News Release

1995-86
December 12, 1995

New study will examine impact of financial security on seniors' independence

OTTAWA - Federal Health Minister Diane Marleau today announced funding for a study to examine the relationship between financial security and independence for Canadian seniors. The study will investigate important issues such as the financial status of future Canadian retirees, financial readiness for retirement, economic consequences of forced retirement, changes in expenditure patterns after retirement, relationship between financial security and health and the economic value of voluntary work by older people.

Madame Marleau said that adequate financial resources are a key determinant of health, independent living and well-being. She added that the findings will provide important information for the design and implementation of federal and provincial programs and policies which affect Canadian seniors.

The research, based at McMaster University, will also involve faculty at Brock University, the University of Guelph and the University of Toronto. The Canadian Association on Gerontology, the Canadian Association of Pre-Retirement Planners, One Voice: The Canadian Seniors Network and the Ontario Coalition of Seniors Citizens Organizations are partners in the study. Dr. Byron G. Spencer, Professor of Economics at McMaster and one of the principal investigators, noted that 18 scholars are involved, that the research program has a strong interdisciplinary character, and that the work should provide important insights into the problems facing the elderly of today and those of the future.

The project will receive $519,505, over the next 29 months, through the Seniors Independence Research Program (SIRP) in collaboration with the National Health and Research Development Program (NHRPD). SIRP strengthens national research with a balanced emphasis on social, economic and health determinants of independence for seniors of today and tomorrow. NHRDP funds leading edge research in public health and health services.

Funding for this study was provided for in the February 1995 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. This announcement is an example of how the government is prioritizing its spending to better serve Canadians by making efficient use of their tax dollars.

Information:Bonnie Fox-McIntyre/Monique Renaud-Gagné
Health Canada
(613) 957-1588

Sherry Cecil
McMaster University
(905) 525-9140, Extension 23658