I retired after 30 years, but my former coworkers keep asking for free career help. Do I step in or set boundaries?

Picture this hypothetical situation: Larry spent 30 years with the same company and left as the person everyone went to for answers. His replacement is capable, but institutional knowledge doesn’t transfer overnight. So the emails keep coming, the texts pile up and Larry, who retired partly because of work-related stress, finds himself “back at work” again — except this time without the paycheque.

And interestingly enough, he’s not alone. What do you do when your job follows you into retirement?

The brain drain no one prepared for

Canada is in the middle of the largest retirement wave in history. According to RBC Economics, an estimated 2.7 million workers currently between the ages 60 and 64 are expected to exit the workplace in the upcoming year — and by 2030, every remaining baby boomer will have turned 65 (1).

That’s a staggering amount of experience walking out the door at the same time. When someone like Larry retires, they take with them relationships, context and hard-won judgment that no onboarding document can fully capture. Employers who didn't plan for succession are now scrambling — and some of them are counting on former employers to quietly fill the gap.

Which puts newly minted retirees in an uncomfortable position.

At first, the calls can feel good: It’s validating to know you’re still needed. For many people, work was also where friendships lived — the coffee runs, the inside jokes, the colleagues who turned into something akin to family. Research from Challenge Factory notes that workplaces are one of the last environments where people of different ages genuinely interact (2). Leaving the workforce abruptly can evoke feelings of loneliness and isolation, thus, it makes sense that some retirees stay tethered to their previous professional lives longer than they should.

However, there’s a difference between keeping in touch and being on-call, and for free. And at some point, one starts to slowly become the other.

What your options look like

The good news is, you have more choices than it might feel like in the moment. Here are some considerations.

If you want to keep helping, charge for it. There’s nothing wrong with staying involved. But if your former employer is regularly leaning on your expertise, that means you’re consulting and it’s worth being compensated for it. You can charge by the hour, by the project or set up a monthly retainer for your ongoing availability.

First, put it in writing. Set up a simple contract that outlines scope, rate and timeline for projects. Doing so protects both sides and signals that you’re taking the arrangement seriously.

Before you agree to anything, though, run the numbers on what the extra income means for your retirement benefits. If you’re collecting Old Age Security (OAS), its clawback kicks in once your net annual income exceeds $93,454 — the 2025 threshold (2).

Above that, the government recovers 15 cents for every dollar earned over the limit. Depending on your government income sources, a consulting arrangement could reduce your OAS payments — so it’s worth having a conversation with a financial advisor before you start invoicing.