ARCHIVED – Elderly immigrants in Canada: Income sources and self-sufficiency

III. Data and definitions

There are two general types of income investigated in this analysis. The first is referred to as market income, which represents income available to the working age population. Market income includes income from employment earnings, self-employment earnings, investment, employment insurance, and provincial supplements which include social assistance [note 3]. The second income type is referred to as retirement income, which represents income available exclusively to the elderly. Retirement income includes income from C/QPP, OAS, the GIS/Allowance, RRSPs, and private pension plans [note 4].

C/QPP is a contributory pension that is related to an individual’s lifetime earnings. Although there are no special provisions for immigrants, their benefits will be directly related to the length of time they have worked in Canada. To qualify an individual must have made a minimum of one valid contribution to the Plan and be at least 65 years of age. It is possible to qualify for a reduced pension between the ages of 60-64 if a person stops working or earns less than the current monthly maximum C/QPP payment.

OAS is a non-contributory pension that is related to an individual’s years of residence in Canada. It is available to Canadian Citizens, permanent residents (landed immigrants), and individuals with a Minister’s permit who are 65 years of age or older and have a minimum of 10 years of residence in Canada after reaching age 18. A full OAS pension is only available to those who have lived in Canada for 40 years or longer after reaching the age 18. A person who cannot meet the requirements for the full OAS pension may qualify for a partial pension. A partial pension is earned at the rate of 1/40th of the full monthly pension for each year an individual has lived in Canada after reaching 18 [note 5].

GIS is another non-contributory pension and is available to residents of Canada who receive a full or partial OAS pension. GIS benefits may begin in the same month as OAS benefits. To qualify for GIS a person must be in receipt of an OAS pension and have an annual income not exceeding a specified amount. Sponsored immigrants from countries with which Canada has agreements are not eligible for GIS during their sponsorship period (up to a maximum of 10 years) unless they have resided in Canada for an aggregate of ten years after reaching 18 years of age [note 6]. OAS and GIS are activated upon approval of an individual’s application, with GIS requiring individuals to reapply on an annual basis.

The Allowance is a non-contributory pension available to the spouse, common-law partner, or survivor of a pensioner receiving OAS and/or GIS. Canadian citizens or permanent residents between the ages of 60 and 64 who have lived in Canada for at least 10 years are eligible to receive the Allowance. To qualify, the combined annual income of the couple, or the annual income of the survivor must not exceed the specified limits. Allowance stops when the recipient reaches age 65 and becomes eligible for OAS. Sponsored immigrants wishing to apply for the Allowance face the same eligibility requirements as those applying for GIS [note 7].

The population investigated in this paper is taken from the IMDB. The IMDB combines administrative records on immigration with taxation information to form a comprehensive source of data on the labour market experiences of the landed immigrant population. Currently, the IMDB currently covers the period 1980-2000, providing data on approximately 2.5 million immigrants in Canada. To be captured in this sample an individual must have filed a tax return at least once during the period 1980-2000. As noted earlier, for this paper, the elderly population is defined as immigrant tax filers aged 60 years or older in a given tax year. As mentioned earlier, the elderly population is divided into three groups: long-term elders who landed in Canada aged 40-49 years, short-term elders who landed aged 50-59 years, and immediate elders who landed aged 60 years or older. Figure 1 illustrates the size of the elderly immigrant population in tax year 2000 disaggregated by the three elderly groups [note 8].

Figure 1: Number of Immediate, Short-term, and Long-term Elders in the IMDB in Tax Year 2000

Figure 1: Number of Immediate, Short-term, and Long-term Elders in the IMDB in Tax Year 2000

Some differences in the socio-economic characteristics of the population become apparent when looking at the three elderly groups. Differences are identified with respect to immigrant category composition and level of education. However, the distribution of the elderly population across province of residence remains almost identical for all three elderly groups. Although it is not shown here, the gender composition of the elderly groups is also very similar for all three groups. In the initial years after landing, there is a greater share of females in the elderly population but as years since landing increases the gender gap narrows considerably. The remainder of this section looks at these socio-economic characteristics in more detail.

Table 1: Disaggregation of the Elderly Population by Immigration Category, 1980-2000 in Tax Year 2000
Immigration Category Long-term Elders (%) Short-term Elders (%) Immediate Elders (%)
Economic – Skilled Principal Applicant 26.7 9.2 2.8
Economic – Skilled Spouse/Dependent 9.9 2.9 0.5
Economic – Other 13.3 8.0 1.5
Family – Parents & Grandparents 19.9 59.5 79.2
Family – Other 11.9 5.8 3.3
Refugee 17.2 6.9 4.6
Retired 1.2 6.5 7.5
Other 0.0 1.1 0.5
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: IMDB

Table 1 provides a disaggregation of the three elderly populations by category of immigration. In tax year 2000 Parents and Grandparents who landed in Canada during the period 1980-2000 under the Family Class accounted for, on average, 20 percent of the long-term elderly population. Skilled Principal Applicants accounted for a slightly higher share equal to approximately 27 percent and Refugees represented 17 percent. However, for the elderly populations who were older at time of landing the share of Skilled Principal Applicants and Refugees is markedly lower while the share of Parents and Grandparents is higher. On average, over this period Parents and Grandparents accounted for over 60 percent of the short-term elderly population and 79 percent of the immediate elderly population.

Table 2: Disaggregation of the Elderly Population by Level of Education [note 9], 1980-2000 in Tax Year 2000
Level of Education Long-term Elders (%) Short-term Elders (%) Immediate Elders (%)
0-12 years 61.0 74.1 78.6
13+ years 6.1 4.7 4.5
Trade Certificate 12.5 7.0 5.0
Non-University Diploma 7.1 4.4 3.5
University Degree 13.4 9.8 8.4
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: IMDB

In Table 2 the elderly populations are broken down by level of education. A negative relationship between educational attainment and age at landing is evident. On average, 61 percent of long-term elders had less than a high school education (0-12 years of schooling) at the time of landing. For short-term and immediate elders the shares were 74 and 79 percent, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, an average of 13 percent of long-term elders held a university degree. For short-term and immediate elders the shares were 9.8 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.

Table 3: Disaggregation of the Elderly Population by Province of Residence, 1980-2000 in Tax Year 2000
Province of Residence Long-term Elders (%) Short-term Elders (%) Immediate Elders (%)
Atlantic 1.5 0.8 1.0
Quebec 15.1 11.3 9.8
Ontario 50.1 52.3 54.8
Manitoba 2.6 2.1 1.7
Alberta 0.6 0.5 0.5
Saskatchewan 9.6 8.6 8.2
British Columbia 19.9 24.1 23.7
Territories & Others 0.5 0.4 0.2
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: IMDB

It is clear from Table 3 that approximately half of elderly immigrants reside in Ontario. This is true for all three elderly groups. In tax year 2000 immigrants residing in British Columbia accounted for roughly 20 t0 24 percent of the elderly population and those residing in Quebec represented between 10 and 15 percent. This provincial distribution is not unique to elderly immigrants. In fact, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec have been the three largest recipients of newcomers to Canada since 1980. Ontario has always been the largest recipient and beginning in 1986 at least 50 percent of newcomers intended to reside in there. British Columbia and Quebec alternated as the second and third largest recipients over the past twenty years and, on average, 16.5 percent of landed immigrants intended to reside in each of these provinces [note 10].


3  Income from social assistance is reported on the Provincial Supplement line of the tax form. The total of this line may include other provincial supplements and, as a result, social assistance income cannot be separated out. An example of such a supplement is income from the Guaranteed Annual Income System available to residents of Ontario.

4  In addition to these retirement sources, the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) is available to residents of Ontario 65 years of age or older. More information on GAINS can be found on the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s website www.trd.fin.gov.on.ca. Similar programs may also exist in other provinces.

5  Although citizenship and/or legal residency status is a requirement for OAS eligibility, in some instances time spent in Canada on a temporary basis prior to landing can factor into an applicant’s residence history. As a result, an immigrant with less than ten years since landing can potentially be eligible for partial OAS benefits. For further details see Human Resource and Development Canada’s information sheet, “How to Apply for the Old Age Security Pension, Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor” available at http://www.retireware.com/pdf/isp3503e.pdf

6  See Appendix, Table A2: Schedule of Countries with which Canada has Agreements (Section 22.0, Old Age and Security Regulations)

7  Benefits from GIS and Allowance are reported together as Net Federal Supplements on a single line of an individual’s tax form. Consequently, these two sources of income are grouped together in this analysis.

8  Table A1 in the Appendix provides, for tax year 2000, the share of the elderly population accounted for by the long-term, short-term, and immediate elderly groups.

9  An immigrant’s level of education is recorded at time of landing. Further training or educational attainment that may occur after an immigrant has landed is not reflected here.

10  Data on intended province of residence for all immigrant landings for the period 1980-2000 was taken from Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Permanent Resident Data System (PRDS).

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