Recent research indicates that today’s retirees are doing very well in terms of their replacement ratios and that Canadian poverty rates among the elderly are low relative to other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Government-sponsored plans have been strengthened either through explicit expansion – for example, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) – or through the reform of the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans (C/QPP). Also important is the maturation of employer-sponsored pension plans, although coverage rates are down. Future generations of retirees may not achieve the standard of living that exists today, however, which is a concern. The author argues that today’s economic security programs are affordable and that their costs could be stabilized if the retirement age were raised.
