Income losses due to the pandemic have led more Canadians to postpone retirement, bringing new attention to the value of older workers. “I think there’s a lot of untapped potential amongst older workers,” says Rafael Gomez, a professor specializing in employment relations and director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto. A September survey for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries found that nearly one-quarter of Canadians (23 percent) say COVID-19 impacted their timeline for retirement. Sixty-nine percent said they will work longer because they need the income. Similarly, an October study by the National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University found that 75 percent of Canadian aged 45 years and older say the pandemic has made them more concerned about their family’s financial security and well-being. If the pandemic has a consolation, it’s that older workers with financial challenges might get a deserved chance. …