Meet Our Members
With retirement around the corner, Mark James is looking forward to a stable income from his OMERS pension – and he can rest easy knowing his children will be financially secure in their retirement too, since they’re also OMERS members.
It’s fair to say the James family is passionate about law enforcement. Mark is a sergeant, his wife Alison is a staff sergeant, his daughter Micaela is a constable and his son Josh is in communications – all employed by the Waterloo Regional Police Service. Mark and Alison also have another daughter, Jessica, who works for King’s University College at Western University and their youngest daughter, Jenaya, is a high school student.
Mark has been a police officer for 34 years. At one time he considered becoming a lawyer, but his benefits package and defined benefit pension plan kept him in the police service.
“We all look forward to retiring one day and collecting our OMERS pension because there’s nothing out there like it. It’s security; we know that it’s protected,” he said. “The thought of having an OMERS pension when you retire drives us to continue coming to work because at the end of the day, that’s our golden egg.”
Several members of the James family – (l to r) Josh, Alison, Mark and Micaela – are OMERS members, employed by the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
Mark will retire in a couple of years at the age of 59 and he plans to stay active in the community through volunteer work or a part-time job. He’s also an avid golfer so he’ll be spending lots of time out on the course!
However he spends his retirement, his OMERS pension gives him a sense of freedom. “The key to retirement is to be financially sound, and the OMERS pension eliminates any financial stress or burden,” said Mark.
You don’t have to worry about where your next pay check is coming from or whether your investments are making enough money, he explains. "You’ve made your contributions and invested for a number of years into the Plan, now the Plan is rewarding you for that investment. There’s a peace of mind that goes with that,” he said.
As you get older, you tend to worry about how long your pension will last and if you’ll be able to survive on your pension, he adds. “With OMERS, you’re not worrying about the future. You can focus on maintaining your health and building relationships as you grow older.”