Boomers to reshape what it means to be a senior: StatsCan
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 | 9:50 PM ET
CBC News
Seniors in Canada are set to become even more diverse as a group with "millions of baby boomers knocking on the door," a report released Tuesday says.
In A Portrait of Seniors in Canada, Statistics Canada says what it means to be a senior could change in important ways when members of the baby boom generation turn 65 in a few years.
The report says the number of seniors in Canada is on the increase, seniors are living longer, the term "old age" now includes a period of 20 years or more, and being a senior for many people is a much different experience than it used to be.
"Seniors themselves are changing," the report says. "Financially, they are much better off than they were a quarter century ago. They are better educated, they are internet savvy and they are active."
But seniors are facing many challenges, it says, including growing rates of obesity, as well as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, rheumatism and high blood pressure. Cancer and heart disease continue to be the main causes of death among seniors.
The report, a statistical profile of people aged 65 and over, says the number of seniors in Canada jumped to 4.2 million from 2.4 million between 1981 and 2005, with their corresponding share of the total population increasing to 13.1 per cent from 9.6 per cent.
Between 2006 and 2026, the number of seniors is expected to increase to 9.8 million from 4.3 million, the report says. Their share of the population is projected to increase to 21.2 per cent from 13.2 per cent.
Seniors are living longer
The report attributes the aging of Canada's population to low fertility rates, longer life expectancy and the effects of the baby boom generation.
It says seniors are living longer: The average 65-year-old in Canada, at the start of the 20th century, could expect to live another 13.3 years, but the same person could expect to live another 19.2 years in 2003.
In the time span between 1991 and 2003, life expectancy at the age of 65 grew by 1.2 years, the report says.
And with "old age" now including a period of 20 years or more, it says the characteristics of seniors are diverse and will become even more so when members of the baby boom generation begin to reach the age of 65 in 2011.
However, the report points out what many seniors know already: The characteristics of younger seniors, those aged 65 to 74, are quite different from older seniors, those aged 85 and over, and the differences in many cases are dramatic.
These differences manifest themselves in health, financial situations and living arrangements, among other characteristics, it says.
The report says the number of people in Canada aged 65 to 74 will nearly double over the next 20 years, to 4.5 million from 2.3 million, with the corresponding share of young seniors increasing to nearly 12 per cent from seven per cent.
The number of people in Canada aged 85 and older will almost double, as well. It is expected to rise to about 900,000 in 2026 from 500,000 in 2006.
Better off financially
Financially, the situation of seniors has improved in the last 25 years, the report says. The average total income, after tax, received by senior couples grew by 18 per cent to $42,800 from $36,300.
"Increasing income levels have benefited seniors in lower-income categories and have contributed to a decline in the incidence of low income among this group," it says.
"Even so, among seniors the incidence of low income remains highest among women who live alone."
The report says the share of older men taking part in the paid labour force declined from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, but that work-force share increased to 66.7 per cent among men aged 55 to 64 from 58.4 per cent, and to 23 per cent among men aged 65 to 69 from 16.5 per cent between 1996 and 2005.
It says increases in labour force participation have also been noted among older women.
"As more and more individuals in the baby boom generation slide into their 60s, the share of the labour force comprised of older workers will increase," it reads.
Education level a factor
The report says level of education among seniors could influence their labour force participation. The number of seniors with a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree increased to 31 per cent from 18 per cent between 1990 and 2005.
"This trend will continue, as half of the Canadians who will turn age 65 over the next decade have one of these credentials," it says.
According to labour force data, seniors with a university degree in 2005 were considered more than four times more likely to take part in the labour force than those with eight years or less of formal schooling.
The report says many seniors are engaged in a number of activities outside paid work, including belonging to an organization, volunteering or providing help on an informal basis.
"While aging is associated with a decline in general health and the onset of different forms of activity limitations, a large proportion of seniors are faring well," the report says.
About six in 10 seniors say their life is not at all stressful or not very stressful. That compares to about three in 10 people aged 25 to 54.
The report says computers have become a bigger part of the lives of seniors. Only 3.4 per cent of households headed by a senior had Internet access in 1997, but in 2004, this number had increased to nearly 23 per cent.
Ethnic origins analyzed
The report also looks at the ethnic origins of seniors, saying more than one-quarter of all seniors in Canada were born outside of the country.
More of the immigrant seniors came to Canada before the 1960s, with about half having emigrated from Western European countries.
The report predicts the profile of immigrant seniors in Canada will change as immigrants who came to the country from other regions of the world enter their old age.
Aboriginals, meanwhile, make up only a tiny percentage of Canada's seniors.
In 2001, the 39,900 aboriginal seniors comprised only four per cent of the total aboriginal population. This number is expected to increase to 6.5 per cent by 2017, partly to longer life expectancy rates and declining birth rates among aboriginals.
Statistics Canada said it drew from a wide range of data sources to compile the report that looks at the "well-being and wellness" of people aged 65 and over.
With files from the Canadian Press
