At 61, she counted on a $15,000 bonus so she could retire — then a surprise bad performance review took it away. Now what?

Now she’s wrestling with a question that many Canadians nearing retirement face: do you stay and fight? Or do you walk away on your own terms?

Should you stay or should you go?

Leticia has been with the same company for 30 years, earning consistently strong reviews and several promotions along the way. However, over the past couple of years the company has been cutting its workforce. Her responsibilities have piled up to fill in the gaps — along with her stress and exhaustion.

Her most recent performance review — the first poor one in her career — reflected none of that context. She’s convinced it wasn’t fair, and she may be right.

But before she decides whether to challenge the review or simply retire, she needs to answer two separate questions: What are her rights as an employee? And is she actually ready to retire?

One-off payments like bonuses, commissions or profit-sharing are never guaranteed. When they disappear — especially because of a substandard performance rating — they can create real financial uncertainty and significant emotional frustration.

If Leticia wants to dispute the review, she has options. Canadian employees have the right to challenge performance evaluations they believe are unfair.

Leticia’s first step is to check whether her company has a formal internal dispute resolution process. If it does, she should follow it. If not, she can submit a written rebuttal that clearly identifies what she disagrees with, and includes any documentation or evidence supporting a different assessment. This can include emails, project records, performance metrics, notes or chats about the workload increases she took on (1).

If the review seems discriminatory — for example, targeting her age or treating the burnout as a disability — she may have grounds to file a complaint with her province’s human rights commission (2).

That said, her goal here is focused: to restore the bonus she was anticipating. And depending on the company’s willingness to reconsider, that may or may not happen.

Timing your retirement

Even if Leticia doesn’t get the bonus, the story doesn’t necessarily end there.

She and her husband have been diligently saving for decades. Her financial adviser has confirmed they’ve hit a savings benchmark — their funds are sufficient to replace between 70% and 80% of their pre-retirement annual income. That’s within the range most Canadian financial planners use as a starting point for maintaining your standard of living in retirement (3).

Windfalls and bonuses can accelerate your retirement savings goals — especially early in your career. But depending on them as the final piece of the puzzle is risky. A solid retirement plan needs to stand independently from any income you may or may not receive.

The good news for Leticia is, her retirement plan mostly stands alone.

One of the most important timing decisions for any Canadian approaching their golden years is when to begin collecting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits. The standard age for full CPP benefits is 65.

But you have flexibility: CPP can begin as early as age 60 with a reduction of 0.6% for each month you collect before your 65th birthday — for a maximum cut of 36% (4). On the other end, deferring CPP to age 70 increases your monthly payment by 0.7% per month, for a total gain of up to 42% (4).

For Leticia and her husband, waiting until 65 to begin collecting CPP — or even deferring for longer — is likely within reach if they have enough in savings to bridge the gap.

Old Age Security (OAS) also kicks in at 65, with a maximum monthly benefit of $742.31 for those aged 65 to 74 (January 2026 to March 2026 rates) (5). Akin to CPP, you can defer collecting OAS to 70 for a higher monthly benefit. The OAS clawback — or pension recovery tax — begins at a net income of $95,323 in 2026 (5).

Health coverage is another consideration that you might overlook until the last minute. Unlike the U.S., where retirees must plan for insurance gaps before Medicare eligibility at 65, Canadians have the benefit of provincial health insurance — OHIP in Ontario, MSP in British Columbia, RAMQ in Québec and AHCIP in Alberta, for example. Your provincial plan will cover you throughout your retirement for physician and hospital care.

However, any supplemental benefits you may rely on — dental, vision, prescription drugs and paramedical services — are typically provided through employer-sponsored group plans (6). These benefits often end at retirement. If Leticia’s husband carries the family’s extended health coverage through his employer and that plan extends into retirement, they have one less worry.

If not, Leticia will want to explore whether her own employer plan can be converted into a retiree plan, or whether a private supplemental policy makes sense. A PolicyMe–Angus Reid study found that 47% of Canadians aged 55 and over delay supplemental health appointments due to cost (6) — and that number rises when employer coverage ends. This additional cost is worth factoring into retirement planning before Leticia resigns.

If you’re deciding when to pull the trigger on retirement, know your finances — and also how you really feel about it. You’ll want to reflect on whether you’re emotionally ready to stop working, and if you have a clear sense of what comes next. For someone like Leticia, who has worked in the same organization for 30 years, the identity and routine that come with work are significant. Retiring on her own terms — rather than being pushed out by a bad review — may actually make that transition easier.

Steps Canadians can take

Whether you’re facing a situation like Leticia’s or simply thinking ahead, here are some steps worth taking now:

Know your CPP number. Log in to My Service Canada Account to review your CPP Statement of Contributions. This gives you a projection of your monthly benefit at age 60, 65 and 70 — and helps you decide which start date makes sense for your situation.