3. How well are seniors faring economically?

Areas identified for action

The 2001 Report Card's assessment of the economic status of Canadian seniors saw the situation of seniors living alone as requiring priority action, particularly that of senior women, who continue to have higher rates of low income than other seniors.

New or updated information

• The percentage of unattached senior women with low income (after-tax) declined from 22.0% in 1998 to 21.0% in 2000, while rates for unattached senior men remained stable at about 17.0%.¹⁸

• The average after-tax income of unattached senior women rose to $19,299 in 2000, from $18,960 in 1999 (see Chart 4).¹⁹

• At the same time unattached senior men were reporting an average after-tax income of $22,025 in 2000, down from $22,725 in 1999. ²⁰

Observations

• The increase in average after-tax income for unattached senior women is welcome news, but it illustrates how precariously close to poverty as defined by after-tax low-income cutoffs (LICOs) many of these women are.

• Although unattached senior men have substantially higher after tax incomes than their female counterparts, their loss of net after tax income warrants monitoring.

Emerging areas of promise and concern

• Senior families are falling behind economically. Between 1991 and 2000, the average after-tax income of senior families decreased by $553 (from $39,764 to $39,211) while the after-tax income of non-senior families increased by $6,585 (from $50,635 to $57,220).²¹

• Many seniors continue to have very modest means. While the percentage of seniors who have incomes low enough to be beneficiaries of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) has declined over the past decade, still 36% of seniors who get OAS also depend on the GIS. Huge variations exist in the percentage of seniors receiving the GIS, from 66% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 28% in Ontario. Women persistently constitute almost two out of every three GIS recipients. Moreover, as the over-65 population increases, the number of seniors who must rely on the supplement to make ends meet is increasing: there were about 137,000 more GIS recipients in 2003 than in 1993.²²

• These trends show that many seniors have little, if any, capacity to absorb higher living expenses. The cost of many essential products and services has increased, such as energy costs, property taxes, insurance rates, retail drug prices and the cost of drug benefit plans in some provinces. Moreover, since 2001, the downturns in financial markets have adversely affected many seniors' income from investments.

• The federal government is making a more vigorous effort to reach out to low-income seniors who are eligible for the GIS but who have not yet applied. NACA will report on trends in GIS uptake in Report Card 2006.

Chart 4. A small increase in the average after-tax income for unattached senior women lifts them above the low-income cutoff line

Source: Income Statistics Division. "Income in Canada, 2000". Ottawa:
Statistics Canada, 2002. Cat. No. 75-202-XIE. 1992 LICO base

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