Age at retirement, by sex

The median age of retirement started dropping in the mid 1980s

• The median age of retirement has fallen dramatically in the past two decades. From the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, it hovered around age 65. But in the late 1980s, it started dropping quickly, and continued to do so until hitting a low at 61 years in 1997 and fluctuating around that level in subsequent years. This decline was most likely initiated in 1987 by the lowering of the minimum age at which one could begin to draw benefits from the Canada Pension Plan—from age 65 to 60, with reduced benefits. The continued drop in the median age at retirement may have been related to widespread government cutbacks and corporate downsizing in the 1990s, combined with early retirement incentives.
• The median age at retirement for men was close to that for women until the mid 1990s. After that, the median age declined more for women than for men. In 2003, the median age of retirement for both sexes reversed direction, rising significantly for men (from 61.4 to 63.3 years) and marginally for women (from 60.1 to 60.4 years).
• The reversal seen in 2003 may indicate the beginning of a new trend, the result of rising participation rates among older men and women, and an increasing number of Canadians who are approaching the traditional retirement age of 65 and choosing to remain in the labour market.

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