After selling his communications firm to a competitor, Mehboob Remtulla was ready to put his working years behind him, at age 50.
“My idea of what's next was having a leisurely life,” he says. “I'll have some fun, I'll travel, I'll enjoy sports, spend time with my family, and life will be good.”
Remtulla, who goes by “Mehbs,” says it wasn’t long before that initial feeling of euphoria gave way to a feeling of loss. “On Friday I was the CEO of an 80-person advertising and communications company,” he says. “On Monday, I was just Mehbs.”
Over the following years Remtulla dabbled in a range of professional pursuits before founding What’s next50 in 2019. The non-profit social venture now helps 1,500 members aged 50 to 75 connect, learn, and explore their interests. “All of them were going through these three pain points: loss of identity, loss of network, and loss of purpose,” he says.
Canadians are living longer, and many are opting to delay retirement or “un-retire” by returning to the workforce — and the reasons go beyond financial necessity.
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