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Everyone has dreams of retirement, but those aren't top of mind when you're blindsided by divorce. And it doesn't matter that you dusted yourself off, went back to school and carved out a successful career. Or that you've raised three sons and survived breast cancer twice.

What matters is money. At 62, Barbara McNicoll understands that better than most.

"All of a sudden you hit your 60s and things completely change," says Ms. McNicoll, who works in the staffing industry. "Now you're single and you're on the last leg of your life. And although I've got three loving sons, I'm still an independent person. So it's just trying to keep everything together."

Over the next decade, as the baby boom generation enters retirement age, more Canadians will be exiting the workforce than ever before.

When their parents retired, most were still married to their original spouses. No one expected to survive on a single pension, or on RRSPs cobbled together after a mid-life divorce and years of raising children on one income. But in a new era of divorce, approximately 25 per cent of Canadians born between 1946 and 1964 are single - and on the cusp of entering retirement alone.

A Statistics Canada report released last week showed only 54 per cent of single boomers nearing retirement are certain about the timing, compared with 60 per cent of those married or in common law relationships. And only 55 per cent are confident in their retirement savings compared with 72 per cent of boomers who are not single.

The irony, some experts say, is that single boomers may be better prepared for life without a job to fill their days. Already well versed in filling their social calendars and finding new pursuits, they've spent years seeking support from non-spouses, developing friendships and leaning on them for support, says Neena Chappell, a sociologist who holds a Canada Research Chair in social gerontology. "Unlike the old image of 'poor them, they're lonely spinsters,' they actually have very vibrant and full networks."

And despite their financial concerns, most single boomers aren't looking for a new partner to pay the rent.

It was winter when Laurelie Campeau retired at age 56, thanks to a generous compensation package from British Airways, where she'd worked in the call centre in Toronto.

"Especially being single, you're looking at the four walls," she says. "I knew I should get into a schedule. I guess it was self-preservation."

She began swimming every morning and lifting weights afterward, getting to know some of the regulars at the gym. Now 58, her home paid off due to careful saving and investment strategies she began in her teens, she looks around at some of her other single friends who are nearing retirement, and worries. Some are frightened. Others seem blissfully unprepared, jetting from one fantastic vacation to the next.

"I'm like, 'Wow, time to think about tomorrow,' " said Ms. Campeau, on a recent afternoon spent in her garden. "A lot of people are going to be in trouble."

Sheryl Walker is one of those boomers. At age 56, retirement is far off - really far. "I don't think I'll ever stop working," says the mother of two grown children, who works in the hiring department at a call centre for a telecommunications company. "I can't."

When Ms. Walker and her husband divorced, she was left a paltry settlement and two young children to raise. She admits she had no foresight when it came to saving. But, she says, "I'm happy and unprepared."

Like Ms. Campeau and Ms. McNicoll, she's created a solid network of friends, and her pastimes - cooking, gardening and rollerblading - keep her busy. She has a boyfriend, but isn't looking for marriage.

According to a poll by the American Association of Retired Persons, only 15 per cent of single boomer women and 22 per cent of boomer men are looking for someone to marry or live with.

But they are looking for friendship - and they're good at finding it. Since last year's launch of LavalifePrime, an online dating service for people 40 and over, 65,000 people have registered. "They're looking for people they can do activities with; they're looking for friendship," says Agneta Owen, who helped launch the site. "I'm sure a lot are finding romance as well, but it's a lot less about getting married."

That's something Yvonne Parker noticed when she and her business partner, Louise Hope, founded The Boomer Network, a club offering social events for boomers living in Southern Ontario's Peel region.

While the program isn't targeted at singles, almost 70 per cent of the 200 clients are single people looking to meet people, Ms. Parker estimates. She recalls one widower who told her he'd decided not to leave Brampton in his retirement, because he was afraid he'd be too lonely.

But will those friends be there when their health begins to deteriorate and they need support the most? It's an unprecedented social experiment - one that sociologists will be watching closely, said Dr. Chappell, a sociology professor at the University of Victoria.

"We know among the current generation that friends ... will help one another, but when the heavy care is needed, they tend not to be there [as consistently as spouses]," she said. "But what will happen with this generation? That we don't know."

Ms. McNicoll is planning a slow transition into this next phase. Last week, a real-estate agent came to her house to talk about selling her condo, which will give her enough money to retire from full-time work if she continues to fill small contracts for another staffing company.

"I'm not afraid of the future now at all," she says. "Because I know that I don't require a huge living space. And I've been really blessed to have really good friends."