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Meet Abe

Abe: A bad day’s fishing is better than a good day at work.

Meet Abe Penner, Reluctant Retiree

Abe: Vanderhoof, BC is the greatest town that I've ever lived in. It's beautiful, it's a lumber industry town and I enjoy it.

I worked at the mill for 35 years. I wanted to retire because I was almost 65.

I was very nervous. I was scared. It was tough; it's a big decision to make.

Anne: He actually took a month off once just to see what it would feel like, and I just noticed how much more relaxed he was, how much happier he was. He seemed to be really enjoying it.

Kathy Brown, RBC Financial Planner got the ball rolling…

Kathy: Abe was reluctant to retire, he was actually afraid, “would I have enough money? Because I’m not going to be getting that paycheque every two weeks.”

Abe: If it didn't fan out, nobody would hire a 65 year old guy.

Kathy: We took a look at their cash flow and tried to make it as easy as possible.

Abe: You walk in there and it's like meeting an old friend. She's very helpful.

Kathy: It did take a few appointments to pin point all these things to put together what their future is going to look like.

Abe: She asked us how much we would need for living, how much our hydro would be, our telephone, and you know, all our bills..

Kathy: I basically connected the dots. We looked at a CPP, and government pensions, his RSPs. And I said, "you know what Abe, you have enough money to do this!"

With Kathy’s help, Abe took the big leap

Abe:Oh, there is always something to do around the house, and of course my wife has a long "honey-do list." But I just take a scissor and cut it shorter if I wanted to go fishing.

Now there’s more time for their 10 kids and 27 grandkids

Kathy: I ran into Abe shortly after he retired and you know what, it worked! He was doing all those things that he wanted to do. It's exciting when you feel like you have impacted someone's life.

Anne:Well if it wasn't for Kathy I think he would still be working.

Abe: I would defintely suggest go see her, she's a good girl, I love her.

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