Many Canadian boomer entrepreneurs have no intention of slowing down in retirement, while some plan to operate their own business until they die, according to research from BMO Financial Group/Ipsos Reid.

Of those boomers who indicated they retired early to start their own business or who plan to in the future, almost half indicated they currently spend or plan to spend 26-40 hours a week at their businesses (48% men, 39% women). Some boomer entrepreneurs plan on working even longer with one in seven men (14%) saying they are/will spend more than 40 hours a week, compared to one in ten women (10%).

Canadian boomers aren’t just working long hours, they are also working a long time into their retirement. A slightly higher number of men said they plan to run their business “until they die” (18% vs 12% of women). One in five boomers said they plan to run their business for more than 10 years (21%) and almost four in ten (38%) said between 6-10 years.

“These findings are consistent with our ongoing research that clearly indicates boomers expect to keep working into their so-called retirement years. Indeed, many are looking at this next phase of their lives as an opportunity to start new careers and new businesses,” says Kris Vikmanis, head of retirement market, BMO Financial Group.

There are a number of reasons Canadian boomers are turning to entrepreneurship. For many, they said it’s about keeping “occupied”, with 46% of men selecting this as the top reason and 34% of women. This was followed by “it’s something I’ve always dreamed” (men: 27%; women: 31%) and third on the list was “I need the money” (men: 26%; women: 25%).

Consulting was the most popular choice of business, with many boomer men indicating they are currently or plan to consult in retirement (33% vs. 20% of women), while women (17%) were more likely than men (10%) to want to start a retail business. And many of these businesses will not be operated alone, with more than one-third of all respondents saying their families were involved with their business or will be in the future.

These are some of the findings of a BMO poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between October 2 and October 10. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 304 Boomers, aged 45 to 60, inclusive, who have either retired early and are currently running a small business or intend to start a small business when they retire from their current job.