A Portrait of Seniors in Canada

A Portrait of Seniors published in 2006 written by Martin Turcotte and Grant Schellenberg and published by Stats Canada gives some interesting insights into Canadian Seniors. Here are some insights that I found interesting.

Many important elements are identified as favouring the realization of these core values in seniors’ lives. They are:

1.  Health, wellness and security, which includes health and wellness, safety and security and income security

2.  Continuous learning, work and participation in society, which includes work and retirement, age discrimination and negative stereotypes, social participation and ethnocultural diversity.

3.  Supporting and caring in the community, which includes living arrangements, transportation, social isolation and loneliness, family/informal caregiving and seniors in Northern/remote Canada

The median age of retirement has fallen dramatically in the past two decades. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, it hovered around age 65. But in the late 1980s, it started dropping quickly and continued to do so until hitting a low at 60.6 in 1997. The continued drop in the median age at retirement may have been related to widespread government cutbacks and corporate downsizing in the 1990s, combined with early retirement incentives. In 2005, the median age of retirement was 61.0 years and it has stabilized around that mark.

Why do people retire? While the most accepted and reported reason was that they could afford to retire. Not surprisingly, this reason was much more common among those who retired voluntarily than among those who were forced to retire.

Health problems were, for involuntary retirees, the number one reason why they left the labour market. Mandatory retirement policies were the reason for retirement for one out of five recent retirees who left the labour force at 65 years old and over.

With possible shortages in the labour market looming, policymakers and employers are searching for new ways to retain older workers on the job. Could older workers potentially be interested in staying longer in the workforce if certain choices were offered to them?

The 2002 General Social Survey asked retired respondents what factor might have influenced them to continue working. Over one-quarter indicated they might have changed their decision to retire if they had been able to reduce their work schedule without their pension being affected, either by working fewer days or shorter days. In addition, just under one-fifth would have been influenced by more vacation leave.

The thought of retirement can often be appealing. But does retirement really measure up to people’s expectations? Do individuals enjoy life more in retirement than they did while still working?

When asked, “Compared to the year before you retired, do you now enjoy life more, less or about the same?”, nearly half (47%) said that they enjoyed life more now. A slightly smaller proportion (41%) took about the same amount of pleasure in life before and after retirement, while 11% reported that they did not enjoy life as much now.

Most people would probably agree that while money doesn’t guarantee happiness, it helps make life more enjoyable. Indeed, retirees whose financial situation had improved since retirement were most likely to say their enjoyment of life had increased (63%). Individuals whose financial position remained the same came next (51%).

Is early retirement the key to happiness? According to data from the 2002 survey, retiring sooner rather than later does make a difference: 55% of individuals who retired between the ages of 50 and 54 reported enjoying life more after retirement, compared with about 35% of those who took retirement when they were aged 65 to 69.

It is possible that age at retirement reflects small differences in health or financial well-being. Alternatively, individuals who retired at older ages may have done so because they enjoyed their work and, in comparison, found retired life less satisfying. At the same time, retirees who left the labour force earlier may have been eager to do so and to make the most of retired life. Enjoying retired life seems more likely when one plans for it while still in the labour force. GSS respondents were asked whether or not they planned for their retirement by participating in physical activities, developing other leisure activities or hobbies, getting involved in volunteer work, or gathering information about retirement.

People who participated in three or four of these activities were far more likely to report increased enjoyment of life in retirement (62%) than those who participated in two (51%), one (46%) or none at all (36%). Perhaps these activities afforded individuals greater life enjoyment in retirement. Or, it may be that individuals who were most eager to leave the labour force were also most likely to prepare for retirement and to enjoy their new life to the fullest.