MEET OUR MEMBERS
/sites/omers-newsletter/static/images/sites/omers-newsletter/static/images/sites/omers-newsletter/static/images/sites/omers-newsletter/static/images
Marlon, 26, marked his 10th year as an enthusiastic OMERS member by completing his Master’s degree in Environmental Studies at York University. Throughout his high school and post-secondary education, Marlon worked as a part-time and contract employee at the City of Brampton and the City of Toronto doing several different types of jobs, including one of Canada’s most coveted — Zamboni driver!
While completing his studies, Marlon became increasingly passionate about how cities are built and how well-planned public services, such as transportation, weave the fabric of equitable municipalities. Eventually, he wants to become a city planner to build fairer, more equitable Ontario towns with affordable living and mobility options for everyone. In the meantime, Marlon is returning to his hometown, the City of Brampton, to become a full-time recreation planning analyst, and commit his OMERS contributions to a comfortable retirement.
You’re just beginning your career but you’ve already been an OMERS member for 10 years. Are you the only person in your friend group who’s already thinking about retirement?
No! My friends are all thinking about retirement, largely, I think, because most of us live in the Greater Toronto Area and it’s becoming increasingly expensive to live here. We’re young and just starting out, so to speak, but we feel anxious about how affordability, or lack thereof, is going to affect us later in life. We talk about retirement planning and saving money because the cost of living in Ontario just keeps climbing, and we want to be able to sustain our lifestyles after retiring.
Do you have a different perspective than your friends, because you’re an OMERS member with a plan to continue working in public service throughout your career?
Yes, and I have two perspectives on how OMERS invests my contributions. Because of my interest in city planning, I often think about the impacts that pension plans like OMERS have on the economy and society at large. At the same time, I’m an OMERS member, so I want my contributions to provide me with financial security after retirement.
With both perspectives in mind, I’d love to see OMERS hedge its bets with affordable residential real estate. Imagine if member contributions were invested in cost-efficient homes that we could easily afford to live in, created vibrant communities across Ontario and helped to sustain the Plan? The economic and social values of the Plan are already immense and affordable residential real estate would have even more far-reaching benefits for OMERS members.
Also, I enjoy reading about OMERS sustainable investments and I’m interested to see how member contributions can help to increase biodiversity in Ontario cities and reduce energy usage in building and emissions overall. I look forward to reading more about how OMERS is investing in creative, sustainable solutions in its real estate portfolio.
How important is it to you to feel connected to OMERS?
I value regular communications from OMERS because I want to know that my retirement plan is secure and my future is bright. I think it’s important that updates members receive from OMERS are frequent and easy to understand, so we know how the Plan is doing and have peace of mind.
What does a comfortable retirement mean to you?
Frankly, I just don’t want to have to worry about being able to pay my bills in retirement. Today, I work a full-time job and a part-time job on the side, and I’m happy to do it. But when I’m retired, I just want to be able to enjoy my time with friends and family, living a happy life.