Nearing the Golden Years?
First it was sixty-five. Then sixty. Eventually fifty-five. On to fifty. And now (zoom!)......
Forty-five!
This particular entry was seeded when I saw a magazine called Zoomer at my parents' house. The magazine is published by the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP). The magazine, according to the words printed within the circumference of the first "O", is targeted to Men and Women, 45 and up.
So here we have the Canadian Association of RETIRED Persons including in their membership a magazine targeted to people 45 and up. I found that interesting and, since I am nearing the age of entry, curious.
You'll have a hard time finding the word retired anywhere on the CARP website. It seems the acronym no longer stands for anything. You'll see words and phrases such as aging and older Canadians though. They are in place to ensure that old guys like me (soon anyway) have health and financial security and that we are treated fairly (ie. not discriminated against due to our age).
Am I really that close to entering the golden years of my life? Will I be able to benefit from old age (aka. senior) discounts in a few years? Are my needs that different from those in their thirties?
I wonder why CARP has made this move away from retired people to one that includes almost half of all Canadians (well I am guessing at that - the median age in Canada was 38.8 in 2006). You would not think that their initial target audience was getting any smaller based on the coming wave of retiring baby boomers and statistics showing an aging population. Rather was it that retirement has gotten a bad reputation? Or was it that CARP's membership was dwindling and that they needed to expand their target?
Whatever it is....don't consider me anywhere near ready to become a member. I still feel like I am in my twenties (maybe early thirties!) and am not ready to be described as an "older" Canadian - unless those discounts really kick in at 45.
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