Grant Schellenberg

Pension Coverage, Retirement Status, and Earnings Replacement Rates Among a Cohort of Canadian Seniors

Data from the Longitudinal Administrative Data (LAD) base are used to compare the retirement status and earnings replacement rates achieved by individuals who were, and individuals who were not, Registered Pension Plan members in 1991 and/or 1992, when they were in their mid-fifties. Among men in this cohort, the likelihood of being retired at age 70 to 72 was about 4 to 14 percentage points higher among pension plan members than non-members. Data used for the study do not provide information on why RPP non-members tend to retire later than do members. Among retired individuals, earnings replacement rates did not differ significantly between RPP members and non-members.

Patterns and determinants of immigrants’ sense of belonging to Canada and their source country

ABSTRACT This study examines the relative distribution of immigrants who have: strong sense of belonging to both Canada and the source country; strong sense of belonging to Canada only; strong sense of belonging to the source country only; and weak sense of belonging to Canada and the source country. It further examines four sets of determinants of these acculturation profiles, including source-country socio-economic and cultural characteristics, immigrant entry status, post-migration experience, and demographic characteristics. Using a large national representative sample of 7,000 immigrants in Canada from over 100 countries, this study finds that the overwhelming majority of immigrants have a strong sense of belonging to Canada with or without a strong sense of belonging to their source country. Source-country attributes are as important as immigrant entry status and post-migration experience in affecting immigrants’ sense of belonging to Canada and their source country.

The Income Management Strategies of Older Couples in Canada

In this study, the income management strategies of Canadian couples are examined using data from the 2007 General Social Survey. The extent to which “older” couples, in which at least one spouse or partner is aged 45 or older, employ an allocative, pooled, or separate strategy is explored.Results show that the income management strategies used by these couples are correlated with relationship characteristics, such as common-law status, duration of relationship, and presence of children. As well, the likelihood of using a separate approach is positively correlated with levels of educational attainment and with the amount of income received by wives or female partners.

A Note on Pension Coverage and Earnings Replacement Rates of Retired Men: A Closer Look at Distributions

In spite of the importance of registered pension plans (RPPs) in discussions of Canadas retirement income system, very few Canadian studies have examined the financial outcomes experienced by RPP members and RPP non-members. Using data from the Longitudinal Administrative Database (LAD), this paper compares the distributions of earnings replacement rates achieved by retired men who were or were not members of a registered pension plan (RPP) in 1991 and/or 1992. The distributions of earnings replacement rates of men who were not RPP members are far more dispersed than those of men who were RPP members. And while the average earnings replacement rates of the two groups are generally comparable, the median earnings replacement rates of RPP non-members are lower than those of RPP members as a result of asymmetry in the distributions.