Dec. 29: BEST FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

December 29, 2025

The case for “memory investing,” or making sure you enjoy the retirement money you’ve saved

Writing for Forbes magazine, financial planner Chad Waddoups of Mountain America Financial Services discusses the transition from saving to retirement to spending it (and enjoying it) after work is done.

“Many people are conditioned to save for retirement—maxing out (their) contributions, attending investment seminars and consulting financial advisors. But after a lifetime of disciplined saving, many retirees find themselves asking, `How do I transition from building wealth to actually using it for the experiences I’ve been deferring for decades?’ and `How do I shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mentality?,’” he writes.

A helpful tool, he continues, is the concept of “memory investing.”

This is “an approach that reframes retirement planning around meaningful experiences and improved relationships rather than just asset accumulation,” he explains.

A retirement savings goal should not be to “die rich,” he writes, but to “live fully while you can.” In other words, he points out, “once you reach your target number for financial security, it’s time to use that savings to enjoy your retirement.”

“As retirement approaches, the once-abstract idea of `someday’ becomes more real, and the fear of running out of money begins to compete with the fear of running out of time,” Waddoups notes. “If this is the case for you, it can be useful to recognize how the value of shared experiences and deepened relationships can exceed the security of unspent wealth.”

Waddoup recommends that some planning take place, in advance of creating memories, to make sure you have enough money saved to cover your basic expenses for the rest of your life. If you have more than enough money to do that, you can begin to think about how to spend this “surplus,” he explains.

If this calculation reveals that you are – while still working – saving too much for retirement, consider hiving off some of your saved money for a memory creation account, he suggests.

“For example, instead of contributing 15 per cent to your retirement account, contribute 10 per cent and use the other five per cent to save for a special family trip. Just be sure to make careful calculations to stay on track for your retirement goals,” he writes.

As a personal example, Waddoup decided he could re-direct some of his saved wealth towards a family trip to Alaska without impacting his retirement savings target.

Be sure, the article advises, to understand the possible tax consequences of withdrawing funds from a retirement account before cracking into the nest egg for a new family memory. But, the article concludes, don’t not save money for future memory creation.

“Memory investing isn’t about spending recklessly or abandoning financial responsibility—it’s about recognizing that the richest retirement isn’t measured only by the size of your portfolio, but also by the depth of your relationships and memories you created along the way,” his article notes.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan has been helping Canadians save for retirement for more than 35 years.

The plan is open to any Canadian who has registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) room. You can contribute any amount you want, up to your RRSP limit, to SPP each year. You can also consolidate savings from other RRSPs into SPP by transferring in any amount.

Once your hard-saved loonies are in the plan, SPP does the heavy lifting of investing. SPP contributions are professionally invested in a low-cost, pooled fund. When it’s gold watch time, your SPP income options include the possibility of a lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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Forbes

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