Many retirees don't miss their pay cheques as much as they thought they would. Instead, they miss the social time they spent with their colleagues.

In its annual Retirement Myths & Realities Poll, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) asked people who had already retired to identify three things that contradict the expectations of those who are still working. The survey shows that while 49% of pre-retirees think they will miss their regular paycheque, only 26% of those who are already retired say they do. What retired people do long for is time with others, with 51% saying that they miss socializing with their co-workers.

Retirees are also spending their time in different ways than anticipated. RBC notes that although travel tops the “expect to do in retirement” list for the majority of people who are still working, 72% of retirees report spending most of their days simply "taking time for themselves".

As for the last day at work, that event came as a surprise for some. The survey reveals that 43% of retirees didn’t get to choose their retirement date, while 80% pre-retirees expect to have that choice.

“Each of these realities has retirement planning implications for Canadians, including how they will affect the lifestyle they hope to achieve when they are no longer working,” comments Yasmin Musani, head of Retirement and Successful Aging Strategies at RBC. “They raise important questions for Boomers to consider about their life goals and priorities as they approach retirement. For example, ‘What social network will you have in retirement?’ and ‘How will you spend your time?’”