Data sources, methods and definitions
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This article is based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which surveys approximately 54,000 households on a monthly basis.
In addition to information about employment and unemployment, the LFS also provides data on the number of retirements by year. The number of retirements in a given month or year is derived using the question on the reasons for stopping work, to which "retirement" can be given as an answer. That question is asked if the respondent is not working at the time of the survey but has worked in the preceding 12 months.Note 1 Retirements are recorded only for people age 50 and over, which enables the calculation of retirement rates that are used to produce expected working-life tables.
This technique is similar to the one used to calculate life expectancy. One of its advantages is that it can identify trends in older workers' retirement behaviour that are not affected by the age structure of the 50-and-over population.Note 2
The expected working-life tables are based on the population age 50 to 80—the age group in which most retirements take place. Data for the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut have not been included.
To construct expected working-life tables by education level, mortality tables for each education level first had to be estimated. For that purpose, the probabilities of dying estimated using the Canadian census mortality follow-up study between the 1991 and 2006 period were used.Note 3 In this study, the education levels were grouped into 3 categories: less than a high school diploma; high school diploma or trades certificate; and postsecondary education (partial or complete, university level or not). The expected working-life and post-retirement life expectancy tables were then calculated using the LFS year-of-age retirement rates for each education level.
Definitions
Expected working life: Number of years a 50-year-old worker could expect to work before retiring with the retirement and mortality rates observed for a given year.
Post-retirement life expectancy: Number of years a person could expect to live in retirement based on expected working life and life expectancy at age 50.
Voluntary retirements: Workers age 50 to 80 who declared having stopped working during the preceding 12 months for "retirement" reasons in the Labour Force Survey.
Involuntary retirements: Workers at least age 55 who declared having stopped working during the preceding 12 months due to economic conditions, illness or disability, or personal and family responsibilities, and who meet certain criteria about being out of the labour force.
Full-time equivalent: Unit of measure corresponding to 40.5 hours per week, which is the average number of usual hours worked by full-time workers age 15 and over in the 2009 Labour Force Survey.
Notes
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