus has been on supporting and educating
families, grandparents, and children in our community through
programs such as Grandparents Raising Grandchildren,
Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Group, and Circle of Security. Jill
also enjoys walking her dog, being active, creating new recipes
in the kitchen, and spending time with her family.
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SPRING 2024 • 17

FINANCE
GENERATING
CASH FLOW
in retirement
TOO OFTEN, FINANCIAL ADVICE ONLY
FOCUSES ON SAVING MONEY
BY CHRISTINE WIEDMAN
18 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Christine Wiedman
Throughout your career you were advised to save
for your retirement, so you did. You opened
a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and
later a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). The
government also required you to make contributions
to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) each paycheque.
You may have contributed to a company pension
plan, and saved money in a non-registered account
like a brokerage account through your bank. You
became a very good saver. Perhaps you had a goal
in mind for how much you needed to save for
retirement, although you likely wondered if that goal
was enough.
Now you have retired, and that’s great! You no
longer have to save and now you can start spending
those hard-earned dollars. Life is good, right? Yet, at
the same time you’ve found freedom, your financial
life becomes much more complicated. You have to
shift from automatically receiving a paycheque to
creating a cashflow management plan to meet your
needs. You have entered a whole new territory of
personal finance.
FINANCE
The cash flow you generate in retirement will likely
not come from one source, such as a paycheque.
Instead, you will be managing multiple sources of
potential cashflow. Some of these sources already
come in the form of a periodic payment, like
government benefits – CPP, Old Age Security (OAS)
and possibly the Guaranteed Income Supplement
(GIS) for low-income Canadians – or a workplacedefined
benefit pension. A big advantage of
government benefits and many company pensions is
that they are indexed to inflation, so you don’t have
to worry about the purchasing power of your money
eroding over time. The remainder of your cash flow
will come from your assets, including equities and
fixed income securities saved in your registered and
non-registered accounts. But how do you convert
these assets into cashflow?
Meet “Phil and Prya”
Take Phil and Prya (not real people) as an
SPRING 2024 • 19

FINANCE
by Christine Wiedman
example. They are both 65 and have just retired.
Phil contributed the maximum amount to CPP
throughout his career, and is therefore entitled to the
maximum benefit of $15,679 per year. He decides
to start taking CPP right away. Prya did not earn as
much as Phil so she is entitled to $7,840 per year. 1
She was employed by the government for part of
her career, and is entitled to government pension of
$12,000 per year. If we assume that neither will have
income exceeding $81,761 (2022) thereby avoiding
OAS claw-backs, and have both lived in Canada
their entire working lives, they will each be entitled to
the maximum OAS of $8,383 per year. This brings
their total pre-tax income to $52,285. All of these
amounts are indexed to inflation and therefore will
increase over time.
Cash flow needs and pre-tax income
Where should Phil and Prya go from here? First,
they need to know how much they will likely spend
each year. A detailed review of their spending in the
past year could help them estimate their cashflow
needs. Let’s assume they will need about $70,000 of
after-tax cashflow in their first year of retirement.
Assuming each pays taxes of about 15 per cent,
this translates to about $82,000 of required pre-tax
income. 2
“Pensionizing” your assets
The good news is that over 60 per cent of their
cashflow needs will come from guaranteed payments
that are indexed to inflation. However, they still need
to generate about $30,000 per year to meet their
retirement spending goals. To do this, they will have
to convert their existing assets into cash flow. Authors
Moshe Milevsky and Alexandra Macqueen coined
the term to “pensionize” your nest egg to describe
the problem, and defined it as converting money
into income you can’t outlive; and creating your own
personal pension, a monthly income that lasts for the
rest of your life. 3
Assets can include savings accounts, Guaranteed
Investment Certificates (GICs), corporate and
government bonds, individual stocks, mutual funds,
and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). 4 They may
be accumulated in your TFSA, which is exempt
from tax, in tax-deferred vehicles like your RRSP
or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), in
workplace-defined contribution plans, or in nonregistered
accounts like a brokerage account.
So how do you convert these assets into a regular
cash flow? Let’s assume that Phil has a workplace
defined contribution pension of $240,000 and
$220,000 accumulated in his RRSP, while Prya has
$120,000 accumulated in her RRSP. They each have
$50,000 in TFSAs. They also have $80,000 invested
in a joint brokerage account and $25,000 in their
joint chequing account.
Risks
There are several risks that come with turning assets
into cash flow in retirement. The first is longevity
risk – this is the risk that you will run out of money
before you die. While the average life expectancy at
age 65 is about 20 years, a glance at the obituary
section of the newspaper confirms that you could
live well into your 90s. 5 Without knowing your life
expectancy, you don’t know how long your money
will need to last. Other challenges include stock
market volatility, especially large market declines
early in your retirement that erode your capital base;
and, inflation, which erodes the purchasing power of
the cash flow you do receive. There is also legacy risk
– the risk that you leave nothing to your beneficiaries
after you die.
Withdrawal rates
So how do you convert a pool of assets into cashflow?
One way is to withdraw a steady amount of cash
each year from your different accounts, something
financial planners refer to as a sustainable withdrawal
rate. You may have heard about the four per cent
20 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Christine Wiedman
FINANCE
rule – you can withdraw four per cent of your
assets annually from your portfolio each year and
still be reasonably certain that you won’t run out of
money during your lifetime. The rule was originally
determined by William Bengen in 1994. 6 He found
that a four per cent withdrawal rate was successful
over any 30-year period dating back to 1926. This
suggests that a retiree could withdraw $40,000 from
a $1 million portfolio and increase that amount every
year by inflation and never run out of money.
Subsequent research has shown that the withdrawal
rate depends on your retirement planning horizon
(higher withdrawal rates for shorter horizons); your
portfolio mix of stocks versus bonds (bonds provide
certainty but stocks provide more upside potential);
and inflation levels (lower withdrawal rates for higher
inflation). For example, researchers found that a
withdrawal rate of four per cent on an inflationadjusted
50/50 portfolio had 100 per cent chance
of success over a 25-year horizon, whereas a five per
cent rate had an 80 per cent chance. 7
Let’s assume that Phil and Prya feel comfortable with
a four per cent withdrawal rate. Phil withdraws four
per cent of his RRSP and his workplace pension, Prya
withdraws the same from her RRSP, and they withdraw
four per cent of their non-registered brokerage account.
They decide to keep the money in their TFSAs as a
financial cushion. This strategy will provide them
with an additional $26,400 of cash flow in their first
year of retirement. Most of this will be fully taxable,
but the tax implications of the withdrawal from their
brokerage account will depend on capital gains that
have accumulated in that account. Their total income is
$78,685, a few thousand below their target of $82,000.
Dealing with a shortfall
How should they deal with this shortfall? They need
SPRING 2024 • 21

FINANCE
by Christine Wiedman
to either generate more cashflow or spend less. They
might consider working part-time during retirement
or starting a side-hustle to generate some additional
cash flow, at least in the early stages of retirement.
Alternatively, they could withdraw money more
aggressively, say at a withdrawal rate of 4.5 per cent.
While this would introduce the chance of them
running out of money, they may be willing to take
this risk, especially if they expect their expenses to
drop over time when they become less active. If they
own a home, they could later downsize or move to
a less expensive location, thereby freeing up equity.
Alternatively, they may decide to cut down on their
expenses, perhaps dropping to one car, eating out
less, or cutting their travel budget.
Annuities and other insurance products
A different approach to deal with longevity risk is
to purchase an annuity from an insurance company.
For a fixed upfront amount of money, you receive
a fixed monthly amount until you die. A joint
annuity will continue to pay the monthly amount
to your surviving spouse until they die. The amount
you receive depends on prevailing interest rates, so
annuities have only recently been drawing attention
once again as a viable investment option as interest
rates have climbed. The amount the annuity
pays will likely be higher than the four per cent
withdrawal rate. For example, in September 2023,
a $100,000 annuity for a 65-year-old man with a
10-year guarantee would pay approximately $575
per month, or $6,900 per year until their death. 8
Note that a joint annuity paying 60 per cent to the
surviving spouse would pay less.
The longer you live, the greater the advantage of
the annuity. Also, you don’t have to worry about
the volatility of the market because you will always
receive a fixed amount. However, a fixed annuity
does come with costs. First, you immediately lose
liquidity because the $100,000 upfront investment is
no longer yours to invest. Further, while this option
provides you with a stable cash flow over your lifetime,
the amount you receive each month is typically not
adjusted for inflation. There is also no benefit left to
your beneficiaries when you die.
Other alternatives offered by insurance companies
include inflation-adjusted annuities and segregated
funds (also known as seg funds), which are both an
investment and a life insurance product, typically
offering to guarantee 75 per cent to 100 per cent
of your principal, but charging higher fees than
mutual funds.
The plan
In the end, Phil and Prya decide to use $100,000 of
Phil’s RRSP to purchase a joint annuity that provides
$6,500 (or 6.5 per cent) per year. This brings their
total before-tax income to $81,585, very close to their
target of $82,000, providing them with a balance of
security from fixed payments and upside potential
from market investments (chart at right).
Phil and Prya – Pre-tax income estimate
Before finalizing their plan, Phil and Prya decide
to consult their financial planner to review their
investments to ensure they are suitable for their
goals and stage of life; to consider the possibility
of deferring CPP to increase annual benefits; to
discuss the topic of asset location to minimize taxes;
and to consider the impact of future minimum
RRIF withdrawals on their plans. Finally, they plan
to review their spending in more detail to look for
potential savings.
Generating cash flow from your assets represents one
of the biggest financial challenges in retirement. Be
sure to educate yourself about the issues and options
available and consider consulting with a trusted
accountant or financial planner to develop a detailed
plan that works for your specific situation. You have
worked hard to save money and deserve to peace of
mind in your retirement.
22 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Christine Wiedman
FINANCE
Footnotes
See the Government of Canada website for more details of how much
you can expect to receive from CPP: https://shorturl.at/jvzK3. Note that
CPP entitlements increase each year you defer them after age 65, rising to
a maximum of 42% more at age 70. Conversely, entitlements decrease
7.2% per year before 65, to 36% less at age 60.
2 There are a number of online tax calculators available to estimate your
taxes for a given level of income. For example, see the TurboTax tax
calculator at https://shorturl.at/myMRV.
3 Moshe A. Milevsky and Alexandra C. Macqueen. Pensionize your Nest
Egg: How to use Product Allocation to Create Guaranteed Income for Life.
2010. John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., Mississauga, ON.
4 Assets could also include real estate that could generate income through
rental income or capital gains (or losses) if sold.
5 https://shorturl.at/epqWX
6 Bengen, William P. 1994. “Determining withdrawal rates using
historical data.” Journal of Financial Planning: 14-24.
7 Cooley, Philip L., Carl M. Hubbard and Daniel T. Walz. 1998.
“Retirement savings: Choosing a withdrawal rate that is sustainable.”
AAII Journal, February.
8 Retrieved from CANNEX on September 19, 2023: https://www.
cannex.com/index.php/services/canada/annuity-products/incomeannuities/
Christine Wiedman, FCPA, PhD, is Professor Emerita, School
of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo, and
a CPA Canada Financial Literacy Program volunteer. Visit
www.cpacanada.ca/en/public-interest/financial-literacy for
information about CPA Canada’s Financial Literacy Program,
www.linkedin.com/in/christine-wiedman-35427752
for more information about Christine.
SPRING 2024 • 23

TRAVEL
Haunting
and heartbreaking
CRUISING ALASKA IS EVERYTHING YOU’D EXPECT AND MORE
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JILL ELLIS-WORTHINGTON
24 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Jill Ellis-Worthington
Breathtaking, unimaginably beautiful, aweinspiring,
heart-wrenching – those are the words
most frequently used to describe the beauty and
majesty of scenery experienced during an Alaskan
cruise.
We took an Alaskan cruise in the summer of
2022 and, it turns out, so did several others of my
acquaintance. If you haven’t taken the plunge into
cruising yet, put one to Alaska at the top of your list
– it is definitely bucket list worthy.
Our cruise, initially scheduled for June 2020, was
a casualty of the COVID travel cancellation wave,
and I heard many on the boat say that this was a
long-awaited bucket list item for them as well.
My husband and I have a prioritized list of travel
destinations and Alaska wasn’t at the top of it at the
time, but as climate change wreaks havoc on natural
wonders around the world, it moved up the list. We
weren’t alone in this feeling (more on this later).
Our cruise, on the Holland America ship Volendam,
departed from Vancouver. We were travelling with
another couple and we arrived two days early to
get acclimatized to the time change, see some of
Canada’s third largest city and, most importantly,
ensure we arrived well ahead of the ship’s departure.
Our friend, a travel agent, clued us in when we
took our first post-pandemic trip to Europe in the
TRAVEL
summer of ’22, that many people were missing their
tours, cruises and events because they booked flights
to arrive the day of, not anticipating continued
unreliability at airports. We’ll never fly day-of
again because it’s much too stressful and potentially
wasteful of our hard-earned travel funds.
The Inside Passage route our ship took stopped in
Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Glacier Bay. While
we enjoyed the ship’s amenities and sitting on the
deck outside of the room, the real thrill of an Alaskan
cruise was the scenery.
Connie Delarge and Doug Jones (both 58) cruised
on Holland America’s Koningsdam ship in July with
another couple. The canny couples got balcony
rooms opposite each other so that they had constant
access to the views. “We just had to cross the hall to
whichever balcony had the best view when the ship
turned,” explained Delarge.
She added that their stop at Glacier Bay to view the Johns
Hopkins Glacier was, “Our favourite over everything.
It’s just breathtakingly beautiful.” She couldn’t help
being grateful and regretful at the same time.
“No words can describe it, but it breaks my heart
too. I feel so blessed to have seen it because I can’t
believe what is happening to our world,” she added,
referencing the diminishing size of the glacier due to
Left: Glacier Bay is a favourite stop on many
Alaskan cruises.
Right: The crew of the Volendam opens the ship’s
bow to passengers during the Glacier Bay stop. SPRING 2024 • 25

TRAVEL
Seen from the deck of the Volendam
stationed five miles away, the Johns
Hopkins Glacier – in Glacier Bay
National Park – is 12 miles long
and 300 feet high.
climate change. This was especially true when she
shared her pictures with a cousin who had done the
same cruise a decade previous, noting a significant
reduction in the size of the floating icebergs.
This is something our friends and travelling
companions, Barry (61) and Valerie (59) Wakonig,
also commented upon. They took an Alaskan
cruise in 1993. They were so taken with the visual
spectacle, especially Glacier Bay, that they couldn’t
wait to return.
“The glacier was calving a lot back then and the
floating ice was much bigger,” Barry said. “We only
heard and saw one crack off this time.”
Stopping in the various small coastal towns provides
opportunities to take unforgettable excursions. In
Juneau, the state’s capital – with the second ugliest
capital building, according to our guide – we decided
to stay on the ground and took a bike tour through
the rainforest to Mendenhall Glacier. Though I’m
an avid cyclist, I admit that the utilitarian bikes and
rain dampened my enthusiasm, but the beauty of
the forest and majesty of the glacier made up for
it. Fortunately, we had learned that Juneau gets 230
days of rain each year, so we packed rainsuits.
Some take to the air, like Trish Harrow-Rodic and
her family. Since it was on her bucket list, Harrow-
Rodic (55) was travelling with her ex-husband Damir
(57) and son Jackson (16) and decided on a helicopter
ride to the top of the glacier to go dog sledding. The
trio was captivated by the puppies and loved riding
the sleds behind mushers, but the scenery was the
real star of the show.
“It’s just surreal,” she said. “I just wanted to savour
every moment of being surrounded by that much
natural beauty.”
Others, like Delarge and her group, enjoyed walking
26 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Jill Ellis-Worthington
Mushing on Mendenhall Glacier.
(photo by Trish Harrow)
around the ports to learn about their history. That’s
what they did in Juneau, ending their trek at the
famous Red Dog Saloon, reported to be one of the
oldest in Alaska. For my husband and I, sawdust
on the floor, costumed servers and bartenders and
a singing cowboy on stage made this a fun, kitschy
way to warm up at the end of a damp day.
Skagway was the jumping-off point for the 1896
Yukon gold rush. Our foursome decided to head out
on the White Pass and Yukon Railway tour. This
three-hour train and van combo tour explored the
route of gold-seeking hopefuls, ending in Fraser,
B.C. The scenery is magnificent, and I especially
enjoyed being able to stand on the open decks
between train cars to experience it more closely as
we chugged along. The story of the miners’ trek
is tragic, so be cautious if you’re very sensitive. If
you have mobility limitations, getting on and off the
train could be a challenge. Delarge’s group decided
to split up when they reached Skagway, each of the
four doing a different activity. “It was fun meeting
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TRAVEL
by Jill Ellis-Worthington
What to pack
Packing for an Alaskan cruise can be puzzling,
so here are some pointers:
Top: A rainy day doesn’t keep thousands from trekking to see
Mendenhall Glacier. Bottom left: Cruisers enjoying bowls
of pea soup on the bow of the Volendam during a stop at
Glacier Bay. Below: Trish Harrow with sled dogs during
her favourite Alaskan cruise excursion.
For the May to September Alaskan cruising
season, pack a jacket or coat, with a heavier
version being advisable at the beginning and
end of the season.
It rains in Alaska – a lot – so bring a raincoat
(rainsuit if you’re doing active excursions).
Comfortable shoes for walking and trekking.
Sweaters and long-sleeved T-shirts. Daywear
is more casual than on Caribbean cruises, as
most cruisers opt for comfort and warmth.
Layer your pieces. It warms up through the
day, so this allows you to remove layers as the
temps rise. Dressy but not formal wear for
dinner. Dressing for dinner has become more
casual, even on dress-up nights, so dresses or
pants with nice blouses for women and blazers
with slacks for men are enough.
28 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Jill Ellis-Worthington
TRAVEL
Barry Wakonig, left, Val Wakonig,
Jill Ellis-Worthington and Ralph
Lembcke enjoyed the scenery on the
White Pass and Yukon Railway tour.
on their cruising experience on Holland America’s
Koningsdam. They felt the variety of entertainment
was lacking and experienced a reoccurring foul
odour in their cabin while underway some evenings
during their cruise.
For many, an Alaskan cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime,
bucket list trip, and I agree. To experience the
majesty of nature, it is unbeatable, but hurry because
the glaciers aren’t going to last forever.
A writer, public relations professional, traveller, and football
fan, Jill Ellis-Worthington celebrates life every day. You can
follow her blog at www.writeoncommunicationservices.com.
up for dinner and sharing stories,” she said.
On her bus trip to the Yukon, Delarge was excited
that they had to stop to let several grizzly bears cross
the road. She enjoyed seeing a trading post and dog
sledding camp, but the tour’s stop at Emerald Lake
was the highlight.
“It’s such a stunning sight – deep blue with hints of
green from mountain deposits.”
In Ketchikan, the Wakonigs were enthralled by
learning about the history, culture and art of totem
pole carving at the Saxman Native Village, while
we decided on a boat tour of Misty Fjords National
Monument. Cruising deep, dark waters to the giant
rock formations – seeing eagles and a whale, while
enjoying time in the sun – was the perfect excursion
for two mariners-at-heart.
Harrow-Rodic frequently cruises with the Royal
Caribbean line, while the Wakonigs prefer Holland
America. Picking the right cruise line and ship is an
important part of the overall experience. Smaller
boats offer fewer dining and entertainment options.
Jackie and Lauren Goodfellow (67 and 78 respectively)
enjoyed the Alaskan scenery, but they aren’t keen
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SPRING 2024 • 29

FOOD & DRINK
Asparagus and
mushroom tart
Baking time: 20 minutes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb asparagus, trimmed
1 clove garlic, minced
Pinch each salt and pepper
1 sheet butter puff pastry, thawed
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup harvarti cheese, shredded
Instructions
In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots
and mushrooms; cook for two minutes. Add asparagus and
garlic; cook for two minutes, stirring often. Remove from
heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Unroll puff pastry and place on parchment paper-lined baking
sheet. Brush mustard over surface. Poke entire surface with
fork. Arrange asparagus over pastry and top with mushroom
mixture, leaving ½ inch border; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in 400 F oven 18 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden
brown. Let stand on sheet on wire rack for five minutes
before cutting to serve.
Recipe courtesy of Foodland Ontario
30 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

SPRING 2024 • 31

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