Montreal seniors watching retirement funds closely amid Wall Street chaos

It has been a turbulent week with markets reacting to American President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, and seniors are concerned for their retirement funds.

At the Cummings Centre in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, retirees are hard at work building household items to help raise money.

But while their hands are busy, many have their minds on the markets.

“Our investments are our future. Even though that’s going to be a shorter future than a lot. But it’s our future. Watching things tumble is very disheartening,” said Marty Cooper.

It has been a turbulent week on Wall Street with markets reacting to American President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, and for seniors who rely on their investments for income, the losses are concerning.

“Seniors close to retirement are probably the most worried,” said Brianne Gardner, senior wealth manager with Velocity Investment Partners

She says it’s important for investors in general to remember that losses only lock in when you sell.

“You still have another 20 to 30 years and don’t need to spend your entire portfolio in early retirement, so retirees shouldn’t be as worried,” said Gardner.

That’s also the prevailing wisdom here at the workshop where, for many, this crash isn’t the first they’ve seen since retiring.

“I don’t look at the market. I don’t like looking at the market. That was my business and I won’t look at the market,” said retiree Fred Wiseman.

“I think you have to sit on your money, and you just have to wait it out. We did it in 2008, and I guess we’ll do it now,” added Herb Steckler.

“Don’t sell. It’s not a loss until you sell it. So hopefully we’ll live long enough to see it turn around.”

But the uncertainty is still causing stress.

“We’re swimming in very strange waters right now, which we’ve never been in before. And that’s the scary part, because we don’t know where it’s going to end,” said Cooper.